When Michel was 5 years old, he was kidnapped by a rebel militia to be trained as a child soldier. It is a graphic novel memoir of Michel’s life in the Democratic Republic of Congo during 1993. While this book is suggested for 10 years and older, I strongly recommend parents read it first before handing it over to any child under the age of 12. Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls Are Used in War by Jessica Dee Humphreys, Michel Chikwanine, and Claudia Davila It provides a comfortable platform for kids to address social issues such as racism, biracial identities, and cruelty of stereotypes. Yes, the three stories are going to interrelate, however, the transformation is sweet and understanding. Young Readers for Social Justice American Born Chinese by Gene Luen YangĪ nice easy-read for younger readers, American Born Chinese is a graphic novel consisting of three different stories: the legendary Monkey King a first-generation child of Chinese immigrants and a white American boy with a Chinese cousin who visits once a year. Because Graphic Novels and Comic Books have always been about social justice. Here’s my list of the best graphic novels and comic books for Social Justice Week. And as my interests grew bolder and my voice grew louder, I realised how important it is to have a good range of graphic novels and comic books to keep the message going. However, I was much older when I started appreciating the graphic novels that were more brazen in their message for social justice. From there, I have tasted the bittersweet flavour of social justice roll across Magneto and the Holocaust, Spider-Man and anti-intellectualism in our schools, Sam Wilson and all those bastards saying he wasn’t worthy of Cap’s Shield, and then, of course, Captain Marvel herself. My first love for comic books will always be X-Men, possibly the most well-known and least subtle in its messaging. I mean, every time a precious cis het white fanboy starts to whine about “SJ ruining comics for everyone”, there is nothing I love better than laughing back at them: “Social Justice has always been in comics!” And there is a lot to be said for the courage in comic books to lift the finger and say, “It does not need to be that way anymore.” Because graphic novels/memoirs and comics about social justice have always been here. Yet there is something powerful about breaking that sentence and rebuilding it with the strength of social justice and graphic books. “It’s always been that way.” For the record, I hate those words: It’s always been that way.

Smile graphic novel