Social Justice Books

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

Love

Review Source: Latinx in Kid Lit Book Author: In this heartfelt celebration of love, Newbery Medal-winning author Matt de la Peña and bestselling illustrator Loren Long depict the many ways we experience this universal bond, which carries us from the day we are born throughout the years of our childhood and beyond. With a lyrical […]

When We Were Alone

Reviewed by Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: When We Were Alone is one of those books that brought forth a lot of emotion as I read it. There were sighs of sadness for what Native people experienced at boarding schools, and sighs of—I don’t know, love, maybe—for our perseverance through it […]

The Girl from Chimel

Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children Book Author: It is in the hearts of the people of Chimel, then and now, that the old stories reside. Traditionally, told stories such as the ones in Menchú’s trilogy teach children how the world works. For young Rigoberta and […]

Wild Eggs: A Tale of Arctic Egg Collecting

Reviewed by Jean Mendoza Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Wild Eggs: A Tale of Arctic Egg Collecting opens with a little girl stepping off a bush plane, holding a stuffed polar bear. Akuluk and her mother have come from Yellowknife to a remote part of Nunavut. She is about to meet her maternal grandparents […]

A Morning with Grandpa

Reviewed by CCBC Review Source: Cooperative Children’s Book Center Book Author: Mei Mei watches Gong Gong doing tai chi and wants to learn how it’s done. The little girl’s attempts to emulate her grandpa are enthusiastic, but it’s hard for her to control her abundant energy as she turns every move into a chance to […]

When I Was Eight

Reviewed by: Debbie Reese Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: The most powerful stories are those that pull you in such that you feel the emotions of the character(s) in the story and when you come to the end, you let loose a big sigh. When I Was Eight did that to […]