Social Justice Books

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

Kimotinâniwiw Itwêwina / Stolen Words

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Reviewed Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: I picked up Melanie Florence’s Stolen Words with a bit of trepidation because her previous picture book, Missing Nimama, was so troubling. It, and her novel, The Missing, felt off. (Here’s my post about them.) At the time, I couldn’t put my finger on why her books were unsettling. […]

The Round House

Reviewed by: Mykella Palmer Review Source: We Should All Be Bookworms Book Author:  In the We Should All Be Bookworms podcast, host Mykella Palmer introduces her listeners to Louise Erdrich’s book The Round House. You can listen to her review of the book here. Here is a short description of the book from the publisher: One of […]

Spíləx̣m: A Weaving of Recovery, Resilience, and Resurgence

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Today’s Short and Sweet Rec is for Nicola I. Campbell’s memoir, Spílexm: A Weaving of Recovery, Resilience, and Resurgence. I’ll begin with the description from the publisher’s site: If the hurt and grief we carry is a woven blanket, it is time to weave ourselves anew. In […]

Walk Two Moons

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Reviewed Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author:  Have you ever used Google Earth? It’s a fascinating tool that lets you look at a place (like your hometown) via satellite photographs. A few years ago, I started seeing “lit trips” online.  Using Google Earth, people put together a webpage that shows places […]

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Reviewed Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Update on Sep 24, 2018: I (Debbie), shared this post on Twitter yesterday because I was critiquing a young adult novel in which the author cited Island of the Blue Dolphins as a significant book from her childhood. Dr. Eve Tuck read my tweet, this […]

Sisters of the Neversea

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Reviewed Source: @debreese Book Author: I’ve been looking forward to SISTERS OF THE NEVERSEA by Cynthia Leitich Smith. Today I’m going to start reading it, and will be doing a tweet-review as I do, noting things that stand out to me. Here’s the cover, by Floyd Cooper.  Continue reading.