Highly Recommended: THIS LAND: THE HISTORY OF THE LAND WE'RE ON by Ashley Fairbanks; illustrations by Bridget George

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This Land: The History of the Land We're On

Written by Ashley Fairbanks (White Earth Anishinaabe)

Illustration by Bridget George (Anishinaabe from Kettle and Stony Point First Nation)

Published in 2024

Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

****

Wow! I love how this book starts! The words on the first double-paged spread say "This is my house." Behind it is a river. Beside the house is a tall pine tree. We see a family by the tree. 

Turn the page and see "Before us, another family lived here." On that page, the illustrations are family portrait style. Four different families are shown, each family unique, each clad in modern clothes. 

Turn the page again and we read the words "Before our house was here, there was another family, with a different kind of house." On that page we see see wigwams in a village and the families who lived in them. The people in that village are wearing clothes with Anishinaabe designs. Behind that village is the river we saw earlier, and that tree? It is a small, young tree.

All the faces and families up to that point are cheery, happy. With the words and illustrations on these pages, Fairbanks and George take us from the present into the past, helping readers see, learn, and feel that the land they're on was someone else's before. 

Another page turn and we get hard history. That phrase is used a lot in social justice networks and curriculum, where educators choose to share truths about history that are often omitted. It is a fact that Europeans who came onto Native homelands wanted that land, and the government helped them get it by removing Native peoples from their homelands. We see that on the next page turn. Here's a portion of that page: 

(Image from my copy of the book)

It is followed by another page of hard history. 

But then, we turn the page again and see the little girl from the very first page, running down the street to her friend's house. That friend, TJ, is Anishinaabe. We see him and his grandma standing in a doorway, smiling and waving at the little girl. 

With another page turn we see the little girl, TJ, and his grandmother making bread. The little girl tells us that TJ's grandmother told her about other Native people. At the top of the page, we see nine different people in traditional clothing. 

Picture me, smiling! One of them is a Native woman who is dressed the way I dress when I'm home for one of our ceremonies. That 'wow' I felt when I first read the book continues! The little girl is on a road trip. Here's a sentence you'll get to: 

At the Grand Canyon, I learned that eight tribes call it home: the Havasupai, Yavapai, Paiute, Hopi, Zuni, Hualapai, Apache, and Diné.

Note: Eight tribes call it home. Present tense verbs! In workshops and professional development, I push very hard to encourage educators to use present tense verbs to talk about us. Again, picture me smiling! 

This book is going to be featured in my work, for sure! Another page spread tells us that Disney World is on Seminole land, the White House is on Nacotchtank and Piscataway land, and that Mount Rushmore is on Oceti Sakowin land. There's a link to a database to see what land you (reader) are on, and that page is followed by a page of discussion questions and suggestions to learn more about the people of that land. Illustrations on that page show Native people holding up signs with their tribal nation's name. 

Can you feel and understand why I highly recommend this book? Get more than one copy if you can, and if you'd like to support Native-owned bookstores, go there (in person or on line). One option is Birchbark Books. This could be an illustration of me. GET THE BOOK! 

(Image from my copy of the book)

Highly Recommended: NAVAJO CODE TALKERS by Danielle C. Burbank

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Navajo Code Talkers

Written by Danielle C. Burbank (Diné)

Published in 2024

Publisher: Dorling Kindersley

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

****

I love that Danielle C. Burbank (Diné) opens her book, Navajo Code Talkers, with the word Yá'át'ééh! It signals that we're going to learn about the Code Talkers from someone for whom this is not a subject. Instead, it is her family's life.

On that first page, she tells us her grandfather served as a Code Talker in the US Marines, that the Navajos refer to themselves as Diné (it means "the People"), and that readers will learn about Diné culture, language, and lifeways. 

At the bottom of that page is a photo of Burbank and her grandfather, Deswood R. Johnson, Sr. 

Later, you'll see photos of her daughter and her great grandmother. What we are fortunate to have in this book, is information rooted in her family, her tribal nation, and its history. Earlier this week I wrote about Olympic Gold Medal winner Billy Mills, and that in his book, he tells us that his Native ancestors didn't give up when odds were against them. Their steadfast way mattered to Billy Mills. I see that 'didn't give up' attitude throughout Navajo Code Talkers. 

Because this book is from an insider's perspective, we learn about how Diné culture shapes their way of being in the world and how it shaped how the Code Talkers became who they are and how they persevere when odds are against them. Burbank tells us about kinship and how that mattered, and matters. 

She introduces us to several Diné Code Talkers and their experiences with, for example, boarding school. On page 23, we meet Samuel Tom Holiday, who talks about his older brother, Henry, and how Henry helped Samuel prepare for boarding school. Teachers who are providing students with information about boarding schools will find his story compelling. 

I particularly like the photo on page 10, showing Diné school children reading a signpost at Dream Diné School in Shiprock, New Mexico. Words on the signpost are in their language. Each one points to their sacred mountains. But, as I read on, I find that Burbank does an excellent job of making readers understand that the Code Talkers are not simply a group of Marines. She humanizes them--pulling them from mythical status as vital to a war effort--to a place of knowing them as parents and grandparents whose parents and grandparents had been through a lot, and persevered. 

There's a lot in this book meant for fourth and fifth graders that most people haven't learned. By that, I mean people should read it, regardless of age. You can order it directly from the publisher. I got an e-copy for a few dollars. 

I'm grateful to Burbank for all she did to make this book available to all of us, Native or not. Others are, too. Her nation's library hosted her for a reading a few days ago. And take time to read Diné author writes Navajo Code Talkers book for elementary school readers in Source NM. 

Highly Recommended: BEHIND EVERY RUG by Daniel W. Vandever and Lynne Hardy

Those who follow my work know that I've been frustrated many times with things Scholastic does. Sometimes, though, they do a good thing. Case in point? Behind Every Rug. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This little book is by Daniel W. Vandever. I highly recommended his previous books. Fall In Line, Holden! came out in 2017 from Salina Bookshelf and his self-published Herizon came out in 2021. Both won the picture book award from the American Indian Library Association. His newest book, Behind Every Rug is for readers 6-8 years old. 

On the first page of Behind Every Rug, we see a little girl, Nizhoni, as she has just gotten off the school bus. Her mom is waiting for her on the sidewalk. Nizhoni is shown in athletic shoes, jeans, a hoodie, and a backpack. Her mother is wearing moccasins, a Navajo-style skirt and woven belt. She's got a set of car keys in her hand. 

In other words? This is a story set in the present day. 

Online, Vandever said this story is based on his own experiences as a child growing up in St. Louis, Missouri. Some of you are nodding because you know Native people are in big cities and on reservations. Those of you who are nodding are gonna want to get this book, ASAP! You know that wherever we are, people in our families may wear items that reflect who we are, and that in our homes we have items that reflect our cultural identity (in Vandever's book, Diné). For Native students, Vandever's book is a terrific mirror of their lives. Those of you surprised by a story about a Native family -- set in the present day -- you need this book ASAP, too, to give students in your school or classroom a window onto a Diné family's life.

The words on that first page are spoken by Nizhoni, who tells her mom that she has to take something to school the next day that shows her Navajo culture. On subsequent pages, her mom makes suggestions. We see the items her mother is suggesting. And we read Nizhoni's responses to her mom. There's a hesitancy, an anxiety. How will classmates respond to her and the item she chooses to share? Finally, she decides to take the rug she and her grandmother made. She's nervous when her teacher calls her name but students respond positively. Her words remind classmates of people in their families and things they do. Nizhoni then gives them more information about how the rug was made. Visually we're in different place. We see her grandmother, and her grandmother's hogan. In the end, Nizhoni realizes that being different is not scary. 

Behind Every Rug is in Scholastic's Our Voices: School & Friends collection. Here's the problem.  I can't figure out a way for you to purchase the book. You have to buy a single-copy collection (one copy of ten different books) for $26.99 but you don't know what the other ten books are. Updating on July 14 to say that the editor for the book sent me a link with the titles of the other books.  Maybe the information is available and I'm not finding it on the Scholastic website! If you see a way to get just that one book, let me know. If a Scholastic rep sees this post, maybe they'll let us know. Perhaps you can ask your child's teacher or a resource person at your school to order the collection. 

And! Just announced today (July 5) is another self-published book from Vandever. Titled We Weave, he shared the cover: 

Bottom line? Look for books by Daniel W. Vandever!