Recommended Picture Books About Advocacy and Activism

            In this article in Social Studies and the Young Learner, Chris Hass (James Madison University) and Katie Kelly (Furman University) say inquiry-based instruction is a way to integrate civic education into daily social studies teaching. “When we invite students to investigate questions that matter to them, their communities, and the broader world,” say Hass and Kelly, “we shift the purpose of their work as budding social scientists from merely consuming facts to exploring what it means to strengthen our democracy.”

            In the article, they suggest seven picture books as catalysts for a unit on activism and advocacy, focusing on these questions: Who are people who take action? Why do these people choose to act? What does this look like? What are the outcomes?

• Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
• Drum Girl Dream: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael López
• Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson, illustrated by Sean Qualls
• Hands Around the Library: Protecting Egypt’s Treasured Books by Karen Leggett Abouraya, illustrated by Susan Roth
• Sit In: How Four Friends Stood Up for Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
• Sophia Valdez Future Prez by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts
• What Do You Do with a Voice Like That? The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan by Chris Barton, illustrated by Ekua Holmes 

“Teaching Young Learners with the C3 Framework Curiosity for the Common Good: Inquiry as a Catalyst for Civic Responsibility” by Chris Hass and Katie Kelly in Social Studies for the Young Learner, September/October 2026 (Vol. 39, #1, pp. 27-32); the authors can be reached at hasscl@jmu.edu and katie.kelly@furman.edu.

Please Note: This summary is reprinted with permission from issue #1157 of The Marshall Memo, an excellent resource for educators.