Early youth literature focused almost wholly on didacticism, a sort of social justice of puritanical nature, moralizing youth on the straight and narrow. Today's “straight and narrow,” however, is not as clear cut, and social justice exploration through diverse youth literature is a necessary journey for modern youth. This journey steers students into knowledge about multiple cultures, races, gender roles. The author explores the history and inception of early literature for youth in this chapter, then explores ways in which modern issues may be explored in the secondary classroom through projects which both foster student engagement, as well as bring about potential class and community activism, further promoting social justice to, ideally, erase prejudice, one book at a time. While the author uses a few specific books as examples, many books fit these roles and would be relevant to these types of studies and projects.
Democracy and Social Justice in Sarajevo’s Schools