Social Justice Books

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

Grandpa Cacao: A Tale of Chocolate, from Farm to Family

Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: Illustrator Elizabeth Zunon has illustrated more than 15 books, three of which have received Children’s Africana Book Awards, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba, One Plastic Bag: Isatou Seesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul and this book, Grandpa Cacao, A Tale of Chocolate, from Farm to […]

King Shaka

Reviewed by Fatima Barnes Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: The graphic novels – Shaka Rising and the sequel, King Shaka – are  imaginative, engaging, and innovative ways of narrating the legend of Shaka, the most renowned 19th century  monarch in Southern Africa. Comic book writer-illustrator Luke Molver, a South African born in Durban,  does an excellent job of telling […]

Shaka Rising

Reviewed by Fatima Barnes Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: The graphic novels – Shaka Rising and the sequel, King Shaka – are  imaginative, engaging, and innovative ways of narrating the legend of Shaka, the most renowned 19th century  monarch in Southern Africa. Comic book writer-illustrator Luke Molver, a South African born in Durban,  does an excellent job of telling […]

Orange for the Sunsets

Reviewed by Meena Khorana, Ph.D. Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: Set in 1972, Orange for the Sunsets is a welcome novel on the expulsion of Indians from Uganda under the regime of President Idi Amin, a topic that has been the subject of only one other adolescent novel about Africa in recent years (Shenaaz Nanji’s Child […]

Sing to the Moon

Reviewed by Kirkus Reviews Review Source: Kirkus Reviews Book Author: A young boy and his jjajja share memories and wishes in this tender tale set in Uganda. Have you ever wished to “ride a supernova straight to Mars” or travel to the spice markets of Zanzibar or ride a crane to a large feast? This young […]

Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted a Million Trees

Reviewed by Jane Irungu, Ph.D. Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees by Franck Prévot and Aurélia Fronty (illus.) joins the list of picture books about The Green Belt Movement and its founder, Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai. Previous titles about Maathai include Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story […]