Social Justice Books

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

Uninterrupted View of the Sky

Reviewed by Lyn Miller-Lachmann Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children Book Author: Because Francisco’s father is Indigenous, the police consider him guilty of Bolivia’s infamous Ley 1008, with no way of proving himself innocent. Unable to cope as a single mother with the stigma of a husband in prison, Francisco’s Mestiza […]

Return to Sender

Reviewed by: Cindy L. Rodriguez Review Source: Latinxs in Kid Lit Book Author: Although Before We Were Free and Return to Sender are set in different countries, they have similarities. In Return to Sender, Mari and her family are migrant workers on a Vermont dairy farm. She encounters a mix of acceptance and scorn from her […]

The Smell of Old Lady Perfume

Reviewed by Sonia Alejandra Rodríguez Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children Book Author: Martínez’s debut young adult novel captures the turmoil of a family’s losing its center, and at the same time emphasizes the importance of staying in school. Chela’s parents are immigrants and her father makes clear that his options […]

A Surprise for Teresita / Una Sorpresa Para Teresita

Reviewed by Dora Guzman Review Source: Latinx in Kid Lit Book Author: This realistic fiction picture book in a bilingual English/Spanish text format is about a girl, Teresita, anticipating her uncle, Tio Ramon, and her birthday gift. As Teresita goes about her day, she meets other neighbors who are also anticipating her uncle’s famous snow cones. […]

Juana & Lucas

Reviewed by: Becky Villareal Review Source: Latinx in Kid Lit Book Author: Juana & Lucas by Juana Medina is a colorful adventure through the life of young Juana as she learns to speak and read “The English.” Juana Medina sprinkles cognates throughout the book using them to their full potential. Since they are placed strategically, it […]

Dead Girls Society

Reviewed by Cindy Baldwin Review Source: Disability in Kid Lit Book Author: When Hope, who has cystic fibrosis (CF) and is driven to distraction by her mother’s overprotective insistence on keeping Hope at home for the past several months, receives a strange invitation from a group that refers to itself as the Society, she throws caution […]