Social Justice Books

Critically reviewed selection of multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators.

Ballad of an American: A Graphic Biography of Paul Robeson

Review Source: Rethinking Schools Book Author: Paul Robeson was a towering figure in the 20th century. A brilliant scholar, athlete, singer, stage and film actor, activist, and revolutionary — and almost entirely erased from the curriculum, with a perfunctory sentence or two in U.S. history textbooks. This new graphic novel about Robeson’s life should be […]

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks: Young Readers Edition

Review Source: Zinn Education Project Book Author: Presenting a corrective to the popular notion of Rosa Parks as the quiet seamstress performed a single act that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and birthed the modern Civil Rights Movement, Jeanne Theoharis provides a revealing window into Parks’ politics and decades of activism. She shows readers how […]

The Voting Booth

Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: This novel for ages 12+ lives up to its dedication to Fannie Lou Hamer.  Two storylines sweep readers along — one about contemporary challenges of voting on election day and the other a budding love story. High school student protagonist Marva Sheridan has been […]

Displacement

Reviewed by Nikki (16, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) Review Source: Bank Street College of Education Book Author: This book provides an invaluable perspective for younger generations on how the injustices faced decades ago are still applicable to today’s world. As a descendant of Japanese Americans who were forced into these internment camps, I had heard […]

Raybearer

Reviewed by Ibrahim Odugbemi Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: Jordan Ifueko’s Raybearer is both a fantasy and an epic novel. This is evident in its wide and diverse physical setting, Aritsar, presented as a continent and empire of different peoples and cultures; in its human characters who have magical powers and embark on dangerous and heroic missions, […]

Clap When You Land

Reviewed by Shea Martin Review Source: Electric Lit Book Author: I don’t remember where I was when I heard about Covid-19, when I learned that life would never be the same. Nine months later, I am still trying to reconcile with this new normal of grief and isolation. In her highly-lauded sophomore release, Clap When You […]