Momma's Going to March

Written by Jennifer Maruno

Illustrated by Vivian Rosas

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-551-9

32 pp.

Ages 3-6

August 2024

Protest marches have long been a part of history. They are a kind of activism that can inspire change. In a series of vignettes through different periods of time, Jennifer Maruno and Vivian Rosas show us protest marches that brought mother and child out to fight for positive societal change. 

 

In  the first spreads, a mother and her daughter prepare signs for their march for freedom. It's a march for a myriad of civil rights, from voting and integrated schools and decent housing. It's a 1960s march by Black Americans for recognition of their equal rights and the racial discrimination they continued to endure.

From Momma's Going to March, written by Jennifer Maruno, illustrated by Vivian Rosas

Then in the late 1970s, a child and her momma, both dressed in white, join a march for equality, advocating for the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment), emboldened to fight for equal rights for women, from voting to employment. 

From Momma's Going to March, written by Jennifer Maruno, illustrated by Vivian Rosas

There's a pro-peace and anti-war march, sadly one which we must repeat with each new conflict. There is one advocating for clean water in Indigenous communities, and another for the environment by initiating a global climate strike. In each case, a mother and child head out to march to encourage positive change.

From Momma's Going to March, written by Jennifer Maruno, illustrated by Vivian Rosas

Jennifer Maruno's message of "march, March, MARCH" is loud and clear, and she adds to that message with notes about what makes a march, like signs and clothing, flags and banners, as well as identifying the historical marches represented in her story. In each case, her emphasis is on the relationship between mother and child, with one inspiring the other to do good by fighting for something important. It may be promoting social justice or bringing attention to causes too often neglected or unanswered but it's always about doing something. Whether it's walking or carrying a sign, riding in a wagon or shouting slogans, these mommas and their ones are community activists at a grass roots level.

Vivian Rosas, the Toronto artist who also illustrated Queer History A to Z: 100 Years of LGBTQ+ Activism, seems to have found a social justice niche for her art, though I suspect her style is equally effective across all genres. Her digital illustrations, though, strongly support diverse communities, depicting people of all ages, ethnicities, races, abilities, and more, making for inclusive marches and encouraging empowerment. Moreover, Vivian Rosas's vibrant colours and strong shapes lend themselves to Jennifer Maruno's messaging about standing up and marching for important causes.

 

Mommas, and Pappas and little sisters and big brothers and everyone, have always marched to do right and make people see and hear what needs to be done. Now, with Jennifer Maruno and Vivian Rosas's story of Momma's Going to March, young readers can see the big impact a little marching can kickoff.

Kimiko Murakami: A Japanese-Canadian Pioneer (Trailblazing Canadians)

Written by Haley Healey

Illustrated by Kimiko Fraser

Heritage House

978-1-77203-431-8

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

May 2023

 

It's Asian Heritage Month and I am pleased to present this picture book about Kimiko Murakami: A Japanese-Canadian Pioneer whose story of courage, resilience, and determination, along with a ganbaru spirit, propelled her to make a good life for herself, her family, and others.

From Kimiko Murakami: A Japanese-Canadian Pioneer by Haley Healey, illus. by Kimiko Fraser

Kimiko Murakami was born in a coastal village outside of Vancouver and moved with her family to Salt Spring Island when she was five. There the family fished and then farmed, raising chickens and fruits and vegetables. When she married, she and her husband and children continued to work on the farm. That is, until World War II came, and all people of Japanese heritage were removed from their homes and interned at various camps both in BC and in Alberta.

From Kimiko Murakami: A Japanese-Canadian Pioneer by Haley Healey, illus. by Kimiko Fraser

These times were difficult for Kimiko and her family, yet she never gave up, determined to be guided by the Japanese word "ganbaru" which means "to push through hard times and never give up." Through horrible living conditions and hard work and multiple relocations, Kimiko kept up her ganbaru spirit. 

Once WWII ended and they were still not allowed to return home, Kimiko's family opened a restaurant in Alberta, determined to save their money and return to Salt Spring Island. It took 12 years since they'd left to finally return, but return they did. Still, their land and belongs were gone, long ago sold, and racism was widespread. Nevertheless, Kimiko kept her ganbaru spirit while she and her family rebuilt the life that had been taken from them.

From Kimiko Murakami: A Japanese-Canadian Pioneer by Haley Healey, illus. by Kimiko Fraser

While this is essentially an illustrated biography, Kimiko Murakami: A Japanese-Canadian Pioneer goes beyond the facts of Kimiko Murakami's life. Haley Healey may include a historical timeline from Kimiko's birth in 1904 to her death in 1997 but the author delves deeper, focusing on Kimiko's spirit and what enabled her to endure the hardships involved with the detention of Japanese Canadians. In fact, Kimiko and her family didn't just endure. They persevered and rose above the injustice of discrimination and maltreatment to regain the life they had earned and lost. Moreover, they remembered. And with those memories came a fundamental need to help others who also struggled. BC's Haley Healey tells us Kimiko's story but, more than that, she tells us about her.

BC artist Kimiko Fraser, who uses a variety of media in her work including watercolour, digital, ink and tea, was inspired by original images of the Murakami family from archives and museums. But her artwork goes beyond photorealism, as she depicts the heart of a family as they face uncertainty and persecution and still show strength and ganbaru. It's there in the faces and the way they hold themselves. So, Kimiko Fraser could emphasize the greys and browns of a challenging life of work and struggle, but she also gives the story colour with a hopeful branch of cherry blossoms, fruits and vegetables, and peonies. As Haley Healey does with her words, Kimiko Fraser does with her art, going beyond the worst and including the best.

I suspect that Kimiko Murakami's story is better known on Salt Spring Island and in BC than other parts of Canada but, with Kimiko Murakami: A Japanese-Canadian Pioneer, her story can be appreciated far and wide for Asian Heritage Month and always.

Step

Written by Deborah Ellis

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-815-2

150 pp.

Ages 8-12

March 2022

For many of us, our days are spent stepping out and stepping in and stepping around. These are our everyday lives of going to school or work, dealing with peers and family, and returning home. But there are milestone days. For many children, those days include their birthdays. And, for the children of Deborah Ellis's ten stories in Step, the milestone day of an 11th birthday brings with it a new opportunity to step. 

 

Each of the ten stories within Step is titled with a single and powerful word.  They are Smash, Alone, Rock, Rubber, Shoes, Ride, Laundry, Free, Nails, and Supper. Some take place in familiar North American settings, like Smash in which Connor takes his sister's rejected and fearful dog for a walk and both see and become something different. Or Ride, in which Aislyn is taken to the county fair by her older sister and deserted to spend time with her boyfriend. But there are other stories that take us to the unfamiliar. In Rubber, Oma and her family are escaping on a rubber raft for Europe, and in Free, a child and her mother and sister leave the gangs and deaths of their homeland to walk days into the land of the free. Perhaps the most disparate in setting is Laundry in which Masud shares a cell with twenty-one men at a prison-like Libyan detention facility. Their cell is a community of unrelated persons who have come together to work as family for everyone. Most unusual is the story of Rock. While its setting will be familiar to young readers, Rock is wholly different in that it includes a supernatural element that links our world with another to highlight a social injustice halfway around the world.

 

From the pen of Deborah Ellis always comes brilliant writing but also profound attention to social justice and the courage of children to step up. This is the same in Step. From neo-Nazis, an inhumane detention center, gang violence, poverty, bullying and those seeking refuge, Deborah Ellis lets young readers see from the perspective of eleven-year-olds who are leaving their childhoods behind and looking at people and places with fresh eyes. For many, that one day of transition from 10 to 11 has given them clarity for flawed family members, for right and wrong, and for their own place.

I love that there has been a resurgence of short story collections, especially themed ones such as Deborah Ellis's latest collection, a companion book to her earlier Sit (2017). In Step, eleven-year-olds are stepping into, stepping up and stepping away. And sometimes doing what is actually another, like Lazlo in Shoes who by stepping away is actually stepping up. These children from around the world are dealing with big issues in their own homes, in their communities and in foreign lands. They must deal with their families, with their peers, with strangers, and with authorities. And each time they must decide what they will do in their steps. They could step back or around. They could do what they might have done at age ten and taken the familiar course. Ah, but they have all just turned eleven. That milestone moves them forward to step differently. These children have come of age, some in common circumstances and some in horrific struggles. Each has stepped into their new maturity in their own way, thinking beyond themselves and instead of others and the greater good. They have attained the wisdom that many of their elders have not.

On the Line

Written by Paul Coccia and Eric Walters

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-45982-713-4

312 pp.

Ages 9-13

March 2022

 

"...if you're down twenty points in the last two minutes, you still play your best..." (pg. 52)

What's on the line for thirteen-year-old Jordan Ryker? Everything. His parents can't stop arguing. The auto plant where his dad works, being the town's major employer, is shutting down. Even basketball, which is everything to Jordan and his best friend Junior, is somewhat tenuous with the school's new basketball coach who really doesn't know what he's doing. And now Jordan has to figure out how to work with new kids, brother and sister Aaron and Tammy, who are very different and both want on the boys' basketball team.  

Most unexpectedly, Jordan's dad moves out and reveals that he's gay. In a community where everybody knows everyone else's business, Jordan is not dealing well with it. Junior tries to help Jordan see the courage his dad is showing in being true to himself finally, and Tammy with whom Jordan starts going out is all about supporting social justice issues and even starts a Gay-Straight Alliance club at the school. But it's all too much for Jordan who responds to his parents' separation and his father's coming out with frustration and anger. 

At thirteen, Jordan is already dealing with a lot of new situations. He's thinking about girls but is both intrigued and uncomfortable with them. He's been struggling with an unstable home situation, which then becomes even more dubious as he tries to adjust to two different lives and a father different than the one he thought he always knew. Worse yet, Jordan takes it all personally, convinced that he is the aggrieved party, rather than seeing beyond himself what others may be feeling and experiencing. He can't see the efforts that everyone around him are making to support him and themselves in what they need. Sadly, though Junior, Tammy and others try to help him accept their support, there are some whose homophobic and narrow-minded perspectives on the Ryker family cause more tension for all. 

There's a great story here but it's Paul Coccia and Eric Walters's characters that carry On the Line. With Jordan, they have given us a typical young man in a somewhat unusual familial situation. They've created a kid who loves his family, hates their fighting, is starting to have romantic feelings, and is angry and frustrated because none of his life feels straightforward or easy anymore. I don't know many who would choose to go through puberty again but to compound that tension with confusion about your father and his relationship with you would be overwhelming, as it is for Jordan. Then there's his father who is trying to navigate a new relationship with his son, with his wife, with his community and even a new partner but most of all with himself. There's Tammy who strives for the world to be fair to her and to others. She challenges the school for her right to be on the boys' basketball team. She's all about diversity and inclusion and she wants others to be the same. Even Junior and Aaron are developed into full characters that add contrast and meaning to On the Line.

This is the first writing collaboration between Paul Coccia and Eric Walters and, having reviewed books by both previously, I can attest to a new synergy to their writing as they bring their strengths in plotting, character development, and voice and meld them with LGBTQ+ issues and sports into something new and important. They've given us a story that challenges young readers to see beyond themselves and from different perspectives and with compassion for the struggles that others may be experiencing. With heart and intention, they've put themselves out there and helped us see from that angle what's really meaningful: friends, family, and fair play for all.

Mya's Strategy to Save the World

Written by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

Puffin Canada

978-0-73526-525-7

200 pp.

Ages 9-12

April 2019
Reviewed from Advance Reader's Copy

She may be dealing with her mother's prolonged absence tending to her ill grandmother, a comic but persistent misunderstanding about her sister's shin pads, a communication project with an annoying boy, and a mission to convince her parents to get her a cell phone, but Mya is still out to save the world because it seems to need it.

Twelve-year-old Mya, eight-year-old sister Nanda and their father seem to be a little lost when Mom heads to Myanmar to tend to her ailing mother. Mya, who aspires to work for the United Nations, uses all her skills in conflict resolution, patience, forgiveness and more to handle the ever-imploding household that can't balance meal preparation, laundry, cleaning and child care. But Mya is also a globally conscious and compassionate girl who, having organized their Kids for Social Justice group with best friend Cleo, worries about many issues, including the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. However, while she would love to have the support of Cleo, her friend has just been gifted her first cell phone and is way too involved with texting and her crush Drew.

Meanwhile, Mya has been partnered with Ian to work on a communications project for English. As they pursue their project, sometimes in sync and sometimes not, Mya begins to learn a little bit more about effectively interacting with others to get her points across although not without a few misunderstandings and occasional strife. Oh, and did I mention the issues surrounding the mining of cobalt–war, child labour, safety, etc.–which is a key component in electronics like cell phones? Can Mya use all her diplomacy to find a friendly resolution to all the issues–environmental, social justice, family and relationship–with which she is concerned?

Wow, this girl has a lot on her plate: family, friends, school, boys, the world. (Did I mention she gets her period while her mother is away?) Yet, she never curls up and hides her head under the blankets. She's other there doing her bit and trying her best. Even when it seems like no one appreciates her efforts or takes them seriously, she manages. Taking advice from her father,

...if people take small steps in the right direction, the world will slowly shift. (pg. 158)

Mya continues to crusade for herself, others and our world. But Tanya Lloyd Kyi never makes Mya a saint or a tedious rah-rah cheerleader.  Rather, Mya is a stalwart advocate for doing one's best. Moreover, there is a freshness to Mya's social activism and her coming of age story. Tanya Lloyd Kyi could have weighed down the story with social issues that are heart-breaking and alarming or she could have steeped Mya's navigation into puberty with angst and confusion. Instead, she chose to offer hope that those small steps would lead somewhere positive, making those baby steps the first steps to social change and, on  a personal basis, to being a teenager.

••••••••••••••

 
Tanya Lloyd Kyi launches Mya's Strategy to Save the World this week in Vancouver. See details here.

As a Boy

by Plan International

Second Story Press

98-1-77260-016-2

24 pp.

Ages 5-9

September 2016

I don’t know why we always seem to set up competitions between boys and girls, or separate them into teams that are boys versus girls.  There may be pockets (sometimes very large ones) around the world that feel the need to treat boys and girls differently and separately, justifying that attitude with archaic ideas from religion or culture.  But As a Boy, which launches today, demonstrates that boys can be just as supportive of girls’ rights as girls have needed to be and the book does so in a superbly photographed fashion with simple but prophetic statements of encouragement and defense.

Beginning with a cheerful spread of a dozen photos of babies whose gender is impossible to discern, As a Boy recognizes that being a boy or a girl is simply a matter of chance.  For the boys, choices will be both presumed and provided as opportunities.  While there are opportunities that boys are very fortunate to have, like education, it’s not all glory as there are expectations to being a man.  However, the boys in these photographs from across the globe, photos of boys with other boys, with girls, as fathers, as brothers and sons, recognize that all children need “to be free to choose what they want to be” (pg. 17) and that “As boys, we can stand up for everyone” (pg. 23). What a powerful message of advocacy for the rights of all to choose.

Perhaps a companion book to Plan International’s earlier Because I am a Girl: I Can Change the World (Second Story Press, 2014) or Every Day is Malala Day (Second Story Press, 2014), As a Boy has its own lesson of advocacy to share.  The message is dominant but it wouldn’t have the impact it does if not for the diversity of photographs taken of babies, boys, girls, and families from around the world.  Every child is here, as they should be, given the opportunity to shine with life and chances and choices.  As a Boy lets the world know that this is the way it should be.

Being Me (A Rosie the Red Book)

by Rosemary McCarney

Illustrated by Yvonne Cathcart

Second Story Press

978-1-927583-93-7

24 pp.

Ages 4-8

April 2016

Still sporting the red cape from Tilt Your Head, Rosie the Red that helps empower and define her, Rosie the Red returns in her second story. This time she is thinking about what she should be when she grows up when she is realizes that that way of thinking negates any contribution she can make as a kid.  “That made Rosie feel unimportant…not very useful…a little smaller…as if she would only matter when she got big.”

A walk with her dad introduces Rosie to the local food bank where the manager, Mr. Santino, shows them around the busy warehouse and allows them to help pack cartons. While there, Rosie spots her friend Sam and his mother getting a box of food. Because he’s obviously embarrassed, Rosie spends the rest of the day thinking about how she could make him feel better.  With a tilt of her head–her standard thinking mode–Rosie comes up with a plan to help the food bank and Sam both.

Rosemary McCarney’s picture books consistently impart positive messages and, in Being Me, Rosie the Red is a great vehicle for teaching kids about food banks and that those who avail themselves of its offerings are no less than those who have enough food to eat without help.  By having Rosie acknowledging Sam’s artistic ability, she’s saying that everyone has strengths and everyone needs help with something, whether it is drawing a poster or getting enough food to eat.  That constructive and optimistic attitude is represented in Yvonne Cathcart’s cherry illustrations with their upbeat reds, greens, turquoise and golds.  The art is as sunny as Rosie’s approach to making life worthwhile and fair for all which is an important lesson to foster citizenship and community.

From Being Me
by Rosemary McCarney, illus. by Yvonne Cathcart

Tilt Your Head, Rosie the Red

by Rosemary McCarney

Illustrated by Yvonne Cathcart

Second Story Press

978-1-927583-59-3

24 pp.

Ages 4-7

April, 2015

Rosemary McCarney whose Every Day is Malala Day (Second Story Press, 2014) was just awarded the 2015 Golden Oak readers' choice award of the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading has found her voice in bringing social justice issues to young readers.  In Tilt Your Head, Rosie the Red, the first in a series called A Rosie the Red Book, Rosemary McCarney introduces our heroine of compassion as she attempts to help a friend.

Rosie who likes to wear a red cape, because “It just feels right”(pg. 4) she tells her brother, is chagrined to see a classmate Fadimata bullied at school because she wears a headscarf.  As in most bullying situations, there are a few mean and hateful children but there are also those who are present but fearful and unable to act to help the young girl in the hijab.  But Rosie the Red is determined to find a solution, as she follows her protocol to help her think: Tilt your head, Rosie the Red. (pg. 9)

Not only does Rosie get Fadimata to help fashion a headscarf for her out of the red cape, she leads the way for other girls to support Fadimata in similar ways.  With the message that, “If we remember to look at things in new ways, everything is possible” (pg. 22), diversity in the school yard becomes acceptable as it should be.

Rosemary McCarney gets the right and light tone for her books, ensuring that she never preaches but always enlightens.  And the illustrations by Yvonne Cathcart, who has illustrated some favourites by Rachna Gilmore, Jo-Ellen Bogart and Shenaaz Nanji, are bright and bold and resonant with movement, adding to the story’s surge to justice and resolution.

I think this Rosie the Red series will be a welcome one for teachers and schools who are always looking for books to support important themes of diversity and social justice.  It continues to be evident that, with another new series, I’m a Great Little Kid, also being launched this spring, Second Story Press has strengthened its position as a Canadian publisher of worthwhile reads for young people.

Every Day is Malala Day

by Rosemary McCarney with Plan International

Second Story Press

978-1-927583-31-9

32 pp.

Ages 7-12

March, 2014

Malala Yousafzai's story is an inspirational one.  This 15-year-old girl was shot in the head by the Taliban for speaking out for the rights of all girls to receive an education.  Her drive for justice was not diminished by her injury but, instead, drew global attention and accolades, all modestly accepted by this young woman.  After the United Nations declared July 12, 2013 Malala Day, Plan International produced a film (Dear Malala) depicting girls writing to Malala and sharing their appreciation and support for her endeavours for all girls.  Photographs of girls from many countries (countries identified in each photo) are captioned with the girls' poignant words and messages to Malala.  These are the words we all need to hear and take to heart.

Dedicated to the "other 65 million girls in the world today who are neither in primary school nor secondary school" (pg. 32), Every Day is Malala Day stands up for girls everywhere, acknowledging their rights, their trials, their strengths and their hopes for a world in which education is for all. It is a stunningly beautiful book in its captivating photographs of hopeful girls and their simple words, appended with Malala Yousafzai's brilliant speech at the United Nations. 

The telling of Malala's story, through the news or videos, is a difficult one and most presentations of this story do not consider the needs of a youthful audience, the very audience for whom Malala struggles.  THIS is the story that every child, every parent, every teacher and every school administer should be reading. And reading again.  Every Day is Malala Day recognizes the tragedy of Malala's rise to the world stage but the far greater story is the impact it has had on children and others to join her in her crusade.  The young women whose words appear on the pages of this book pound with hope and admiration and the determination to carry her message forward.  The power of  Malala's story as told by Rosemary McCarney with Plan International has the candour and honour of its righteous message.

<><><><><><><><><><>

Dear Malala, the Plan International video upon which Every Day is Malala Day is based, can be viewed on the Plan International channel on YouTube.  I've attached it here for readers perusal.  It is a powerful video.

Uploaded by Plan International on June 26, 2013 to YouTube.

The Secret of the Village Fool

by Rebecca Upjohn

Illustrated by Renné Benoit

Second Story Press

978-1-926920-75-7

32 pp.

Ages 7-10

2012

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.

E. F. Schumacher

We are all fools at one point or another so the antiquated idea of a village fool is and should be reprehensible.  But, as E. F. Schumacher recognizes in the above quotation, courage and genius can transform, as it does in Rebecca Upjohn's The Secret of the Village Fool.  In the capable pen of award-winning youngCanLit author Rebecca Upjohn (The Last Loon, Orca, 2010; Lily and the Paper Man, Second Story Press, 2007), the true events upon which this picture book is based demonstrate the ignorance of prejudice and the courage of those who can see beyond it.

A sensitive man who talks to animals and plants and never eats meat, Anton is ridiculed for his weird ideas. But he recognizes kindness in others, like Milek and Munio's mother who sends food and clothes over to Anton who is poor.  He also sees the ugliness of those who warn him against fraternizing with Jews.  In World War II Poland, the fear of Hitler has many shunning their Jewish neighbours.  But not Anton.  He considers how to help them should the Nazis arrive in their village.

When the Nazis do arrive and they begin arresting Jews, targeting the boys first, Anton arrives at Milek and Munio's house with disguises for the boys. Later when whole families are being taken away, Anton keeps six of them hidden in his attic until an underground hiding place is constructed for them leading by tunnel from Anton's root cellar and by a shaft from Anton's bedroom.  Along with a young girl Ziphora and a family friend, Eva, the family hides away for months, enduring lice, dampness, hunger and cramped quarters.  Mama always reminds them of the risks Anton was taking daily to ensure their safety.  But, as Anton had always known, "Life is precious--every life."

With photographs, Rebecca Upjohn extends the story of Anton Suchinski and the Zeiger family to 1992 with Anton's official recognition as "Righteous among Nations" at the Holocaust Memorial and Museum in Jerusalem.  This recognition may have finally transformed Anton from village fool to village hero but his heart and valour have always identified him as a champion, choosing to live his life true to his heart, even when ridiculed.  The Secret of the Village Fool shows Anton to be not a fool, but an angel, especially to those whose lives he saved and to their children, grandchildren and others they were able to touch.  And to those of us fortunate enough to read this story. 

Thank you, Rebecca Upjohn, for giving life to this story and presenting it exquisitely, wisely tempering the horrors of a wartime genocide and human ignorance with Anton's compassion and wisdom and the learning that happens, so necessary for ignorance to be overcome.

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.