Social Justice Books

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

The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary

Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: On many levels, The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary is a brilliant book. It’s open and raw, exposing almost every level of damage inflicted upon the young teenage protagonist, Macy Cashmere. Themes of racism, misogyny, foster care, drug use, prostitution, and “mental illness” create a fast-paced and erratic read. Told […]

Dragons in a Bag

Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: See all the books in the Dragons in a Bag series. Set in gentrifying Brooklyn, Dragons in a Bag is about a young boy (Jax) who spends the day with an elderly neighbor (Ma) while his mother goes to court to challenge their eviction. To […]

This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality

Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Did you know that one year before the Little Rock Nine, in Clinton, Tennessee, 12 Black students desegregated their high school? Their dramatic story is told by one of the 12 students — Jo Ann Allen Boyce — in collaboration with children’s book author […]

Teddy Roosevelt: The People’s President

Reviewed by: Kathleen Nganga Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Like many children’s biographies, Teddy Roosevelt: The People’s President by Sharon Gayle celebrates Roosevelt’s perseverance and rise to power, but misses his failings, shortcomings, and the nuances of his life. Thus, while imparting valuable lessons about determination, the book glorifies militarism and erases people […]

Ellen’s Broom

Reviewed by Deborah Miller Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Ellen’s Broom is a sweet yet powerful story about a young girl who learns the significance of a so-called broom wedding. Slavery has ended and Reconstruction just begun. This means that the marriages of formerly enslaved people, like Ellen’s parents, can be formally recognized […]

A True Book: President Donald Trump

VICTORY – Scholastic’s celebratory children’s books about Donald Trump are finally OUT OF PRINT. After thousands of letters in an action campaign from teachers, parents, and students across the U.S., Scholastic has stopped reprinting these two books. Update: More than 1,200 people have written to Scholastic to express their outrage about the 2017 children’s books, President Donald Trump […]