Social Justice Books

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

Fry Bread

Reviewed by Ashleigh (13), Alexis (19), Charlie (17), Langston (13), and Michael (18) Review Source: Indigo’s Bookshelf: Voices of Native Youth Book Author: There is no doubt about it–Native children’s literature and  YA literature, fiction and nonfiction, is having a moment. Every time we turn around, there’s another wonderful book at the library or the publication details are announced […]

The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: emily m. danforth’s The Miseducation of Cameron Post made quite a splash when it was published in 2012. Published by Balzar + Bray (an imprint of HarperCollins), it won the 2012 Montana Book Award, was a finalist for the William C. Morris Young Adult […]

Ziggy, Stardust & Me

Reviewed by Charlie, 17 Review Source: Indigo Bookshelf: Voices of Native Youth Book Author: I’ve done some hard reviews/essays. This may be the hardest. I’m not coming from a place of “I’m a critic and I want to cut this author.” I’m not settling a score and I don’t want to be unfair or hurt anyone. I’m being true […]

I Am Not a Number

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: I recommend Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer’s I Am Not A Number, illustrated by Gillian Newland. Dupuis is a member of the Nipissing First Nation. In 1928, Dupuis’s grandmother, Irene Couchie Dupuis, was taken to a residential school in Canada. “Residential” is […]

At the Mountain’s Base

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: In February, 2018, Penguin announced it was launching a new imprint, Kokila, that would center “stories from the margins with books that add nuance and depth to the way children and young adults see the world and their place in it.” On September 17 of […]

This Land Is My Land

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Among my favorite books is George Littlechild’s This Land Is My Land, published in 1993 by Children’s Book Press. Written and illustrated by Littlechild, the book won the Jane Addams Peace Award. The title, of course, is familiar. Across the United States, in schools […]