Recommended Children's/YA/Reference/Resource Books
Note: There are three sections here. Scroll down to find each section.
- A Sampling of Recommended Children's and Young Adult Books about American Indians
- Books and Articles about American Indians in Children's Literature
- Books about American Indian Culture
A Sampling of Recommended Children's and Young Adult Books about American Indians (Last Update: Jan 2008)
Selected by Debbie Reese, Assistant Professor, American Indian Studies,
Please consider buying books from the non-profit organization, Oyate. Most of the books on this list are available from Oyate at www.oyate.org/catalog/.
PIC – Picture book; RF – Realistic Fiction; HF – Historical Fiction; NF – Nonfiction; P – Poetry; TL – Traditional Literature; B – Biography; AB – Autobiography; E – Elem.; M – Middle School; YA – Young Adult
Alexie, Sherman. (1994) Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight In Heaven.
Alexie,
Allen, Paula Gunn. (2001) As Long As the Rivers Flow: The Stories of Nine Native Americans.
Ancona, George. (1993) Powwow.
Ancona, George. (1995). Earth Daughter: Alicia of Acoma
Andrews, Jan. (1998). Very Last First Time. Aladdin (PIC/RF – All ages).
Archuleta, Margaret L., Brenda J. Child, and K. Tsianina Lomawaima. (2000) Away from Home:
Begay, Shonto (1995) Navajo: Visions and Voices Across the
Blacksheep, Beverly [illustrator] (2003). Baby Learns About Animals.
Blacksheep, Beverly [illustrator] (2003). Baby’s First Laugh
Blacksheep, Beverly [illustrator] (2003). Baby Learns to Count,
Blacksheep, Beverly [illustrator] (2003). Baby Learns about Colors,
Braine, Susan. (1995). Drumbeat…Heartbeat: A Celebration of the Powwow. Lerner Pub. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)
Broker, Ignatia. (1983) Night Flying Woman.
Bruchac, Joseph (2004) Hidden Roots,
Bruchac, Joseph. (1993). Fox Song. Philomel Books (PIC/RF – E/M).
Bruchac, Joseph. (1995). The Story of the Milky Way. Dial Books for Young Readers (PIC/TL – All ages).
Bruchac, Joseph. (1996). Eagle Song. Dial (PIC/RF – E/M).
Bruchac, Joseph. (1998) Arrow Over the Door.
Bruchac, Joseph. (1997) Bowman’s Store.
Bruchac, Joseph. (1996) Children of the Longhouse.
Bruchac, Joseph. (1998). Heart of a Chief. Dial (RF - M).
Bruchac, Joseph. (2001) Skeleton
Campbell, Maria. (1973) Halfbreed.
Campbell, Nicola. (2006)
Carlson, Lori Marie [ed.] (2005). Moccasin Thunder. NY: Harper Collins. (RF - YA) Short stories by Harjo, Hogan, Alexie, Smith.
Child, Brenda. (2000). Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900-1940. Bison Books Corporation. (NF – All ages)
Children of LaLoche & Friends. (1990). Byron through the Seasons. Fifth House Ltd. (PIC/RF – E/M).
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, (2005), Lincoln: U of
Crum, Robert. (1994). Eagle Drum: On the Powwow Trail with a Young Grass Dancer. Simon & Schuster. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)
De Montano, Marty Kreipe (1998) Coyote in Love with a Star.
Deloria, Ella. (1988) Waterlily.
Deloria, Vine. (1969). Custer Died For Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto.
Dorris, Michael. (1994) Guests.
Dorris, Michael (1992) Morning Girl.
Dorris, Michael. (1996). Sees Behind Trees.
Dorris, Michael. (1998). The Window. Hyperion (RF – M/YA).
Earling, Debra Magpie. (2002). Perma Red. Blue Hen Books. (RF-YA).
Eastman, Charles. (1977) From the Deep Woods to Civilization.
Eastman, Charles (1993) Indian Boyhood.
Ellis,
Erdrich, Louise. (1999). Grandmother's Pigeon. Hyperion (PIC/RF - E).
Erdrich, Louise. (1999). Birchbark House.
Erdrich, Louise. (2005) Game of Silence.
Eyvindson, Peter. (1984). Kyle’s
Eyvindson, Peter. (1988).
Gravelle, Karen. (1997). Growing Up Where the Partridge Drums Its Wings. Franklin Watts. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)
Francis, Lee. (1996). Native Time: A Historical Time Line of Native
Geiogamah, Hanay & Darby, Jaye T., (1999). Stories of Our Way: An Anthology of American Indian Plays.
Grace, Catherine O’Neill and Bruchac, Margaret. (2001). National Geographic Society. (NF – All ages)
Hale, Janet Campbell. (1993). Bloodlines.
Hale, Janet Campbell. (1998). The Owl’s Song.
Harjo, Joy. (1996) Woman Who Fell From the Sky. W. W. Norton & Company (P – YA)
Harjo, Joy. (2000). The Good Luck Cat. (PIC/RF - E/M)
Himango, Deanna. (2002). Boozhoo, Come Play With Us.
Howe, LeAnne. (2001). Shell Shaker. Aunt Lute Books. (Fiction – YA)
Howe, LeAnne. (2005). Evidence of Red: Prose and Poems. Salt Publishing. (Poetry – YA)
Hubbard, Jim. (1994) Shooting Back from the Reservation. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)
Hucko, Bruce. (1996) A Rainbow At Night: The World in Words and Pictures.
Hucko, Bruce. (1996). Where There Is No Name for Art: The Art of Tewa
Hungry Wolf,
Hunter, Sally, M. (1997) Four Seasons of Corn: A Winnebago Tradition. Photographs by Joe Allen.
Hunter, Sara Hoagland. (1996). The Unbreakable Code. Northland (PIC/RF – E/M).
Hyer, Sally. (1990). One House, One Voice, One Heart: Native American Education at the
Jaakola, Lyz. (2001). Our Journey.
Johnson, Diane Hamm. (1997). Daughter of Suqua. Albert Whitman & Co. (RF – E/M).
Keeshig-Tobias, Lenore. (1991). Bird Talk. Sister Vision (PIC/RF – E/M).
Keeshig-Tobias, Lenore. (1997). Emma and the Trees. Sister Vision (PIC/RF – E/M).
King, Sandra.
King, Thomas. (1993 ) One Good Story That One.
King, Thomas. (1991)
King, Thomas. (1992) A Coyote
King, Thomas. (2000) Truth and Bright Water. Atlantic Monthly Press. (RF – YA)
King, Thomas. (2003). The Truth about Stories.
Krull, Kathleen. (1995). One Nation, Many Tribes: How Kids Live in
Kusugak, Michael. (1993). Northern Lights: The Soccer Trails. Annick Press Ltd. (PIC/RF – E/M).
Kusugak, Michael. (1996). My Arctic 1, 2, 3. Annick Press Ltd. (PIC/RF - E).
Lacapa, Michael. (1993). Antelope Woman, An Apache Folktale. (PIC/TL – E/M)
Lacapa, Kathleen & Michael. (1994). Less Than Half, More Than Whole. Northland (PIC/RF – E/M).
LaFlesche, Francis. (1963)The Middle Five: Indian Schoolboys of the
Littlechild, George. (1993) This Land is My Land. Children’s Book Press. (PIC/RF – All ages)
Lomawaima, K. Tsianina (1994). They Called It Prairie Light.
Maher, Ramona. (2003). Alice Yazzie’s Year.
Marra, Ben. (1996) Powwow: Images Along the
McDonald, Megan. (1997). Tundra Mouse. Orchard Books (PIC/RF – E/M).
McMillan, Bruce. (1997).
McNickle, D’Arcy. (1978). Wind from an Enemy Sky. HarperCollins. (RF - YA).
McNickle, D’Arcy. (1978). The Surrounded.
McNickle, D’Arcy. (1987). Runner in the
Messinger, Carla (2007) When the Shadbush Blooms. (PIC/E-M)
Momaday, N. Scott (1974) An Angle of Geese and Other Poems.
Momaday, N. Scott (1999) Circle of Wonder.
Montour, Joel. (1996). Cloudwalker: Contemporary Native American Stories. Fulcrum (RF - M).
Moore, MariJo. (2000). The Cherokee Little People.
Moore, Marijo. (2000). The Ice
Moore, MariJo. (2000). First Fire.
Munsch, Robert. (1989). A Promise Is a Promise. Annick Press Ltd. (PIC/RF – E/M).
Okanagan Tribal Council (1999) How Food Was Given, How Names Were Given, and How Turtle Set the Animals Free. Okanagan Tribal Council. (TL – All Ages)
Orie, Sandra DeCoteau. (1995) Did You Hear Wind Sing Your Name? An
Ortiz, Simon. (1988). The People Shall Continue. Children’s Book Press. (PIC/P - all ages)
Parker, Dorothy R. (1996).
Peters, Russell. (1992) Clambake: A Wampanoag Tradition. Photographs by John Madama.
Quoyawayma, Polingaysi. (1964). No Turning Back. A Hopi Indian Woman’s Struggle to Live in Two Worlds.
Red Shirt, Delphine (1998). Bead on an Anthill: A Lakota Childhood
Regguinti, Gordon. (1992) The Sacred Harvest: Ojibway Wild Rice Gathering. Photographs by Dale Kakkak.
Rendon, Marcie. (1996) Powwow Summer: A Family Celebrates the Circle of Life. Photographs by Cheryl Walsh Bellville.
Rockwood, Joyce. (1976) To Spoil the Sun.
Roessel, Monty. (1993) Kinaaldá: A Navajo Girl Grows Up.
Roessel, Monty. (1995) Songs from the Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave.
Roessel, Ruth. (1973). Navajo Stories of the Long Walk Period.
Rose, LaVera. (1999) Grandchildren of the Lakota. Photographs by Cheryl Walsh Bellville.
Ross, Gayle (1995) How Turtle’s Back Was Cracked: A Traditional Cherokee Tale.
Ross, Gayle (1996) The Legend of the Windigo.
Ruoff, A. Lavonne Brown. (1991) Literatures of the American Indian.
Sanderson, Esther. (1990). Two Pairs of Shoes. Pemmican Publications (PIC/RF - E).
Savageau, Cheryl. (1996). Muskrat Will Be Swimming. Northland (PIC/RF – E/M).
Scott, Ann Herbert. (1992). On Mother’s Lap. Clarion (PIC/RF - E).
Sekaquaptewa, Eugene. (1994). Coyote & the Winnowing Birds. Clear Light (PIC/TL – All ages).
Skolnick, Sharon. (1997) Where Courage is Like a Wild Horse.
Smith, Cynthia. (2000). Jingle Dancer. Morrow Junior (PIC/RF – E/M).
Smith, Cynthia (1999). Rain is Not My Indian Name.
Smith, Cynthia (2002). Indian Shoes.
Sneve, Viriginia Driving Hawk (1994). The Seminoles: A First Americans Book.
Steltzer, Ulli. Building an Igloo.
Sterling, Shirley. (1997). My Name is Seepeetza. Douglas & McIntyre (RF - M).
Stroud,
Students of
Swentzell, Rina. (1992) Children of Clay: A Family of
Talashoema, Herschel; Sekaquaptewa, Emory (Ed.); & Pepper, Barbara (Ed.). (1994). Coyote & Little Turtle. Clear Light. (PIC/TL – All ages).
Tapahonso, Luci (1997). Blue Horses Rush In. Tucson:
Tapahonso, Luci. (1999). Songs of Shiprock Fair. Kiva (PIC/P – All ages).
Thompson, Sheila. (1991). Cheryl’s Potlatch. Yinka Dene Language Institute. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)
Turcotte, Mark. (1995). Songs of Our Ancestors.
Van Camp, Richard. (1998), The Lesser Blessed. Douglas & McIntyre (RF – YA)
Van Camp, Richard; ill. by George Littlechild, (1997). A Man Called Raven. Children’s Book Press. (PIC/RF – E/M)
Van Camp, Richard; ill. by George Littlechild, (1998). What’s the Most Beautiful Thing you Know about Horses. Children’s Book Press. (PIC/RF – E/M)
Van Camp, Richard. (2007) Welcome Song for Baby. (Board book – All ages).
Velarde, Pablita. (1993) Old Father Storyteller.
Waboose, Jan Bourdeau. (1998). Morning on the
Waboose, Jan Bourdeau (2001). Sky Sisters. (PIC/RF – E/M)
Wallis, Velma. (1993) Two Old Women.
Walking Turtle, Eagle. (1997). Full Moon Stories. Hyperion (TL – All ages).
Wheeler, Bernelda. (1995). Where Did You Get Your Moccasins? Peguis Publications (PIC/RF - E).
Wheeler, Bernelda. (1993). I Can’t Have Bannock but the Beaver Has a Dam. Peguis Publications (PIC/RF - E).
Whitethorne, Baje. (1994). Sunpainters: Eclipse of the Navajo Sun. Northland (PIC/TL – All ages).
Wittstock, Laura Waterman. (1993). Ininatig's Gift of Sugar: Traditional Native Sugarmaking. Photographs by Dale Kakkak.
Wood, Ted. (1992). A Boy Becomes a Man at
Yamane, Linda. (1997) Weaving a
Recommended Resources about Native Americans in Children’s Literature:
Caldwell-Wood, Naomi, and Lisa A. Mitten. (1991) “I” Is Not for Indian: The Portrayal of Native Americans in Books for Young People. http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/ailabib.htm
Internet Public Library: Native American Authors. Provides a list of Native American authors, plus a short biography, a list of published works, and links to relevant sites. http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/
Kuipers, Barbara. (1991) American Indian Reference Books for Children and Young Adults.
McCann, D. (1993). Native Americans in Books for the Young. In V. Harris (Ed.) Teaching Multicultural Literature in Grades K-8.
Mendoza, Jean and Reese, Debbie. (2001). Examining Multicultural Picture Books for the Early Childhood Classroom: Possibilities and Pitfalls. Early Childhood Research and Practice 3 (2), On-line: http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v3n2/mendoza.html
Molin, Paulette. (2005). American Indian Themes in Young Adult Literature.
Native American Books. This on-line resource contains critical reviews of children’s books. http://www.kstrom.net/isk/books/bookmenu.html
Reese, Debbie A., & Caldwell-Wood, Naomi. (1997). Native Americans in Children's Literature. In V. J. Harris (Ed.), Using Multiethnic Literature in the K-8 Classroom. Christopher Gordon, Inc.
Reese, Debbie. (2001). Representations of Native American Women and Girls in Children’s Historical Fiction, in Lehr, Susan. (Ed.)
Beauty, Brains & Brawn: Construction of Gender in Children’s Literature.
Reese, Debbie. (1999). Authenticity & Sensitivity: Goals on writing and reviewing books with Native American themes. School Library Journal 45 (11), pp. 36-37. On-line: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA153126.html
Reese, Debbie A. (1998). “Look Mom! It’s George! He’s a TV Indian!” Horn Book Magazine, 74(5), pp. 636-641.
Seale, Doris, & Slapin, Beverly. (2006). A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children.
Slapin, Beverly, & Seale, Doris. (1998). Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children.
Smith, Cynthia L. Native American Themes in Books for Children and Teens. Start exploring Smith’s site with this page: http://cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/diversity/native_am/NativeThemes_intro.html
Smithsonian Institution. A Critical Bibliography on North American Indians for K-12. An extensive site, arranged by geographical area. http://www.nmnh.si.edu/anthro/outreach/Indbibl/index.html
Thompson, M.K. (Sept: 2001) “A sea of good intentions: Native Americans in books for children.” The Lion and the Unicorn.
Tyler, Rhonda Harris (Jul/Aug 2000) “Indian in the Cupboard: A Case Study in Perspective” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), Vol. 13, Issue 4
Recommended Professional Resources. Books and websites listed here can help teachers and librarians locate books, do fact checking, and gain insight and awareness of issues related to Native culture and Native perspectives.
Aperture.(1995) Strong Hearts: Native American Visions and Voices.
American Indian Library Association website: http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/aila.html
Berkhofer, Robert E. (1978). The White Man’s Indian.
Bigelow, Bill. (1998). Rethinking
Cubbins, E.M. (1999) Techniques for Evaluating American Indian Web Sites. An excellent page with substantive information.http://www.u.arizona.edu/~ecubbins/webcrit.html
Davis, Mary B. (1996). Native
Deloria, Phillip. (1998). Playing Indian.
Hirschfelder, Arlene; Molin, Paulette Fairbanks; & Wakim, Yvonne. (1999). American Indian Stereotypes in the World of Children. Scarecrow Press.
Hoxie, Frederick E. (1996). Encyclopedia of North American Indians.
Mitten, Lisa. Native American Home Pages. http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/indians.html
Reese, Debbie. (1996) Teaching Young Children about Native Americans. ERIC Digest.
Reese, Debbie. (1997). Thoughts on Not Seeing Oneself. Gender and Culture in Picture Books,
Seale, Doris, B. Slapin, & C. Silverman. (1998) Thanksgiving: A Native Perspective.
Smithsonian Institution. Erasing Native American Stereotypes. An essay based on work done by June Sark Heinrich, Council on Books for Interracial Children, 1977 http://www.nmnh.si.edu/anthro/outreach/sterotyp.html
Stedman, Raymond William. (1982). Shadows of the Indian.
Womack, Craig. (1999) Red on Red: Native American Literary Separatism.









5 comments:
Greetings, I was reading some blogs and came across your blog. I'm quite impressed , with how it has a good feel. This is one to watch.
Regards,
how to birding
Have you seen the books by Ani Rucki? She worked with American Indians for the stories and drew the
art herself:
Turkey's gift to the people (the bird not the country)
The Earth wakes.
Ellen,
I do not know her books. If you have a copy in front of you, look for a page with an author's note, or a source note of some kind. Can you post here what it says?
When I consider a folktale, some things I look for are:
1) Is the person listed as the author listed as a "reteller"? That is, on the cover, is the book "By Ani Rucki" or "Retold by Ani Rucki."
2) In the author's note, does Rucki say where she heard the story, or what source she found it in?
3) If Rucki provides info about source, does she provide enough detail so that I could find the source if I wanted to?
4) In the author's note, does Rucki tell the reader the ways in which she changed/edited the story and why?
4) In a couple of reviews, there is mention that this is a Navajo folktale. How is that information provided in the book? Is it implied in the story itself or stated on the cover or title page?
I hope you will return to the blog and that you can answer the questions above.
Thanks,
Debbie
Debbie,
I am a preschool teacher and I am sensitive to my responsibility to represent the Native American Indian correctly. I have been searching high and low for literature to present to the children. I thank you for your Blog and list of books. I am doing a research paper for one of my classes and I am going to include your blog URL, so the other teachers in the class can refernce the material.
Forever Grateful
Diana McCann
Many thanks for a very useful list, especially for breaking down as you did.
We're a home educating family in rural western Canada, and historical fiction and nonfiction are pretty popular with my kids. I'm especially happy to see "Fort Chipewyan Homecoming" on the list, since Ft. Chip isn't too far away from us.
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