(4) K-3 Illustrated by K-Fai Steel. A noodle-loving elephant is jailed for violating a kangaroo-authorized law: "Noodles are for kangaroos." The book wouldn't have lost anything at half its length. Nevertheless, there's nothing undercooked about the story's message: "When the laws are so unjust / Misbehavior is a must!" Scenes of anthropomorphized animals about town help bring to life the politics of the human-free community.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) K-3 Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. This well-told biography relates how Jackie Robinson stood up for what was right even before he was a baseball star, including a central incident when he refused to move to the back of an army post bus in 1944. It concludes as Robinson breaks baseball's "color line" in 1947. Dramatic, expressionistic gouache illustrations offer a visual narrative that extends the text of this American story. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2018

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Frank Morrison. In a picture book based on the 1963 Children's Crusade in racially charged Birmingham, Alabama, an unnamed young African American girl narrates her experiences. She marches in the nonviolent protests against segregation, witnesses her fellow marchers being attacked by dogs, and is jailed. A strong, poetic text is accompanied by remarkable oil paintings that capture the emotions on the faces of protesters and counter-protesters alike. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2017

(2) 4-6 In segregated mid-1950s Mississippi, increasing racial strife poses a new dilemma for thirteen-year-old Rose Lee Carter (Midnight Without a Moon). She is caught between conflicting tactics to effect change: peaceful protest or retaliatory violence. With captivating characterization, Jackson has again credibly woven real historical events into a poignant story of hope, friendship, and aspiration, resulting in an insightful, relevant historical novel.

Reviewer: Pauletta Brown Bracy | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2018

(3) YA Illustrated by Lauren Tamaki. This informative and empowering guide encourages teens to improve the world by becoming activists. Paul explains eighteen direct actions teens can take for social change, ranging from petitioning and boycotting to legal action and protests; the point of view is distinctly progressive. Supplemented with Tamaki's sketchlike monochromatic drawings, each concise chapter also concludes with questions and suggestions.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jared Andrew Schorr. "March. Mediate. Meditate. Motivate." Loosely adhering to alphabet-book conventions, Sanders provides suggestions of actions for children to take to fight injustice (with adult guidance and buy-in likely required: "Boycott! Boycott! Boycott!"). The cheery, approachable cut-paper illustrations exemplify diversity. A "Peaceful Protests" page is appended, with more information about the civil rights movement, civil disobedience, etc. Glos.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) YA This decidedly left-leaning book is divided into chapters covering subjects including climate change; immigration; LGBTQIA-, women's-, and disability rights; racial justice; and religious understanding. The chapters delve into the topics' history, interview persons involved, and discuss ways to make change. The conversational text is illustrated with photos and drawings, and ends with comprehensive resources for learning more and getting involved. Glos.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(3) 4-6 Fighting for Justice series. Illustrated by Yutaka Houlette. Alternating stirring free verse with informational segments (each including a relevant timeline), this book powerfully reveals the story of the young Japanese American man who protested U.S. internment camps during WWII and continued fighting for civil liberties throughout his life. Stylized illustrations accompany the verse; archival images appear throughout. Ideas for young activists and a note from Korematsu's daughter are appended. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 A peaceful protestor is jailed. When the guard burns the letters the man receives by bird, the traveling smoke becomes an international call to action. All this is relayed without words in poignant, sketchlike line and wash illustrations that appear to have been executed with fervor; an appended note cites inspiration from Amnesty International's letter-writing campaign for the wrongly imprisoned.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) 4-6 Nine-year-old Amy Anne Ollinger is used to keeping quiet, even when she has a lot to say. But when her favorite book gets banned from the school library, followed by tons of others, she decides to "finally...do something." Passages occasionally veer toward the didactic, but Amy Anne's relatability and the ambitious scope of her protest project make it easy to root for her.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) 4-6 Protest Movements series. Each volume examines the creation, background, and inspiration behind a political protest movement. In clear, accessible prose, Harris unpacks the cultural impact and reaction to events and clearly strives to consider opposing viewpoints. In particular, Black Lives and Current Age provide much-needed, balanced portrayals of contemporary activism. Photos and graphs enhance the information. Engagement exercises are peppered throughout. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Protest Movements titles: Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights Sit-Ins, Political Resistance in the Current Age, and Women's Suffrage.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) 4-6 Protest Movements series. Each volume examines the creation, background, and inspiration behind a political protest movement. In clear, accessible prose, Harris unpacks the cultural impact and reaction to events and clearly strives to consider opposing viewpoints. In particular, Black Lives and Current Age provide much-needed, balanced portrayals of contemporary activism. Photos and graphs enhance the information. Engagement exercises are peppered throughout. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Protest Movements titles: Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights Sit-Ins, Political Resistance in the Current Age, and Women's Suffrage.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) 4-6 Protest Movements series. Each volume examines the creation, background, and inspiration behind a political protest movement. In clear, accessible prose, Harris unpacks the cultural impact and reaction to events and clearly strives to consider opposing viewpoints. In particular, Black Lives and Current Age provide much-needed, balanced portrayals of contemporary activism. Photos and graphs enhance the information. Engagement exercises are peppered throughout. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Protest Movements titles: Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights Sit-Ins, Political Resistance in the Current Age, and Women's Suffrage.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) YA American Values and Freedoms series. This series (by a lawyer/American studies PhD) discusses fundamental American rights and freedoms established by the Constitution and legislative action, both the history and their evolution through time; the message is that these freedoms are continually debated. Photographs and archival documents, inserts on related topics, and chapter-ending "Discussion Starters" add interest to the informative and thought-provoking texts. Timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these American Values and Freedoms titles; Freedom of Religion, Freedom of the Press, Governmental Checks and Balances, The Right to Bear Arms, The Right to Protest, and The Right to Vote.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) 4-6 Protest Movements series. Each volume examines the creation, background, and inspiration behind a political protest movement. In clear, accessible prose, Harris unpacks the cultural impact and reaction to events and clearly strives to consider opposing viewpoints. In particular, Black Lives and Current Age provide much-needed, balanced portrayals of contemporary activism. Photos and graphs enhance the information. Engagement exercises are peppered throughout. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Protest Movements titles: Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights Sit-Ins, Political Resistance in the Current Age, and Women's Suffrage.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(4) K-3 Nagara uses a photograph of his own wedding, bride and groom kneeling before a row of riot police, as the springboard for a broader discussion on civil disobedience. Delving into campaigns in history--such as boycotts to get fair wages for farmworkers and blockades to stop oil drilling on Indigenous People's land--the personable, if rather heavy-handed, storytelling-style text is illustrated with fiery graphic art.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(4) K-3 Blast Back! series. Illustrated by Roger Simó. Ohlin briefly chronicles African Americans' struggle for civil rights from slavery to today in this small nonfiction chapter book. Topics include the KKK, Jim Crow laws, protest demonstrations, and passage of the Civil Rights and Voter Rights acts; important individuals, such as Thurgood Marshall, Dr. King, and Rosa Parks, are profiled throughout. Cartoony pen drawings seem mismatched to the seriousness of the text. Bib.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) 4-6 Middle school is hard for seventh grader Gregory (The 14 Fibs of Gregory K). Realizing that excessive homework doesn't leave time for the things he loves, like creative writing, Gregory goes on a homework strike; as Gregory researches the problem and civil disobedience, he discovers unexpected allies and a clever solution. Pincus has keen insights into early adolescence, and Gregory is a sympathetic hero.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Brock Nicol. In this historical story, based on a real experience, an African American boy becomes determined to "make change happen" in pre–civil rights Knoxville, Tennessee. He's encouraged when a white man joins their black church's pray-in protest outside a segregated department store. Both the prose and the realistic paintings are somewhat stiff, but the story clearly conveys its powerful message. Author's note included.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(3) 4-6 In 1963, thirty African American girls (ages eleven to sixteen) were arrested at a civil rights protest and secretly transported to an abandoned Civil War stockade in Georgia; unable to contact their parents, they endured horrid conditions and treatment. Employing intimate details from survivor interviews and illustrated with stirring photos, Schwartz's clear, powerful narrative will leave an impression on young readers. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello