Children’s books which teach lessons

I don't mean like maths and science, but fiction which informs kids about societal issues. What's your opinion of these nowadays?

I was born in the last century and my recall of kids' books from my youth was that a lot of them had a lesson in them, usually about race and/or feminism (very occasionally homophobia). However I also remember authors who were willing to take risks and be anarchic as well as include the point they were making, which drew me to those books. Nowadays I have heard opinions such as "If a character in a book says something racist another character should immediately correct them" and there has been a lot of discussion around cancelling and representation in YA as well. I also noticed that a lot of books for very small children which are coming out now focus on antiracism and gender issues.

I agree with this strongly because books help build a kid's mind and their understanding of the world around them. But those books I've read don't seem to have that streak of mischief which appealed to me so much as a kid, going more for the straight down the line presentation of an issue. Is that your perception or am I reading the wrong books? If so can you recommend me the right ones?