Circles and Cycles: Social Justice Book List #10

This is our last book list for social justice. Just as our lists have come full circle, so does the teaching and learning of social justice. These books exemplify how we can help others learn to become more open-minded and inclusive, widening Circle and Cycles.

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

Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees
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.