Social Justice Books

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

Journey of Dreams

Reviewed by Lyn Miller-Lachmann Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience Book Author: OUT OF PRINT Between 1982 and 1992, hundreds of churches and synagogues across the United States offered sanctuary to refugees fleeing civil strife in Guatemala and El Salvador. The Sanctuary Movement began in Tucson, Arizona, through the efforts of Presbyterian minister John Fife and […]

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 […]

I Lived on Butterfly Hill

Reviewed by: Deborah Menkart Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: While I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosín is beautifully written and exposes the horrors of the overthrow of Salvador Allende in Chile through the eyes of a young girl, I was shocked to find a casual, uncritical inclusion of Gone with the […]

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 […]

Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale

Teaching Ideas Reviewed by Lila Quintero Weaver Review Source: Latinxs in Kid Lit Book Author: DESCRIPTION FROM THE BOOK JACKET: A young rabbit named Pancho eagerly awaits his papa’s return. Papa Rabbit left two years ago to travel far away north to find work in the great lettuce and carrot fields to earn money for his family. When […]

The Little Doctor / El Doctorcito

Reviewed by Elena Young Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Reviewer Elena Young is a volunteer with Teaching for Change and aspires to be a social studies teacher. The Little Doctor/El Doctorcito is about a child (Salvador) and his grandmother navigating the health care system in the United States. Salvador’s grandmother asks him to accompany […]