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American Indian Titles


These booklists are provided by Debbie Reese at American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL). AICL provides critical perspectives and analysis of indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books, the school curriculum, popular culture, and society. Scroll down for the listing with details and a synopsis review by Debbie Reese. Read Debbie's blog at http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/.

 

 

Elementary

 
 




 
           
           

Middle School/Junior High



   

 
   

High School

 
   
 

     



Elementary
$12.95
ISBN-13: 9780803216402
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Bison Books, 1/2008
Reese review: This story about how the animals brought fire to the Earth begins with a note about the appropriate time of year to share it and explains that Native stories are more than entertainment; they have purpose and meaning to Native people who tell them in the present day. Sandoval’s rich watercolor palette denotes the colors in fire, thereby echoing the story. DVD version available from University of Nebraska Press.



$8.95
ISBN-13: 9781933693200
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Cinco Puntos Press, 4/2008
Reese review: Set in the 1800s, this story about the friendship between a Choctaw girl and an enslaved African boy dramatically evolves into one about responsibility for others and their well-being. Dramatic acrylic illustrations boldly reflect the time and the peoples at the heart of this compelling tale.




The Good Luck Cat (Hardcover)

$17.00
ISBN-13: 9780152321970
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Harcourt Children's Books, 4/2000
Reese review: With her opening words, “I have a cat…,” Harjo tugs on the experiences of many children. As the story develops, though, Native children will grin as they read or hear the words “beaded earrings” and “powwow” on the second page. Through Woogie, the cat, depicted in delightful acrylic paintings, Harjo simultaneously affirms and informs readers about present-day Natives.




$10.95
ISBN-13: 9780816529353
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: University of Arizona Press, 10/2010
Reese review: Land, culture, and community join two Native brothers as characters in this story about the well-being and survival of a people. These five characters embody significant roles as the brothers set out on a difficult journey to help their people. Lacapa’s exquisite illustrations set the pace as readers ponder the sacred nature of knowledge and spirituality.




Jingle Dancer (Hardcover)

$17.99
ISBN-13: 9780688162412
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: HarperCollins, 4/2000
Reese review: Jenna is Muscogee and Ojibway. With the help of her family, she is able to get enough tin jingles to make her dress sing and is able to participate for the first time in the jingle dance at an upcoming powwow. With gorgeous watercolor illustrations of Jenna’s home and suburban neighborhood, this story is an exquisite presentation of present-day Native life.




Shi-Shi-Etko (Hardcover)

$18.95
ISBN-13: 9780888996596
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Groundwood Books, 9/2005
Reese review: The experiences of a brother and sister forced by government policy to attend residential schools, the Canadian equivalent of U.S. boarding schools for Native children, are the heart of these two picture books. With their family, the siblings engage in activities that nurture their Native identity, a sharp contrast to the “kill the Indian/save the man” philosophy of the schools. The palette of the first book is warm, conveying the richness of home life. In the second, predominant tones are glaring in quality, reflecting the harsh experience of life at school.




Shin-Chi's Canoe (Hardcover)

$18.95
ISBN-13: 9780888998576
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Groundwood Books, 7/2008

Skysisters (Paperback)

$8.95
ISBN-13: 9781550746990
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Kids Can Press, 9/2002
Reese review: Two Ojibway sisters bundle up and head outdoors for a walk on a cold night. They lie in the snow, looking up at the sky, gazing at the SkySpirits, known to others as the Northern Lights. Deines’s palette perfectly captures the northern cold and the warm relationship the girls have with one another and those around them.




$16.95
ISBN-13: 9780884482703
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Tilbury House Publishers, 6/2005
Reese review: As a family transports its home and belongings for the winter, a toddler accidentally falls from the family sled. One by one, the animals of the forest encircle and protect him until his father returns. Detailed watercolors bring this story of physical and emotional warmth to life. The final page includes information on the Passamaquoddy people, and the story can be heard in Passamaquoddy and English here.




$15.95
ISBN-13: 9781582461922
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Tricycle Press, 9/2007
Reese review: “When the leaves fly like red and yellow wings, and nuts tumble from the trees, Dad makes the house snug and warm before cold weather.” Lenni Lenape people are at the heart of this story narrated by a young girl. One side shows a family before contact with Europeans, while the facing page presents a contemporary family engaged in the same activity. This format and warm acrylic illustrations beautifully challenge the false notion that Indians vanished.



Middle and Junior High

$9.95
ISBN-13: 9780888996961
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Groundwood Books, 11/2005
Reese review: Forced to choose between going to jail or sending their son to residential school, Lawrence’s parents opt for the latter. The summer before the 10-year-old’s departure is spent with family and community, learning and making memories that will flow like rivers, sustaining him in the harsh conditions of the residential school. Light-filled watercolors convey the beauty of the land and warmth of family relationships.




The Birchbark House (Paperback)

$6.99
ISBN-13: 9780786814541
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Hyperion, 6/2002
Reese review: At the heart of this story is Omakayas, an Ojibwe girl. Rich in cultural detail, this is an enthralling story about first contacts between Natives and Europeans. Conflict is presented honestly, yet thoughtfully, without demonizing or dehumanizing the “other.” The first in a series, it was followed by The Game of Silence (2005) and The Porcupine Year (2008). Audio version available from Audio Bookshelf.




Hidden Roots (Paperback)

$5.99
ISBN-13: 9780439353595
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Scholastic Paperbacks, 2/2006
Reese review: In this sensitively told story, Sonny comes to learn that he is Abenaki and why his Native heritage has been kept secret. With compelling characters, Bruchac brings the Vermont Eugenics Project, a shameful government sterilization program ended in 1936, out of hiding. Through Sonny and his grandfather, readers learn of a brutal policy inflicted on American Indians. This title deserves extended discussion in every classroom.




Indian Shoes (Hardcover)

$15.99
ISBN-13: 9780060295318
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: HarperCollins, 4/2002
Reese review: Through the Relocation Programs of the 1950s, American Indians were moved to major cities in the United States. Finding each other, they created supportive indigenous communities. Through short stories featuring Ray Halfmoon and his grandfather, Smith presents one urban Indian family living in Chicago. The title story is especially heartrending as it reflects the love Ray has for his grandfather.




$10.95
ISBN-13: 9780888991652
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Groundwood Books, 6/1998
Reese review: In this adventure story, 14-year-old Joe High Elk finds a hand-painted Lakota historical calendar called a winter count. Readers intrigued by recent museum exhibits of these pictographic calendars will find this story especially satisfying.




$16.99
ISBN-13: 9780688173975
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: HarperCollins, 7/2001
Reese review: Sterling recounts her brutal experiences in a Canadian residential school. Knowing the events in the book actually happened to the author as a young girl renders them all the more painful.




Sees Behind Trees (Paperback)

$4.99
ISBN-13: 9780786813575
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Hyperion Books, 1/1900
Reese review: In this pre-contact story, nearsighted Walnut’s coming-of-age and name “Sees Behind Trees” could not happen without his mother, who teaches her son how to use all of his senses, and Otter, the tribe’s weroance (leader). The story thereby rests on communal responsibility that is at the heart of Native communities and their survival.




$9.99
ISBN-13: 9780786816576
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Hyperion, 9/2004
Reese review: For decades, Native people have protested the use of Native imagery for school mascots. This story, based on the author’s family experience, chronicles teenage Evan’s efforts to rid his school of its mascot. Though his activism is rebuffed and met with taunts, the novel ends on an optimistic note. This timely story, told in free verse, may prove useful in schools currently examining such practices.







High School

$11.99
ISBN-13: 9780316013697
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 4/2009
Reese review: Alexie tells an enthralling story that creates opportunities to explore many dimensions of Native life: Indians and Thanksgiving, reservation life, family relationships, boarding school, basketball, mascots, fitting in, and spam (the meat and the email). A laugh-out-loud read, the novel evokes sadness, too. Forney’s cartoon illustrations invite study for the stories they tell as well. Audio version available from Recorded Books.




$14.95
ISBN-13: 9780816517282
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: University of Arizona Press, 5/1997
Reese review: This collection begins with a preface that grounds readers in Tapahonso’s life as a Diné (Navajo) daughter, mother, and professor whose accent diminishes when she leaves her reservation for the university. Through the stories and poems about change, conflict, death, and birth, the author relates how her heritage sustains her in tangible (mutton) and intangible (spirituality) ways.




The Lesser Blessed (Paperback)

$16.00
ISBN-13: 9781550545258
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Douglas & McIntyre, 4/2004
Reese review: This extraordinary adult novel excels as a young adult story. Larry is a teenage Dogrib boy whose life includes alcohol, violence, and sex. Realistically drawn, his story is raw and unsettling, yet, in Van Camp’s skilled hands, the account is not depressing. From start to finish, Larry’s Native culture and history are gracefully infused into the compelling narrative.




$18.95
ISBN-13: 9780816519309
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: University of Arizona Press, 7/1999
Reese review: In the title story, an elderly Acoma man’s questions about the pursuit of knowledge point to the wisdom or lack thereof in society. In one selection set in San Francisco, a Native father comes upon hippies who want to be Indians. An outstanding collection by an accomplished author.




$16.99
ISBN-13: 9780066239576
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: HarperTeen, 10/2005
Reese review: In this astounding collection of stories by gifted–and acclaimed–Native writers, names known in children’s literature (Bruchac, Smith, Van Camp, Erdrich, Alexie, and Harjo) are joined by those who write for adults: Linda Hogan, Greg Sarris, Susan Power, and Lee Francis. Refreshing for their honesty and subject matter, the narratives are edgy, unsettling, and inspiring.




$15.95
ISBN-13: 9780873511674
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Borealis Books, 1/1983
Reese review: Questions from her children about their heritage prompted Broker to write this account of the life of her great-great-grandmother, Oona (Night Flying Woman), who lived in the 1800s. Oona’s people repeatedly moved in an effort to maintain their way of life, but over time they eventually adopted white ways of living. In telling Oona’s story, Broker shares Ojibway beliefs and traditions with readers.




$21.95
ISBN-13: 9781554511006
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Annick Press, 8/2007

This title is out of print or has limited availability. Email for information.
ISBN-13: 9781877727962
Availability: Out of Print
Published: White Pine Press (NY), 2/2000
Reese review: This anthology includes Drew Hayden Taylor’s satire “Oh, Just Call Me an Indian” and the hilarious “Needles” by Tehanetorens/Ray Fadden about a porcupine he raises. Also included are retellings of traditional tales and new stories about men who voice anger over beer named “Crazy Horse Malt Liquor” and stories about community. A rich and far-ranging collection.




$14.95
ISBN-13: 9780803219045
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Bison Books, 4/2009
Reese review: An unusual story by a Dakota woman who worked as a research assistant for famed anthropologist Franz Boaz. Deloria’s identity and her academic study infuse her account of her life during the early period of Dakota/white contact with depth and authenticity.