Social Justice Books

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

Take a Seat — Make a Stand: A Hero in the Family

Reviewed by Matthew Smee Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Take a Seat – Make a Stand: A Hero in the Family tells the story of Sarah Keys Evans, a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement. The story of Keys Evans’ bravery and perseverance is often brushed over in history curricula today. Few […]

Round & Round Together

Reviewed by Kam Williams Review Source: African American Lit Book Club Book Author: One of my earliest childhood memories from back in the Fifties was asking my mother if the family could go to Palisades Amusement Park right after watching a TV commercial featuring kids enjoying its rides and swimming pool. My hopes were dashed […]

Mumbet’s Declaration of Independence

Teaching Stories Reviewed by Allyson Criner Brown Review Source: Zinn Education Project Book Author: Mumbet’s Declaration of Independence gives young readers a slavery-to-freedom narrative that is clever, honest, and age appropriate. Gretchen Woelfle’s recounting of Elizabeth Freeman’s true story of resistance and liberation is smartly written and beautifully illustrated. Readers are introduced to Mumbet, a Black […]

Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad

Reviewed by John Thornton Reviewed Source: Africa Access Book Author: Author Monica Edinger was intrigued with the story of the Amistad when she visited the museum in Mystic, Connecticut dedicated to it, and because she had lived for two years in the very region of Sierra Leone where the Amistad captives once lived. But she also had the good […]

Chains

Reviewed by Kirkus Reviews Review Source: Kirkus Reviews Book Author: “‘Freedom and liberty’ has many meanings,” but enslaved Isabel knows that while Loyalists and Patriots battle for their own versions of freedom, she is “chained between two nations” that uphold slavery. She wonders, “If an entire nation could seek its freedom, why not a girl?” […]

Ruth and the Green Book

Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Review Source: Rethinking Schools Book Author: A historical fiction picture book for 7- to 11-year-olds about the challenges of traveling for African American families during the Jim Crow era. As Ruth travels with her family from Chicago to Alabama to visit her grandmother, she learns that the Green Book provides a […]