News & Media
Books on Activism
With stories of protests dominating the news these days, parents, teachers, and librarians may be struggling with how to talk to kids about activism. What does it mean to be an activist? What is the history of activism in the United States? How is activism alive today?
These books for young readers from Calkins Creek, Wordsong, and Hippo Park will help kids (and adults) understand what it means to fight for what you believe in. All of these books will provide a deeper understanding of activism from both a historical and sometimes contemporary perspective.
Demonstrating the power of protest and standing up for a just cause, here is an exciting tribute to the educators who participated in the 1965 Selma Teachers’ March.
FOUR STARRED REVIEWS! ★★★★
Booklist Editors’ Choice
NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
Bank Street Best Book
Notable Book for a Global Society
In 1854, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Jennings, an African American schoolteacher, fought back when she was unjustly denied entry to a New York City streetcar, sparking the beginnings of the long struggle to gain equal rights on public transportation.
FOUR STARRED REVIEWS! ★★★★
Bank Street Best Book
NCSS/CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book
ILA Children’s Book Award Nonfiction Honor
Winner of Bank Street College of Education’s Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for excellence in nonfiction
Who was Coretta Scott King? Her black-veiled image at the funeral of her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was moving and iconic. This book introduces readers to the woman behind the veil—a girl full of spunk and pluck, bravery and grit.
FOUR STARRED REVIEWS! ★★★★
Horn Book Fanfare Book
Center for the Studies of Multicultural Children’s Literature Best Book of 2023
2023 Eureka! Nonfiction Childrens’ Honor Award
This lyrical picture book explores the birth of Black America, focusing on the little-known men and women who fought for justice and for an America where freedom truly rang for all.
This bold graphic novel sequel to Stonewall Award winner Cross My Heart and Never Lie, which Alice Oseman called “a warm hug,” follows Bao, who bands together with her friends to save their beloved forest from being turned into a parking lot.
For take-charge girls in the making and fans of I Dissent and Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice, this is the story of Jeannette Rankin, the first US congresswoman.
This critical civil rights book for middle-graders examines the little-known Tennessee’s Fayette County Tent City Movement in the late 1950s and reveals what is possible when people unite and fight for the right to vote. Powerfully conveyed through interconnected stories and told through the eyes of a child, this book combines poetry, prose, and stunning illustrations to shine light on this forgotten history.
CSMCL Best Book of 2022
Bank Street Best Book
International Literacy Association’s Literacy and Social Responsibility Special Interest Group Social Justice Literature Award
This YA biography-in-verse of six important Black Americans from different eras, including Ona Judge, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama, chronicles the diverse ways each fought racism and shows how much—and how little—has changed for Black Americans since our country’s founding.
SLJ Best Book
Booklist Editors’ Choice
Kirkus Best Book
Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List
This important yet little-known civil rights story focuses on Roberto Alvarez, a student whose 1931 court battle against racism and school segregation in Lemon Grove, California, is considered the first time an immigrant community used the courts to successfully fight injustice. A must-read for young activists, or for anyone interested in standing up for what’s right.
Kirkus Best Book
Bank Street Best Book
NCSS/CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book
Coming October 2024! Meet unique and outspoken Bella Abzug, the iconic Jewish politician and activist who fought for justice and women’s rights, in this compelling picture book biography.
The fight for women’s suffrage between women’s rights leader Alice Paul and President Woodrow Wilson is creatively presented as a four-round boxing match in this energetic nonfiction picture book.
The powerful poems in this poignant collection weave together multiple voices to tell the story of the March on Washington, DC, in 1963.
When Mildred and Richard Loving are arrested, jailed, and exiled from their home simply because of their mixed-race marriage, they must challenge the courts and the country in order to secure their civil rights.
Bank Street Best Book
NCSS/CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book
This award-winning book will help kids understand the life and legacy of Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book
SLJ Best Book
Booklist Editors’ Choice
Kirkus Best Book
Here is the story of the extraordinary Alice Paul, a leader in the long struggle for votes for women.
Black and White
The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene Bull Connor
In the nineteen fifties and early sixties, Birmingham, Alabama, became known as Bombingham. At the center of this violent time in the fight for civil rights, and standing at opposite ends, were Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene “Bull” Connor. Relying on court documents, police and FBI reports, newspapers, interviews, and photographs, this award-winning book covers each man’s life and then brings them together to show how their confrontation brought about significant change to the southern city.
Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
ALSC Notable Children’s Book
Kirkus Best Book
