Social Justice Books

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

Bravo, Anjali!

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Anjali is the only girl in a boy-dominated tabla class. When she rises to the top, her friend Deepak accuses her of standing out not for her talent, but for being a girl playing a man’s instrument. Although Anjali is used to people assuming that […]

I Am Jazz

Teaching Idea Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Jazz is humanized/normalized in this book as a child who enjoys things any other child would enjoy. She plays dress-up and bounces on trampolines with her best friends, Samantha and Casey. But she confides to the readers: “I’m not exactly like Samantha and […]

Rickshaw Girl

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Naima is the best painter of traditional alpana patterns in her community in Bangladesh. When a painting competition comes up, Naima works hard to win the cash prize and contribute some money to her impoverished family. Naima’s father, a rickshaw driver, is getting older and […]

Vicki and A Summer of Change! ¡Vicki y un verano de cambio!

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Vicki and a Summer of Change! ¡Vicki y un verano de cambio! is a bilingual picture book that teaches children a history often unacknowledged. While the 1960s in America marked a time of social movements around civil rights, the efforts and strides achieved by the […]

Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Between Us and Abuela is a compelling story about family separation at the Mexico-United States border and the longing for reunion. Young María and Juan travel with their mother on La Posada Sin Fronteras (The Inn Without Borders) to the enforcement zone, located between […]

For All / Para Todos

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  For All Para Todos takes children on Flor and her father’s journey of crossing the Mexico-United States border and the injustices they face as undocumented immigrants in a nation that is heralded as one united para todos. Growing up, television serves as a window […]