The List, Thus Far

I have been wanting to compile the list of books I have reviewed, am excited to share with kids and recommend to adults. So here it is....

This list includes books that I like to call "Liberation Literature"

I define Liberation Literature as a book deals with one, or more, of the following topics:

1. Portrays loving respectful relationships between people, regardless of gender
2. Shows adults giving children autonomy and treating them with respect
3. Does not place rigid gender boundaries, or deals with the idea of gender as something other than binary
4. Shows family structures outside of the assumed "nuclear family" model
5. Portrays people of color as the lead character/ majority of the characters, without necessarily needing their ethnicity as a plot point
6. Uses cultural references from other sources than the "white/ christian" American perceived norm, especially without necessarily needing it as a plot point
7. Portrays working class, low income or transient folks with a normalcy and respect
8. Portrays life outside the capitalist system
9. Illustrates people living in/  or working to live in harmony with their surroundings
10. Questions the dominant culture of sexism, racism, heterosexism, classism and environmental devastation in a clever, beautiful, or profound way.


My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis Illustrated by Suzanne DeSimone


Looking Like Me by Walter Dean Myers Illustrated by Christopher Myers

Tough Chicks by Cece Meng Illustrated by Melissa Suber


All Kind of Families by Mary Ann Hoberman Illustrated by Marc Boutavant


Not One Damsel in Distress; World Folktales for Strong Girls by Jane Yolen Illustrated by Susan Guevara

When the Moon is Full; A Lunar Year by Penny Pollack Illustrated by Mary Azarian 


Hush Little Baby by Sylvia Long 


We Were Tired of Living in a House byLiesel Moak Skorpen Illustrated by Doris Burn


This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie Illustrated by Kathy Jakobsen


Just Like Me; Stories and Self- Portraits by Fourteen Artists ed. by Harriet Rohmer


Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman Illustrated by Diana Souza


And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell


In Our Mother's House by Patricia Polacco


Uncle Bobby's Wedding by Sarah S. Brannen


The Family Book by Todd Parr


King and King and Family by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland


King and King by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland


Old MacDonald had a Woodshop by Lisa Shulman Illustrated by Ashley Wolff


Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne Illustrated by Giselle Potter


Free to Be, You and Me by Marlo Thomas and Friends


Night Shift Daddy by Eileen Spinelli, Illustrated by Melissa Iwai 


Smoky Night by Eve Bunting, Illustrated by David Diaz


The Table Where Rich People Sit by Byrd Baylor, Illustrated by Peter Parnell


The Tin Forest by Helen Ward and Wayne Anderson


The Dumpster Diver by Janet S. Wong, Illustrated by David Roberts


Stories For Free Children ed. by Letty Cottin Pogrebin


The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco


Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey