Art Coulson and Madelyn Goodnight's LOOK GRANDMA! NI, ELISI! featured in Reading Rainbow Live

Note from Debbie on Nov 28, 2023: Due to my concerns over Art Coulson's claim of being Cherokee, I am no longer recommending his books.  

This morning (Saturday, Feb 12, 2022) I saw that Art Coulson and Marilyn Goodnight's Look Grandma! Ni, Elisi! is included in Reading Rainbow Live's first event on March 6th. The theme is "Kid Inventors." Here's a screen cap from my phone: 

Congrats, Art and Marilyn! I've been sharing your book when I do professional development. I am utterly delighted to see this news! 

Teachers, parents, librarians: if you haven't seen Look Grandma! Ni, Elisi! yet, you are missing out on a terrific story. Here's the description from the publisher's website:

Bo wants to find the perfect container to show off his traditional marbles for the Cherokee National Holiday. It needs to be just the right size: big enough to fit all the marbles, but not too big to fit in his family's booth at the festival. And it needs to look good! With his grandmother's help, Bo tries many containers until he finds just the right one. A playful exploration of volume and capacity featuring Native characters and a glossary of Cherokee words.

This is one of my favorite books from 2021 and it is on AICL's Best Books of 2021 list. 

Highly Recommended: THE FIRE by Thomas Peacock

 

The Fire
Written by Thomas Peacock (Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe)
Illustrations by Anna Granholm
Published by Black Bears & Blueberries
Published in 2021
Reviewer: Jean Mendoza
Review Status: Highly Recommended

I'm very happy to add a title to our 2021 Recommended Books list: Thomas Peacock's The Fire. This is my "short and sweet" review. As you may remember, "short and sweet" reviews are not in-depth; they cover four reasons for our decision about a particular book. 

Here's how the publisher, Black Bears & Blueberries, describes The Fire.

This story is a fictionalized account of the Great Fire of 1918 based on an interview of Elizabeth (Betty) Gurno, a Fond du Lac Reservation elder. Betty was a little girl when the fire swept the area. The Fire of 1918 destroyed the city of Cloquet, Minnesota and surrounding communities, including the Fond du Lac Reservation, and resulted in the loss of many lives.

Author Thomas Peacock frames Betty's telling of the story within a later-day classroom scene in Minnesota. Betty has come to her grandchild's classroom to share her memories of the fire. 

First reason to recommend The Fire: It focuses on Indigenous people's experience during a catastrophic event, and joins a fairly small pool of exciting and moving historical fiction picture books told from an Indigenous perspective. In The Fire, Ojibwe oral history is at the center. The author uses some words in Ojibwemowin and refers to Ojibwe traditions (such as offering asemaa, tobacco, to an elder who shares wisdom). 

Second reason: It's timely. Wildland fires have affected communities around the country in recent years. Children are wondering how such fires can happen, how people survive them, and what happens afterward. Young readers may want to do further research about the Great Fire of 1918, using sources like the National Weather Service article and a dedicated page on the Library of Congress Web site. 

Third reason: The illustrations amplify the storytelling. There's plenty of drama in the pictures. Burning boards fly through the air; dozens of animals join the people in the river as the fire rages. But there are also some important, more subtle touches. Look closely at the page that shows Betty's grandparents warning her family about the fire. The hazy trees and yellowish sky behind the horse and buggy aren't just meant to be pretty. That's the smoke, already drifting into Fond du Lac, a silent warning. 

Fourth reason: The story manages to locate modest, honest hope and affirmation in the aftermath of the disaster. Readers learn that no Ojibwe people died, but "more than four hundred fifty of our non-Native neighbors were lost in the fire," and several non-Native towns burned to the ground. (For comparison, I checked the estimated death toll of the Chicago Fire of 1871 -- around 300.) Grandma Betty recounts that her grandmother's home escaped the fire, and she shared what food she had with other Fond du Lac families, most of whom had lost everything. I love the final words of Grandma Betty's storytelling: "We help each other. That is what we do." (It reminds me of the values behind Richard Van Camp's little board book, May We Have Enough to Share.)

I also love that when Betty ends her storytelling, the children line up to hug her. Maybe that's a classroom custom. But I think it also shows that the children are moved by this elder's story of the trauma she and their community endured, and they are caring for her in their way, years afterward.

The Fire is a valuable book to have on your shelves, and to share with children you know.

 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: THE SEA IN WINTER

 

The Sea in Winter
By Christine Day (Upper Skagit)

Published by Heartdrum

Published in 2021

Reviewed by Jean Mendoza

Review Status: Highly Recommended

Back in September 2020, Debbie blogged about her positive reaction to reading the ARC of Christine Day's second novel for young people -- The Sea in Winter. Since then, the book has gotten positive critical attention, including a Kirkus starred review and School Library Journal "Best Book". Here, finally, is my "short and sweet" AICL review. 

The publisher, Heartdrum, says this about The Sea in Winter:

It’s been a hard year for Maisie Cannon, ever since she hurt her leg and could not keep up with her ballet training and auditions. Her blended family is loving and supportive, but Maisie knows that they just can’t understand how hopeless she feels.... Maisie is not excited for their family midwinter road trip along the coast, near the Makah community where her mother grew up. But soon, Maisie’s anxieties and dark moods start to hurt as much as the pain in her knee. How can she keep pretending to be strong when on the inside she feels as roiling and cold as the ocean?

Reason One to recommend The Sea in Winter: The sense of place. 

The author writes from the heart when she describes the story's setting. It's good to have a book about a contemporary middle schooler, that celebrates geoduck clams and the removal of the Elwha River dam. It's set in much the same part of the continent as a certain popular vampire-and-werewolf series, but Day's storytelling is noticeably more attuned to the landforms, the weather, the animals, the sea. 

Reason Two: Respect for advocacy and activism. 

Advocacy for social and environmental justice, and for Indigenous rights, are natural parts of family life in Maisie's world. For example, readers learn that her family has been directly affected by treaty rights to harvest shellfish, and removal of dams that kept salmon from spawning in local rivers. And conflict around the 1999 Makah whale hunt (the tribe's first effort to hold its traditional hunt in 70 years) forced an important decision for some of Maisie's Makah relatives. 

Reason Three: The protagonist's unique perspective. 

The Sea in Winter offers the young reader a window on the experience of a child with an unusual level of ambition. Most children Maisie's age haven't discovered an activity that inspires the kind of commitment she has to ballet. What is it like, at age 12, to have your entire life, including peer friendships, revolve around ballet, because you love it that much? Who else understands such dedication? And how do you cope, at age 12, when you face the loss of your beautiful dream? Is that what depression feels like?

Reason Four: Maisie's solid, loving Native family. 

Leo Tolstoy famously, or infamously, wrote, "All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Though Maisie's family faces some challenges, including Maisie's depression, they are fundamentally "happy" together -- affectionate, thoughtful, supportive, respectful of boundaries, and knowledgeable about their Native identities. But they're by no means ordinary, stereotypical, or indistinguishable from other fictional families that are doing essentially okay. The author makes them interesting, not merely quirky or weird, as individuals and as a unit. 

In short, I add my voice to the chorus of recommendations: Read and share The Sea in Winter with young people in your life!

Highly Recommended: ON THE TRAPLINE by David A. Robertson and Julie Flett

 

On the Trapline

Written by David A. Robertson (Member, Norway House Cree Nation)

Illustrated by Julie Flett (Cree-Métis)

Published by Tundra Books

Published in 2021

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Status: Highly Recommended

****

When most kids visit or travel with a grandparent to a special place, they drive or fly on a commercial airplane. For this trip, this grandfather and grandson start out on a small propeller airplane. 

On the Trapline is based on Robertson's visit--with his father--to his father's trapline. In the book launch he talked about going to that trapline. His father had not been to it since his childhood. Robertson had never seen it. For that father and son, then, it was a special moment when they would be walking, together, on homelands known to the father but not to the son. When his father stepped onto that homeland, Robertson said (in the book launch) that his dad seemed younger. Many of you may have had an experience like that with someone you love. I have. There is a joy that radiates from within. For me, and for Robertson, there is also a quiet to it all. Filled with so much! 

The visit that Robertson and his father took to the trapline became the exquisite picture book, On the Trapline. On the way to the trapline, the grandson asks questions about things he sees, and about things his grandfather talks about. Readers learn, for example, about the school Moshom went to where "all of us had to talk about learn in English." The grandson asks "Did you still get to speak Cree?" and his grandfather replies, "My friends and I snuck into the bush so we could speak our language." That language is on most pages of the book. On the page about Moshom's school, you'll find this sentence:

Ininimowin means "Cree language."

That is a deceptively simple set of words. They seem straightforward, and yet, they are filled with meaning! Here's a bit of the art that Julie Flett created for that page:

See? Children, in the bush. They look like they are playing. I imagine they are--but as they do--they speak to each other in Cree. 

When they get to the trapline, "Moshom's eyes light up." He points and says "That's my trapline." Then, there's more and more and more for this young Cree boy to learn about his grandfather's life on the trapline. 

Robertson and Flett's book received starred reviews from the major review journals. This occurred before, when they worked together on When We Were Alone. As was the case then, I highly recommend you get a copy of On the Trapline. 

 

Highly Recommended! CLASSIFIED:THE SECRET CAREER OF MARY GOLDA ROSS, CHEROKEE AEROSPACE ENGINEER, by Traci Sorell and Natasha Donovan

 

Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer

Written by Traci Sorell (Cherokee)

Illustrated by Natasha Donovan (Métis)

Published by Millbrook Press

Published in 2021

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

****

Sorell's Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer is receiving starred reviews from the major children's literature review journals. And, I'll add, with good reason! Sorell is Cherokee. The book, focusing on a Cherokee aerospace engineer, is tribally specific. And people interested in STEM will love what they'll find in this picture book. You can read it aloud, and you can watch the video format where DeLanna Studi provides the narration. Like Sorell, she is Cherokee. 

Back when I was a kid, I liked biographies and I would have liked this biography of Mary Golda Ross. Some things beckon to me in a personal sense. She worked at Santa Fe Indian School as a girls advisor. My parents and grandparents went there, and I taught there for awhile. I didn't know about her, then. From what I can tell, she worked at SFIS after my grandmother was there, and before my parents attended the school. The timeline in the back of the book says she was there to advise female students. These advisors played significant roles! I remember both my parents talking fondly about their advisors.  

The word "classified" is part of the title because Ross was part of the Skunk Works division, which was a top-secret group working on planes that could fly beyond Earth. Hence, "aerospace" is also part of the title. One page of the book says that "She designed concepts for space travel to Venus and Mars" and her work helped send astronauts to the moon! That is, to use a Cherokee word, osdadv! 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her, and studying the illustrations Natasha Donovan did for the book. Teachers will love all the materials Sorell has on her webpage for the book. Scroll down to find the Teaching Guide, a Resource Toolkit, and a classroom poster. Scroll down even further to find audio files for Cherokee words. 

Highly Recommended: THE OTHER TALK: RECKONING WITH OUR WHITE PRIVILEGE by Brendan Kiely

the OTHER talk: reckoning with OUR my white privilege*

by Brendan Kiely, with an introduction by Jason Reynolds

Published by Simon & Schuster

Publication in 2021

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

****

In the last few years, the word "reckoning" has appeared a lot. In meaning, it has to do with facing up to truths. Way back in the 1990s when I started graduate school, I read White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh. She was learning whites are taught not to recognize white privilege. It was, she wrote, unacknowledged privilege. It was vivid writing that stuck with me.

As I read Brendan Kiely's the OTHER talk: reckoning with OUR my white privilege, I thought back to McIntosh's essay. It was published in 1989. In a way, what Kiely offers to us, 32 years later, is a more in-depth reckoning. I'm sure McIntosh got push back for what she wrote, and I wonder what sorts of pushback Kiely is getting for his book. We are in a very heated period in society. Social media has been a great tool for social justice but it has also been used in harmful ways. I don't want to go on about that, so I'll turn back to the book.

Those of you who pay attention to visibility or invisibility of groups of people in the US know that one report after another leaves Native people off, or uses an asterisk that says data on us is statistically insignificant, so none is provided. In chapter 15 of the OTHER talk, Kiely writes about an anti-racist training he went to, where Native people were not included in an exercise the group was doing. He and others there did not notice that omission, but then, he writes (p. 154):

The facilitators were about to move on to their next exercise when a Native American woman in the audience stood up. She wanted to know why the racetrack model, why the entire workshop, did not include or allude to, in any way, Indigenous people in the United States. "This," she went on to explain, "is the kind of erasure we face every day." 

Kiely writes that he was floored. The facilitators had not realized what they were doing, and neither had he or other participants. It seems to me that one wave of realization was washing over him when another one struck. What made it all worse, he says, is that the workshop was taking place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and part of the focus was to acknowledge local Indigenous cultures. Each day, the conference started with a welcome from the Navajo, Apache, or Pueblo Nations. He recounts all that, and more, on those pages. 

There's more to that experience in chapter 15 than what I shared above, but I'm sitting with that particular part of it. It happens to Native people all the time. We're here, right here beside you, and still so unseen, on lands that were/are homelands to Native people. The welcome to the workshop (provided by Native people) feels to me a lot like land acknowledgements. Something is said, and then forgotten.  Kiely's book starts with praise for the book, offered by a wide range of people. I assume his publisher sought out people to write those paragraphs of praise. I can't help but notice there is not a Native person amongst them. That, I think, is unfortunate but also reflects precisely what spoke to me about that passage in chapter 15 of the book. 

I deeply appreciate that Kiely shared that experience in Albuquerque.  There are other reasons why I'm highly recommending the OTHER talk but I'll leave that for you to find, on your own. 

Get a copy and talk about it with others. It is written for young people, but every adult should read it, too. As far as I know, neither Kiely or Jason Reynolds are Native. 

*I was not able to include "my" as a strike-thru on the title for this blog post. It is part of the title of the book. 

Highly Recommended! LOOK GRANDMA! NI, ELISI! by Art Coulson; illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight

Note from Debbie on Nov 28, 2023: Due to my concerns over Art Coulson's claim of being Cherokee, I am no longer recommending his books.  

Look, Grandma! Ni, Elisi! 

Written by Art Coulson (Cherokee Nation)

Illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw Nation)

Published by Charlesbridge

Publication Year: 2021

Reviewed by Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

****

Look at the cover of Look, Grandma! Ni, Elisi! See the purple rectangle on the top right corner that says "storytelling MATH" in it? This book is a story about math! And I am delighted to share it with AICL's readers. On the first double-paged spread we meet Bo. In his hands is a large stone marble. He's drawn a redbird on it and is showing it to his Uncle Ben. "Osdadv" his uncle says to him. That word is in the glossary at the back of the book. It means very good, or, excellent. Next time you want to say "Awesome" or "Good" or something like that to someone, say osdadv instead. 

Coulson's book offers so much! From teaching you Cherokee words that you can use, to telling you about diyadayosdi (Cherokee marbles). It is a game played with balls that are the size of the ones people use to play pool. In the back of the book, we learn how the game is played and that it is played every year during the Cherokee National Holiday. But there's more! 

In this story, Bo makes the balls. This year, his uncle has told him he can help sell them at their booth at the Cherokee National Holiday. Having been to many Native gatherings where Native people sell traditional and contemporary items they make--and especially right now (November/December)--I wish I was at the ones where my sister and her daughter are selling baked goods! Last week, I was looking at photos of their booth, noticing how they lay out all their goods. Planning what to put, where, and how, is important! That's the task for Bo. He can sell his marbles but he needs a container for them and it has to be a specific size. What we have, in Coulson's story, is an exercise in volume. Bo has to find just the right container for his marbles. When I started out teaching way back in the 1980s, I taught kindergarten and first grade. I would have loved to use this book with my students! In addition to the glossary in back and information about the game, there's a page about volume, and some "Try This!" STEM activities.

Get a copy! And give a copy to a teacher during this holiday season. And if you sell Native books at a holiday gathering, put Coulson's book on that table!

I highly recommend Look, Grandma! Ni, Elisi! 

  

Highly Recommended: JO JO MAKOONS, THE USED-TO-BE BEST FRIEND by Dawn Quigley; illustrations by Tara Audibert

 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:

Jo Jo Makoons, The Used-to-Be Best Friend

Written by Dawn Quigley (Citizen, Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe)

Illustrated by Tara Audibert (Wolastoqey)

Published by Heartdrum

Publication Year: 2021

Reviewed by Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

****

Today's Short and Sweet Rec is for Dawn Quigley's Jo Jo Makoons, The Used-to-Be Best Friend. For starters, here's the description of the book (from the publisher):

Hello/Boozhoo—meet Jo Jo Makoons! Full of pride, joy, and plenty of humor, this first book in an all-new chapter book series by Dawn Quigley celebrates a spunky young Ojibwe girl who loves who she is.

Jo Jo Makoons Azure is a spirited seven-year-old who moves through the world a little differently than anyone else on her Ojibwe reservation. It always seems like her mom, her kokum (grandma), and her teacher have a lot to learn—about how good Jo Jo is at cleaning up, what makes a good rhyme, and what it means to be friendly.

Even though Jo Jo loves her #1 best friend Mimi (who is a cat), she’s worried that she needs to figure out how to make more friends. Because Fern, her best friend at school, may not want to be friends anymore…

And now, the Short and Sweet Rec:

First: It is a first! By that, I mean that it is the first Native-authored early chapter book series that I know of! If you have children, you know what these "early" books are about. They're the ones that kids who are starting to read on their own look for, and then hold close to their hearts because of the sense of accomplishment, confidence, and joy that independent reading delivers. What sets this one apart from all others is that it is about an Ojibwe kid. I've seen far too many early reader books with stereotypical words and illustrations of Native people. Books like that hurt a Native reader and they misinform a non-Native reader. They do a lot of harm. But this book... it makes my heart soar! We've got an Ojibwe girl in the present day, living her life, which leads to my second point.

Second: Native children who grow up with their Native communities say things. They do things. They know things. All those things are unique to their specific community. In Jo Jo Makoons you will see Ojibwe words that Jo Jo uses, just because they're part of her life. Instead of grandpa, she says Mooshoom. And right there on page 3 when you first see "Mooshoom" you also get Jo Jo, talking to the reader in the way that people talk to each other (p. 3):

Do you wanna know what mooshoom means? It means "grandpa" in the Michif language. 

Just before that passage, Jo Jo tells readers "My name is Jo Jo Makoons Azure." But she also asks readers if they want to know how to say that sentence, in her language:

Try saying: "Jo Jo Makoons Azure nindizhinikaaz." 

Jo Jo acknowledges that some will feel challenged by the "big last word" and reminds them that they learned how to say Tyrannosaurus rex, and that they can also learn how to say nindizhinikaaz. 

Third: On page 6, we read that Jo Jo's mooshoom died the year before and that her kokum (grandmother) moved in with them. That is very common within Native communities. Grandparents are a significant presence in the life of Native children--and Jo Jo's kokum is a big part of her life. 

Fourth: This last is, perhaps, coincidental. When I first read Jo Jo Makoons (I've been recommending it in just about every workshop and lecture I've done this year), the final paragraphs of chapter one did not stand out but they sure do now! In them, Jo Jo hears her mom and kokum talking about Jo Jo's cat needing shots. Jo Jo remembers back to the summer before, when she needed shots. Her kokum told her (p. 9):

My girl, shots help you to be healthy. There are many sicknesses out there, and shots give good protection.

Obviously, that stands out to me now because across the U.S., children are getting shots to protect them from COVID. I hope that little bit there helps kids know these shots are necessary for their well-being. I don't know what Quigley intended when she wrote that passage but it strikes me as more of the care that permeates the world of Jo Jo and her family. It feels a bit like concentric circles of care. 

As I write this review, newspapers are filled with reports of parents challenging books that make them uncomfortable. At present we are seeing a terrific growth of diversity in what is being published and embraced by educators, librarians, and readers. Diversity feels like a threat, to those who are unsettled by it, but I hope that books like Jo Jo Makoons -- with the care infused throughout it -- can help those parents see that care of each other, and care of community, is central to the well-being of everyone.

Get a copy! Feel that care. And share it with others.  

______

*A Short and Sweet Rec is not an in-depth analysis. It is our strategy to tell you that we recommend a book we have read. We will definitely refer to it in book chapters and articles we write, and in presentations we do. Our Short and Sweet Recs include four reasons why we recommend the book.

Highly Recommended: ALL BOYS AREN'T BLUE: A MEMOIR-MANIFESTO by George M. Johnson

All Boys Aren't Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto

Written by George M. Johnson 

Cover Art by Charly Palmer

Published in 2020

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux (Imprint of Macmillan)

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

****

The author of All Boys Aren't Blue is not Native, but on occasion, someone will ask me about the Native content in a particular book. That's the case this time. Here's the description:

In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.

Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color, All Boys Aren't Blue covers topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy. Johnson's emotionally frank style of writing will appeal directly to young adults.

I finally got a copy of the book and like so many others, was pulled in to Johnson's writing. There is such care in these essays! Some evoked tears. Chapter 10, "A Lesson Before Dying" is about his grandmother. The tears are about death but more than that, they're about truth. About being real with each other. What that feels like, why it matters so much. 

My heart squeezed as I read Johnson's essays about his identities. He is Black. He is gay. I thought of the many young people who have already read his book and through Johnson's words, been wrapped in an embrace of who they themselves are. As I write this review, Johnson's book is showing up on banned book lists. My heart aches for those who are watching all that happening. It is an assault, on them, but the outpouring of support for Johnson signals a perseverance in the face of hate. 

Now: the Native content. Chapter 5 is titled "Honest Abe" Lied to Me. 

When I read the words in that title, I nodded. In that essay, Johnson writes about elementary school, third grade, especially, and the history they were taught (and performed) in a play about Thanksgiving, the Revolutionary War, the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation Proclamation. He writes about a Thanksgiving poster that used to hang on the school that showed (p. 87):

... American Indians sharing food with the Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving. 

   *takes deep breath*

What it doesn't show is that the Pilgrims stole the American Indians' food when they first arrived on the Mayflower, because they weren't prepared for winter. 

I like that Johnson includes that because that particular holiday is coming up and kids across the country are being miseducated about it. Johnson's critique might not be noticed by some readers, but others--Native ones, especially--will notice and appreciate it. 

Johnson's in-depth questioning of the history he'd been learning began in junior high (page 93): 

We learned that Abraham Lincoln wasn't all he was cracked up to be. We learned about the Emancipation Proclamation, but also read some of the statements he made that weren't in the history books. The ones that were disparaging toward Black Americans and the fight for equality. 

And (p. 93-94),

We learned that Lincoln had many thoughts that never seemed to make it into the pages of the history books.

He shares some of those statements made by Lincoln, including this one (p. 94):

"My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that."

Two years ago when Jean Mendoza and I visited a high school class that was using An Indigenous Peoples' History of the US for Young People we learned that Black students were taken aback by what we included about Lincoln. 

There was--and is--no reason for anyone to go through painful moments learning the facts about Lincoln or any other person or moment in history. The information is available. Johnson and the students we worked with that day are, essentially, speaking clearly to those who will listen: tell the truth about history! 

Truth. 

That's what I find in All Boys Aren't Blue. The book is about Johnson's identities and it is about a country's identity. It is searing, and delivers one truth after another. I highly recommend it--and I recommend you read it. Pushing back on misrepresentations or mischaracterizations of books requires knowing what they say.  

Highly Recommended! Spílexm: A Weaving of Recovery, Resilience, and Resurgence, by Nicola I. Campbell

 

Spílexm: A Weaving of Recovery, Resilience, and Resurgence

Written by Nicola I. Campbell (Nłeʔkepmx, Syilx, and Métis)

Cover illustration by Published in 2021

Publisher: Highwater Press

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

****

Today's Short and Sweet Rec is for Nicola I. Campbell's memoir, Spílexm: A Weaving of Recovery, Resilience, and Resurgence. I'll begin with the description from the publisher's site:

If the hurt and grief we carry is a woven blanket, it is time to weave ourselves anew.

In the Nłeʔkepmxcín language, spíləx̣m are remembered stories, often shared over tea in the quiet hours between Elders. Rooted within the British Columbia landscape, and with an almost tactile representation of being on the land and water, Spíləx̣m explores resilience, reconnection, and narrative memory through stories.

Captivating and deeply moving, this story basket of memories tells one Indigenous woman’s journey of overcoming adversity and colonial trauma to find strength through creative works and traditional perspectives of healing, transformation, and resurgence.

And now, the Short and Sweet Rec:

First, Nicola I Campbell is Nłeʔkepmx, Syilx, and Métis, and she's written several excellent books we've recommended before, such as Shin-Chi's Canoe. 

Second: "remembered stories." I don't know why, but those two words are--for me--searing and joyous within the same instance. It it like an eruption of emotion within me. 

Third, the table of contents. I love the words I find in Campbell's picture books. There's a quiet and compassion and strength to them. I see that in the words of the table of contents that tells us what is coming. There are ten sections in this memoir, meant for young adults. These section titles nest within the book's subtitle, A Weaving of Recovery, Resilience, and Resurgence.  

Prairie Letters

Her Blood is from Spetetkw 

Métis 

Nłeʔkepmxcín Lullaby

Land Teachings

Coming to my Senses

sorrow

yemít and merímstn 

this body is a mountain, this body is the land

Resurgence

The section titles hint at recovery. Reading through the entries in each one, I was at times on edge, anxious. Afraid. And laughing. That deer in the basement... that made me laugh, and evoked in me, a remembered story. Or many, really, because at Nambé, our guys hunt and bring deer home. Like the child in this particular story (titled Little People), I remember that moment, walking into a room and there, right there, was a deer.

Fourth, Campbell's use of words. In some instances, she uses poetry. In others she uses story. Some words are in her languages, and some are in English. It isn't ever jarring. It just is. Is, in the way that Native people speak when they use words of their language mixed in with English. It just is. And arrangement of those words! When I turned the page to "alpine mountains" I just looked, for a minute or so. And I was delighted when I turned to "frog whisperers." 

****

From those Prairie Letters about Nikki's birth, through her childhood, her teen years, college, and deaths in the subsequent sections... I release a deep sigh when I get to the end. And as I look back on what I'm saying in this review as I revisit the book, I see some ambiguity, some hesitation in how much to say. I want you to find it, yourself. 

______

*A Short and Sweet Rec is not an in-depth analysis. It is our strategy to tell you that we recommend a book we have read. We will definitely refer to it in book chapters and articles we write, and in presentations we do. Our Short and Sweet Recs include four reasons why we recommend the book.

Highly Recommended: SISTERS OF THE NEVERSEA by Cynthia Leitich Smith; cover art by Floyd Cooper

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! 

Sisters of the Neversea

Written by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee Nation)

Cover art by Floyd Cooper (Muscogee Creek Nation)

Published in 2021

Publisher: Heartdrum (HarperCollins)

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

****

Today AICL is pleased to give a Short and Sweet Rec* to Cynthia Leitich Smith’s Sisters of the Neversea. We recommend you get it for your children, your classroom, or your library. Here’s the description:

Lily and Wendy have been best friends since they became stepsisters. But with their feuding parents planning to spend the summer apart, what will become of their family—and their friendship?

Little do they know that a mysterious boy has been watching them from the oak tree outside their window. A boy who intends to take them away from home for good, to an island of wild animals, Merfolk, Fairies, and kidnapped children, to a sea of merfolk, pirates, and a giant crocodile.

 

A boy who calls himself Peter Pan.

And here is our Short and Sweet Rec! 

Four reasons why AICL recommends Sisters of the Neversea 

First, the author is Native. Cynthia Leitich Smith is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation, telling us a story where the primary character is Muscogee Creek.

Second, Sisters of the Neversea shows readers who Native people are, for real. J.M. Barrie’s stories about Peter Pan have mis-informed generations of readers. His stories encourage others to play Indian in stereotypical ways, and the characters in his story that are meant to be Native (Tiger Lily) are straight-up stereotypes. We are nothing like the “Indians” in his stories. Smith’s take on Peter Pan pushes back on those stereotypes.

Third, Sisters of the Neversea includes Black Indians. Upon seeing Floyd Cooper's cover art, Smith writes that she thought "There you are!" With his art, she saw Lily as Black Muscogee. Later in the book, we meet Strings, a Black Seneca Indian from the Bronx. 

Fourth, Smith's author’s note includes several questions that she poses about the Native people in Barrie’s stories. “How did they get there?” she asks, and “Why were they described in hurtful language?” are two of them. Teachers who use the book in the classroom can draw attention to those questions and encourage students to ask similar questions about Native characters in other books they read.  

We hope you’ll get a copy ASAP, read it, and tell others to read it, too. When you’re at your local library, ask for it! If they don’t have it yet, ask them to order it. 

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*A Short and Sweet Rec is not an in-depth analysis. It is our strategy to tell you that we recommend a book we have read. We will definitely refer to it in book chapters and articles we write, and in presentations we do. Our Short and Sweet Recs include four reasons why we recommend the book.  

Highly Recommended! THE DINE READER: AN ANTHOLOGY OF NAVAJO LITERATURE

The Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature

Edited by Esther G. Belin, Jeff Berglund, Connie A. Jacobs, and Anthony K. Webster

Cover Art by Shonto Begay

Foreword by Sherwin Bitsui, with Contributions by 

Jennifer Nez Denetdale and Michael Thompson

Published in 2021

Publisher: The University of Arizona Press

Status: Highly Recommended

Reviewer: Debbie Reese (Nambé Owingeh)

****

In 2021, two terrific anthologies were published. First was When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry (edited by Joy Harjo). Harjo's anthology has writers from many different nations. I recommend you get a copy of it. Second is The Diné Reader. I recommend you get a copy of it, too, because it gives you depth about one nation. 

Let's start with Shonto Begay's cover art. He is known in children's literature for two books he wrote and illustrated: Ma'ii and Cousin Horned Toad (1992), and Navajo Visions and Voices Across the Mesa (1995). The title of the art on the cover of The Diné Reader is "With Glowing Words." We see a Diné person, reading. In the interview of him on page 182, he said: 

"When I paint people reading, it's also beyond what the picture is, it keeps going on. It's an interpretation of an interpretation of a reader."

As I think about that, I wonder how high school students will interpret what they find in The Diné Reader. Who that reader is and what they've read will shape their interpretations of the poems and stories in the book. 

Sherwin Bitsui did the foreword for the book. Towards the end of the first paragraph, he says that non-Navajo and non-Native people tell him that they learned about Navajo culture through Tony Hillerman's books. Hillerman, you see, is not Native. What he provides is incorrect portrayals of Navajo people. In contrast, when Bitsui talks with young Navajo students who are in universities and learning about Navajo writers, he sees their excitement over stories and poems by Navajo writers that reflect their own experiences. The Diné Reader, he says, provides teachers with authors and resources they case use to bring greater depth and understanding to students who read work by Navajo writers. That depth and understanding is crucial because it can push aside the Hillermans of the book world.  

Are you one of the people who reads or recommends Hillerman? Stop doing that right now! If you're a teacher, your responsibility is to educate students. With Hillerman, you are miseducating them. Get a copy of The Diné Reader and start reading. Find a story or poem that resonates with you in some way, study the interview that precedes that writer's work, and then look in your library for additional materials from that author (start with the Bibliography in the final pages of the reader). If your library doesn't have something you want, ask for it!

And make sure to read Esther Belin's introduction to the history of Navajo literature, Jennifer Nez Denetdale's "Chronology of Important Dates in Diné Political and Literary History," and Michael Thompson's "Resources for Teachers and Readers." All three are excellent for what they provide to teachers who want to step away from the nonsense of Hillerman and do right by Navajo people. Thompson (he is Mvskoke Creek) organized his resources into sections, including one on humor that I like a lot. For each of his sections, he discusses it, follows with "considerations and reflective tasks" and ends with works in the reader that exemplify the idea the section is about. 

The Diné Reader can be used in high schools. As I page through my copy (or click through my e-book copy), I pause to read old favorites, smile at memories of hanging out with the poets, and of course, I read items new to me. As I read the introductory material about Tina Deschenie, I see that her first poem was published in 1973, when she was a high school student. In short, there's so much depth in the pages of this book! Order a copy and sit with it, soon!

Highly Recommended! SHARICE'S BIG VOICE: A NATIVE KID BECOMES A CONGRESSWOMAN

 

Sharice's Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman

Written by Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk) with Nancy K. Mays

Illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (member of Wasauksing, First Nation)

Published in 2021

Publisher: Harper Collins

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

****

In some books, I find one thing after another that I absolutely adore. Sharice's Big Voice is one of those books. First example? The back cover. It is a page from inside. It looks like this:

On that page, Sharice is studying. A stack of books is there. The text on that page tells us that she started law school so that she could work to make US laws more just and fair. Those words are cool, but look at the pages behind her! 

My guess is that most readers will recognize "The Constitution of the United States" but why is our attention being drawn to Article 6? Do you know what Article 6 is about? Hint: it has to do with the other pages you see behind Sharice! 

Sharice's Big Voice is a picture book whose contents make the case for why picture books should be read by everyone. If you're teaching social studies, teach this book and do a study of this page. Start by reading Article 6. Then, ask students to do research on the Treaty With the Winnebago, and the other items on that page. Put them into chronological order, after having read Article 6. 

As I reflect on that page, I'm reminded of the article by Sarah B. Shear, Leilani Sabzalian, and Lisa Brown Buchanan.  It is titled "Affirming Indigenous Sovereignty: A Civics Inquiry" and came out in 2018 in an educator's journal called Social Studies and the Young Learner. Here's the first sentence in the article:

Indigenous sovereignty is an essential component of civics education.

Here's the first sentence in the next paragraph:

Elementary social studies curriculum is notoriously silent about Indigenous sovereignty.

My guess is that most teachers want to give their students a solid education and might know a bit about Native sovereignty--but not enough to feel confident in what they do. And so, they are silent about Indigenous sovereignty. The article has key words and definitions, realistic steps for you to take with your students as you begin to fill that silent space, and links to resources to help you.  

Affirming Indigenous Sovereignty (the article) and Sharice's Big Voice can be your starting place to make a difference in what your students learn about Native peoples. Get the picture book, and if your librarian isn't able to get the article for you, let me know. 

There's a lot more to say about Sharice's Big Voice but I gotta get outside and finish the paint job on our fence. I'll be thinking about this book and may be back to say more. It is one of my favorite books of the year. It affirms Native identity, and being physically, educationally, and politically active. This page is so important! It says (in part): "Growing up, I never would have guessed my path would lead to Congress. I didn't know that I would be one of the first Native American women in Congress and the first lesbian representative from Kansas." 

And if you're wondering if it is tribally specific? The answer is yes! There's a page about kids in school asking Sharice "What are you." She tells her mom about it, and her mom tells her "We're members of the Ho-Chunk Nation." When I talk about the book online I'll use #Ho-ChunkVoice--and you should, too.  

Page after page, the words resonate and educate, and Pawis-Steckley's gorgeous Ojibwe art does, too! Get a copy for your classroom library, your home library, and ask your librarian to get copies. Then, talk about it with others. Share the knowledge that Sharice Davids and Nancy K. Mays provide in Sharice's Big Voice. 

-----

Back to say that good nonfiction for young people is very hard to find, especially biography or autobiography about Native people of the present day. If this book had been available when Betsy McEntarffer and I wrote "Indigenous Nations in Nonfiction" for Crisp, Knezek, and Gardner's Reading and Teaching with Diverse Nonfiction Children's Books, we'd have written about it, with tremendous joy. 

Highly Recommended! I SANG YOU DOWN FROM THE STARS, written by Tasha Spillett-Sumner; illustrated by Michaela Goade

I Sang You Down from the Stars

Written by Tasha Spillett-Sumner (Inninewak (Cree) and Trinidadian)

Illustrated by Michaela Goade (Tlingit, member of the Kiks.ådi Clan)

Published in 2021

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Status: Highly Recommended

****

As I sit here at my computer on Wednesday, May 12, 2021 and think about the books that I reviewed last week, I notice that women and children, and grandchildren are at the center of each one. That continues with I Sang You Down From the Stars. With this book, we add a baby. I've written reviews of books about babies before (Richard Van Camp and Julie Flett's We Sang You Home is one) and am delighted to add this one! 

Spillett-Sumner and Goade's book was published on April 6. Right away, it was on the New York Times Bestseller list. Just look at that cover! Isn't it breathtaking? The words and the art in I Sang You Down from the Stars sparkle with warmth and love. 

Stories about family members working together always resonate with me, especially ones about sewing. These reflect our communities in such beautiful ways. Look at this double-paged spread in I Sang You Down from the Stars. On the left, we see people at a table, cutting fabric. We see a child, showing an elder a finished square. That scene tugs on my heart as this family gets ready to welcome a baby into the family and its community (I took this photo outside in the early morning light):

And when the baby is born, we read: 

Family and friends came from near and far to welcome you. 

One by one, they held you and greeted you.

Those words, too, invoke strong memories full of love! Mama's holding little children so they can cradle the new babies! 

Before you read this book to children, take time to read the notes from the author and illustrator. I'm seeing more space being given to authors and illustrators, where they can speak directly to readers about who they are and what they bring to the book. These notes are important! They add depth and tell you things that infuse and shape your reading of the book. 

When I think about "back matter" (that is the information provided after the story itself) that I've read over the decades that I've been doing this work, I realize that I've talked about it in individual reviews but I haven't written an article about that. Hmm. Maybe it is time for that. 

Get a copy of I Sang You Down from the Stars! When you're at your library, ask for it so that others can find and read it, too. And tell your friends and colleagues about it. 

Thinking Critically About Writing Assignments We Ask Children to Do [and a recommendation for TEACHING CRITICALLY ABOUT LEWIS AND CLARK by Schmitke, Sabzalian, and Edmundson]

When we ask children to think (and write) like someone of a different time period, a different culture, a different geographical location, and a different language, what are we giving them in order to do that? Do we have content that can help them do that with the educational integrity that is necessary? In the case of Sacagawea, we have nothing to go on. She left nothing written. All we have is a lot of imaginings of what she thought, and what she said. 

In January of 2019, a photo of a "Lewis and Clark Expedition Diary Entry" assignment went viral. Written by a fifth grader, it was circulating again recently. Several people sent it to me, asking what I thought of it. In the assignment, students are asked to imagine being someone on the expedition. In this case, the fifth grade child imagined herself as Sacagawea. Here's what she wrote on her worksheet:

Dear Diary,

I am so mad! I took 3 annoying men who were very stinky to find the best rout to the Pacific Ocean, found horses, food, and peace so tribes wouldn't attack us! I did that whole journey, but the thing is I did most of the work, not Lewis, or Clark, or my husband! It should have been called the Sacagawea expedition!! I DID THIS ALL WITH A BABY ON MY BACK YET THE MEN DID MORE COMPLAINING!! And I got zero $! Like come on! I'm never doing that again.

My guess is that all of you reading #31DaysIBPOC are aware that men are paid more than women, and that women get little credit for their accomplishments. You've probably taught your students about gender inequities. Clearly, the fifth grader who composed the "Dear Diary" entry had learned about the difference in how men and women are treated. With that in mind, the 5th grader's answer sounds great. That's why it went viral. People think it is clever.

But if we pause to think critically, do you think Sacagawea would have written something like that? Before, during, and after her lifetime, people of Native Nations were and are fighting to protect our homes, gardens, families, and homelands from outsiders who wanted/want Native lands and resources. 

Representations--or, rather, misrepresentations--of Sacagawea are on my mind of late because An-Lon Chen (a parent) wrote to me about Judith Bloom Fradin and Dennis Brindell Fradin's biography of her: Who Was Sacagawea. Chen had been reading it to her child and found herself wondering about its accuracy. We had an email conversation that evolved into a review essay that AICL published on April 23. I'm linking to it here and I want teachers to click through and read her review, especially the section she titled "Erasure." There, she writes about the 1905 Portland World's Fair, and how the National Woman Suffrage Association unveiled the first statue of Sacagawea. [Update on Sunday, May 16, 2021: Chen emailed me this week to say that the 1905 statue was the first major one of Sacagawea. She's found an earlier one, from 1904, done by sculptor Bruno Zimm.]

My point in bringing up Chen's essay? Because I'm thrilled by her critical stance! I want more parents to ask questions. I want educators to welcome their questions, and when necessary, I want us to change what we're doing in the classrooms or spaces where we teach. 

I know--thinking critically is in the news a lot as some parent and teachers object to anti-racist instruction. Changing what we do is hard and sometimes scary, but it is important. We, at American Indians in Children's Literature, are providing book reviews that we hope are helpful to you as you revisit the books you have or teach in your classrooms. We also created Tips for Teachers: Developing Instructional Materials about American Indians. We're here to help and the #31DaysIBPOC series (this is its third year) can help, too. 

On my side table is a copy of Alison Schmitke, Leilani Sabzalian, and Jeff Edmundson's book, Teaching Critically About Lewis and Clark: Challenging Dominant Narratives in K-12 Curriculum. Published this year by Teachers College Press, I highly recommend it! It will help teachers revise what they've been doing when they teach about Lewis and Clark. 

As I bring this post to a close, a warm ku'daa (thank you, in Tewa) to Tricia Ebarvia and Kim Parker for launching #31DaysIBPOC in 2019 and inviting me to participate.  

 

****

This blog post is part of the #31DaysIBPOC Blog Series, a month-long movement to feature the voices of Indigenous and teachers of color as writers and scholars. 

Please click here to read the previous blog post by Katie Huang (and be sure to check out the link at the end of each post to catch up on the rest of the blog series). 

Highly Recommended: MII MAANDA EZHI-GKENDMAANH / THIS IS HOW I KNOW, written by Brittany Luby; illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley [and a note about translators]

Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh

This is How I Know

Written by Brittany Luby (Anishinaabe descent)

Illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (Ojibwe, member 

of Wasauksing First Nation)

Translated by Alvin Ted Corbiere and Alan Corbiere (Anishinaabe 

from M'Chigeeng First Nation)

Published in 2021

Publisher: Groundwood Books

Status: Highly Recommended

Reviewer: Debbie Reese (Nambé Owingeh)

****

Hidden in the dense branches of the spruce tree in my back yard, a mother cardinal sits on a nest. We've peeked in on her and the hatchlings a couple of times, but then I come inside and look online for videos of cardinal nests. Watching videos rather than the nest in our yard gives this cardinal family the safety that my presence must surely interrupt. From afar, I watch as the male and female cardinals fly here and there, gathering food that they then take to the nest. 

I think that a combination of spring flowers, a growing vaccinated population, and the life in that tree are impacting the warmth I feel as I read Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh (This is How I Know). 

"This is how I know" is a refrain that structures Luby and Pawis-Steckley's picture book. On the title page we see the full title, in Anishinaabemowin, and then in English. That ordering of language is on the cover, too, and is what you'll see on every page. 

I want you to notice, on the title page, the names of the translators: Alvin Ted Corbiere, and Alan Corbiere. They are a father and son from M'Chigeeng First Nation. For this and every book, I'd like to see the names of translator's on the cover. Individuals who speak and write an Indigenous language are--for many--more significant than the story a book tells. I don't mean to cast a shadow on this book. I like it very much, as the "Highly Recommended" tag demonstrates. I'm speaking more to book designers who make decisions about what goes where, in books they publish.

During the pandemic, many tribal nations made sure that those who speak their language were among the first to receive Covid vaccines. Though the US and Canadian governments tried very hard to eradicate us in every way, we resisted--and we resist, now. Across tribal nations, language programs are thriving because of people like the Corbiere's who translated this book. So--editors/designers--I hope you'll revisit your treatment of translators. 

Now, back to the book! The Cooperative Children's Book Center at the School of Education, Wisconsin-Madison selected it for their Book of the Week on April 26. 

It begins with these words near the bottom of a page, surrounded by white space:

Aaniish ezhi-gkendmaanh niibing?

How do I know summer is here?

Facing those words is a large illustration of blueberries. Over the next pages, we learn about the things the child and their grandparent see that tell them summer is here. Gorgeously illustrated pages follow. We see Loon, Luna Moth, Bumblebee, Screech Owl, and a stunning sunset with texture and depth. Beneath that sunset, we read:

Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh niibing.

This is how I know summer. 

Turning the page, we're again in a white space as we begin a new section where the child and their grandmother will see the things of fall. And again, for winter, and then for spring. On those pages for spring, there's a seagull and a robin, sitting on the eggs in their nests. 

As I began this review, I recognized the illustrator's name. Two days ago when I wrote about Angeline Boulley's Firekeeper's Daughter, I talked a bit about Sharice Davids and her book, Sharice's Big Voice, due out soon. I mentioned the illustrator for her book. It is the same person who did the illustration's for Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This is How I Know. Looking at their website, I see outstanding work that has a lot more detail than I see in this book and wonder about the decisions that went into these. Take a look at his site! 

Order a copy of Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This is How I Know for your classroom and library, and ask for it at your local bookstore and public library.