Picture Books
Bagels from Benny
by Aubrey Davis
Illustrated by Dušan Petričić
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Age 5-8
2003
A Castle on Viola Street
by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan
HarperCollins Canada
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2001
From Far Away
by Robert Munsch
Illustrated by Michael Martchenko
Annick Press
24 pp.
Ages 4+
1995
Ghost Train
by Paul Yee
Illustrated by Harvey Chan
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 8-12
1996
Gifts
by Jo Ellen Bogart
Illustrated by Barbara Reid
Scholastic Canada
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
1994
A Hen for Izzy Pippik
by Aubrey Davis
Illustrated by Marie LaFrance
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2012
Jack the Bear
by Christine Leist
Simply Read Books
40 pp.
Ages 3-7
2009
The Last Piece of Sky
by Tim Wynne-Jones
Illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
1993
Lights for Gita
by Rachna Gilmore
Illustrated by Alice Priestley
Second Story Press
24 pp.
Ages 4-7
1994
A Man Called Raven
by Richard Van Camp
Illustrated by George Littlechild
Children's Book Press
32 pp.
Ages 7+
1997
Migrant
by Maxine Trottier
Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
Groundwood Books
40 pp.
Ages 7-13
2011
The Miss Meow Pageant
by Ricardo Keene Douglas
Illustrated by Marie LaFrance
Annick Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
1998
Nanabosho Dances
by Joseph McLellan
Illustrated by Rhian Brynjolson
Pemmican Publications
52 pp.
Ages 5-8
1991
The Stamp Collector
by Jennifer Lanthier
Illustrations by François Thisdale
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 8+
2012
Fiction
Cape Town
by Brenda Hammond
Great Plains Teen Fiction
326 pp.
Ages 14+
2012
Elijah of Buxton
by Christopher Paul Curtis
Scholastic Canada
288 pp.
Ages 9-12
2007
The Glory Wind
by Valerie Sherrard
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
222 pp.
Ages 11+
2010
Lost Goat Lane
by Rosa Jordan
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
197 pp.
Ages 9-12
2005
Making Bombs For Hitler
by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Scholastic Canada
186 pp.
Ages 8-12
2012
Many Windows: Six Kids, Five Faiths, One Community
by Rukhsana Khan with Elisa Carbone and Uma Krishnaswami
Illustrated by Patti Gallinger
Napoleon and Company
84 pp.
Ages 8-10
2008
The Royal Woods
by Matt Duggan
Key Porter
218 pp.
Ages 8-12
2007
Thunder Over Kandahar
by Sharon E. McKay
Annick Press
260 pp.
Ages 12+
2010
The Tiffin
by Mahtab Narsimhan
Dancing Cat Books
190 pp.
Ages 9-12
2011
Non-Fiction
by Deborah Ellis
Groundwood Books
128 pp.
Ages 10 and up
2009
Courage and Compassion: Ten Canadians Who Made a Difference
by Rona Arato
Maple Leaf Press
96 pp.
Ages 11-13
2008
The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough
by Katie Smith Milway
Illustrated by Sylvie Daigneault
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 8-10
2010
Healing our World: Inside Doctors Without Borders
by David Morley
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
121 pp.
Ages 12-17
2007
Imagine That!
by Janet Wilson
Stoddart Kids
32 pp.
Ages 5+
1999
Lacey and the African Grandmothers
by Sue Farrell Holler
Second Story Press
164 pp.
Ages 9-13
2009
Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War
by Marsha Skrypuch
Pajama Press
99 pp.
Ages 10-15
2011
No Shelter Here: Making the World a Kinder Place for Dogs
by Rob Laidlaw
Pajama Press
64 pp.
Ages 9-12
2011
One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
by Katie Smith Milway
Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 7+
2008
Our New Home: Immigrant Children Speak
Edited by Emily Hearn and Marywinn Milne
Second Story Press
129 pp.
Ages 8-11
2007
Our Stories, Our Songs: African Children Talk about AIDS
by Deborah Ellis
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
104 pp.
Ages 12+
2005
The Quilt of Belonging: Stitching Together the Stories of a Nation
by Janice Weaver
Maple Tree Press
64 pp.
Ages 9-12
2006
Ryan and Jimmy and the Well in Africa that Brought Them Together
by Herb Shoveller
Kids Can Press
56 pp.
Ages 10-14
2006
Saving Lives and Changing Hearts: Animal Sanctuaries and Rescue Centres
by Rob Laidlaw
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
62 pp.
Ages 10-14
2013
Shannen and the Dream for a School
by Janet Wilson
Second Story Press
206 pp.
Ages 8+
2011
Tell Me Why: How Young People Can Change the World
Edited by Eric Walters
Doubleday Canada
214 pp.
Ages 10+
2009
Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged!
by Jody Nyasha Warner
Illustrated by Richard Rudnicki
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 6-9
2010
Yeny and the Children for Peace
by Michelle Mulder
Second Story Press
118 pp.
Ages 8-13
2008
And so ends my series of social justice book lists. I suspect I could continue to amend these lists endlessly as new youngCanLit is published. All I can promise to do is add a social justice label so that readers can find these. In the mean while, I hope you avail yourself of these worthwhile reads, whether you're looking for a social justice-themed book or not.