Social Justice Books

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

Sebastian’s Apartment Family

Reviewed by Makai Kellogg Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Sebastian’s Apartment Family was written by three mothers in a Shout Mouse Press workshop. They open the book with a dedication: “We wrote this book for the villages that help to raise our children.”  This colorful and engaging book centers collective caregiving. As a […]

The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester

Reviewed by Deborah Jung Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester is an original and heartfelt, if occasionally uneven, paranormal mystery centered around a close-knit friend group of LGBT+ teens. Sam has always collected stories of other teenagers who died before their nineteenth birthdays and occasionally experiences visions […]

Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay

Reviewed by Lucy Sieczka Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay by Kelly McWilliams follows the story of 17-year-old Harriet Douglass on her mission to stop a neighboring plantation from becoming an event venue. Harriet has lived on the Westwood Plantation for about a decade as her parents restored the […]

Troublemaker

Reviewed by Deborah Jung Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Troublemaker is a nuanced and emotionally rich middle grade chapter book recalling the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising, or Sa-I-Gu, from the perspective of a young Korean American boy trying to find his father. The book’s protagonist, Jordan, is a Korean American seventh grader whose […]

Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  This is a moving and thought-provoking middle grade historical novel set in British-occupied India in 1857. On the day before Meera’s 13th birthday, she’s expected to move into her husband’s home with his family, as is the Indian custom, but in a twist of fate, […]

That Flag

Reviewed by Brad Manker Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Author Tameka Fryer Brown and illustrator Nikkolas Smith have written the first book of its kind for young readers about the meaning of the battle flag of the Confederacy — and indirectly — about the “Lost Cause” narrative and its impact today. Keira, who is […]