Social Justice Books

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

All My Rage

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  A powerful contemporary young adult novel, All My Rage is rife with anger and grief on the ongoing price of the American dream for immigrant families. This narrative is an homage to the predecessors who painstakingly worked to carve out a smoother pathway for their […]

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, […]

My Rainbow

Reviewed by Paige Pagan and Brad Manker Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Simple language and vibrant illustrations highlight the warm dynamics of a close-knit and accepting Black family in this picture book about a transgender child living with autism. This book for younger elementary school students centers on Trinity, a transgender girl in a […]

Fatima’s Great Outdoors

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: Fatima is having a hard time adjusting to her new life in the United States and is looking forward to camping, what her Papa calls “a great American pastime,” (p. 2) as a means of escaping from the bullying and isolation she experiences in her […]

Home Is in Between

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Mitali Perkins’ words paired with Lavanya Naidu’s art aptly captures an immigrant’s exhausting reality of living in between two spaces and cultures in this picture book for early elementary children. Perkins says in her author’s note, “The space between cultures doesn’t have to be a […]

One Wish: Fatima Al-Fihri and the World’s Oldest University

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author: One Wish is a powerful narrative about a Muslim woman whose faith, passion, and determination led to something greater than herself. Fatima was born in a time and place where boys went to school and girls were tutored at home. Fatima wished that she could […]