By: Cynthia Ryman, member, NCTE’s Committee on Global Citizenship
Human existence cannot be silent, nor can it be nourished by false words, but only by true words, with which [people] transform the world. —Paulo Freire, 1970
By valuing and upholding the voices and experiences of those who throughout history have worked to create a more just world, we open opportunities for meaningful dialogue, mutual respect across cultures, and hope for a better future.
One of the charges of the Committee on Global Citizenship is to encourage strategies for intercultural understanding within schools. As I began to consider the many troubling issues in the news today, I wanted to create a booklist of nonfiction texts that provide opportunities to dialogue about diverse experiences, provide perspectives on troubling issues, and encourage ethical action in confronting injustice.
In each of these books, authors and individuals show the importance of taking a stand against injustice to transform the world.
Without Separation: Prejudice, Segregation, and the Case of Roberto Alvarez by Larry Dane Brimner; illustrated by Maya Gonzalez
Based on the 1931 court battle in which Roberto Alvarez stood up against racism and school segregation in Lemon Grove, California (grades 4–6)
Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson; illustrated by Frank Morrison
Introduces the 1962 events of the Civil Rights Movement when thousands of Black children marched against injustice after hearing Martin Luther King Jr. speak (preschool–grade 3)
Sharice’s Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman by Sharice Davids with Nancy K. Mays; illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley
Based on the life of Sharice Davids, the first Indigenous congresswoman (preschool–grade 3)
Until Someone Listens: A Story about Borders, Family, and One Girl’s Mission by Estela Juarez with Lissette Norman; illustrated by Teresa Martínez
True story of Estela Juarez’s persistence in standing up to fight for her mother’s return to the US after she was deported to Mexico (preschool–grade 3)
The People’s Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art by Cynthia Levinson; illustrated by Evan Turk
An immigrant from Lithuania to the United States, Ben Shahn used art to tell the story of injustice and raised awareness of the need for civil and human rights (preschool–grade 3).
I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy; illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley
A biography of Ruth Bader Ginsburg seen through her many dissents and standing up for freedom and equity from childhood to the Supreme Court (grades 3–5)
2017 Orbis Pictus Award® for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Honor Book
If You’re a Kid Like Gavin: The True Story of a Young Trans Activist by Kyle Lukoff and Gavin Grimm; illustrated by J. Yang
Story of how Gavin stood up for his rights (preschool–grade 3)
Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh
Based on the Mendez family’s fight to end segregation in California schools (grades 1–4)
2015 Orbis Pictus Award® for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Honor Book
Cynthia Ryman teaches at California State University Monterey Bay, where her research focuses on the impact of literacy approaches that invite cosmopolitan dispositions and the critical content analysis of children’s literature. She serves as a board member of Worlds of Words: Center for Global Literacies and Literatures.
The Committee on Global Citizenship works to identify and address issues of broad concern to NCTE members interested in promoting global citizenship and connections across global contexts within the Council and within members’ teaching contexts.
It is the policy of NCTE in all publications, including the Literacy & NCTE blog, to provide a forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, the staff, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified.