Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: A Roof! by Stephanie Ellen Sy tells a heartwarming story of a community coming together to help a family whose roof blew off in a typhoon, a common occurrence where the book is set in the Philippines. The book provides a description of the roles of […]
Mamie Tape Fights to Go to School
Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Review Source: Rethinking Schools Book Author: This picture book tells the true story of a fight for access to public education by an 8-year-old Chinese American girl, Mamie Tape, and her parents. There were no public schools for Chinese Americans in 1884 in San Francisco when Mamie tried to attend the white […]
Ida in the Middle
Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Review Source: Rethinking Schools Book Author: Middle school student Ida tries to sit where she is “unnoticeable, like the dust on last year’s history books.” She seeks to avoid stereotypical insults hurled at her for being from a Palestinian immigrant family. The school’s silence aggravates the problem. Ida notes, “Nobody even says the […]
Stacey Abrams: Lift Every Voice
Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Stacey Abrams is one of the most strategic, visionary, and dedicated political leaders of this century, so we were delighted to learn that there was a picture book for young children about her life. Sadly, the book fails to do justice to her […]
The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families
Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: The collage illustrations in The Mangrove Tree are stunning — each page invites the reader to take in the creativity and details created through the multicolored, textured cloth. The story itself is an important one, describing a community that was once ecologically devastated and poverty-stricken […]
Mything Mandela
Reviewed by Deborah Menkart Book Author: Mandela, the beautifully illustrated children’s book by Kadir Nelson, has been selected as one of the top books on Nelson Mandela by many groups including Colorlines and Kirkus Reviews. Given Nelson’s talents and strong reputation as a children’s book author and illustrator, Mandela is likely to become a staple […]