Highly Recommended: FOREVER COUSINS written by Laurel Goodluck; illustrated by Jonathan Nelson

 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Forever Cousins

Written by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan, Hidatsa and Tsimshian member)

Illustrated by Jonathan Nelson (Diné)

Published by Charlesbridge

Publication Year: 2022

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Status: Highly Recommended

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As I turned the pages of Forever Cousins, I thought back to the early 1990s when we left Nambé's reservation to go to graduate school in Illinois. Our daughter was three years old. She and her cousins were in tears. The always-present playing options were about to change. 

When you start reading Forever Cousins, you'll meet Amanda and Kara and to a lesser degree, Forrest. You'll learn a lot about them. The two girls are together all the time. Sometimes they're doing things most kids in the U.S. do--like make jelly sandwiches--and sometimes they're doing something Native kids do, like dancing at a powwow. On the cover you see both girls have dolls. Those are quite special! They were made for them by their magúu (the author's note tells us that magúu is a Hidatsa word that means grandmother).

We learn that they live in a city and that Kara and her family are moving from the city to the Rez. They'll see each other in a year. A year! In subsequent pages we see the two, both feeling alone while doing the same activity. Amanda is at a powwow in the city (we see tall buildings in the background), holding her doll close as she sits on a folding chair. Kara is at a powwow on the Rez (we see low hills in the background). Her mom offers her some fry bread but she just hugs her doll and shakes her head.  

Throughout, Nelson's illustrations set the story very much in the present day. That's especially evident on the page where the two girls talk to each other using a video platform on their cell phones. Like anyone, we use all the forms of literacy and communication available to us! I like that but I also like the page where Amanda gets a post card from Kara. Finally it is time for Amanda and her family to hit the road! It'll take two days to get to the Rez. Nelson shows us their joy when they cross a state border. That made me smile. When we drove from Illinois to Nambé, we'd cheer just like that when we crossed from Texas into New Mexico! 

Amanda and her family arrive at the reunion, and after some initial shyness, the cousins have a great time and we see the families gathered while a new baby gets his Hidatsa name. It is then time to say their goodbye's. 

The story Goodluck and Nelson share in the pages of Forever Cousins is a joy to read and look at. Like the recent books by Native writers, it has an extensive Author's Note that provides teachers with information that helps them understand why Amanda and Kara and their families aren't on the reservation when the story starts. In her note, Goodluck says that the characters in her book represent her and her cousins growing up in the 1960s and 1970s in the Bay Area suburbs of California. She shares some background about her family and cousins and how the city and the Rez were both home and community. She says:

As a matter of fact, we are dual citizens: first enrolled members of sovereign Tribal Nations and then citizens of the United States. The term "sovereign nation" means a Tribal Nation that governs itself. If it is federally recognized, then it has a governmental relationship with the United States as a nation with a nation.

Those of you who know me probably guess that my heart is soaring as I read those sentences! Teachers: download Affirming Indigenous Sovereignty: A Civics Inquiry by Sarah B. Shear, Leilani Sabsazlian, and Lisa Brown Buchanan. It'll provide you with ideas on how you can incorporate tribal sovereignty into your classroom. 

In the portion of her note titled "From the Reservation to the City" she tells us that her parents moved from their reservation to the city because of the Indian Relocation Act of 1956. It was a federal program that was described as a way for Native people to move to cities and get vocational job training--but there was more to it than that. Goodluck writes:

In actuality, the federal government wanted to erase Native culture by moving Native people to cities so they would adapt to the lifestyles of white people. 

I am so glad to see that sentence in this book! This is the honesty that ought to be in every book! 

She goes on to say that her parents were able to get jobs in the city, but that the government promise of a job did not work for most tribal people. They endured discrimination and racism. I have uncles and aunts who moved to cities for jobs. Some got those jobs and stayed in those cities, others came back very soon. I suggest you read Indian No More because it, too, is about this relocation program. 

I'm sharing the final paragraph in the note because it is so very powerful:

The treatment of Native Americans in the United States was and sometimes still is despicable. But as with the family in this story and with my own family, unjust experiences forge tight bonds between us and make us strong. Our resiliency is rooted in our ceremonies and culture. We have a deep love of home. The land reminds us of our ancestors, storytelling helps us make good decisions, and we continue to have love and loyal family connections that are unbreakable.

Forever Cousins is tribally specific. Both, the author and illustrator, are Native. The story is set in the present day. It can--and should be--read year-round (not confined to a heritage month or day). It is getting a 'highly recommended' label from me, but my enthusiasm for the book is much more than a 'highly recommended' label conveys. With this story and the note, Goodluck and Nelson give teachers or parents information that they can carry with them when they close this book and choose another one that features Native people. They see us as people who live in a city or on a reservation. They can see us as people whose identities and lives as Native people are central to who we are, and who share the same sorts of joys and fears that kids of other cultures do, too. 

Forever Cousins is one of the best books I've read. I'm delighted to read it, to write about it, and to recommend it to everyone.

2024 American Indian Literature Award Medal Acceptance: Laurel Goodluck

Editors Note: On January 25, 2025, the American Indian Library Association (AILA) held its Youth Literature Award Ceremony in Phoenix. I am pleased to share the remarks Laurel Goodluck delivered when she received the American Indian Youth Literature Award in the picture book category for Forever Cousins. 

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Naomi Bishop (left) presenting Laurel Goodluck (right) with award for Forever Cousins

AIYLA Medal Acceptance Remarks

Laurel Goodluck

Greetings,

Dosha – Hello, friends. It’s wonderful to be spending the morning with you all. Writing a book for children is a privilege, a responsibility, and a lot of fun.

BUT…

I wasn’t one of those kids who said I wanted to be a writer, but I grew up with oral storytelling.

• My storytelling journey began with my family around the kitchen table in the SF Bay Area in California on weekends with my parents, uncles, aunties, grandmas, and cousins. The grown-ups told us stories of their adventures as children growing up in our homelands in North Dakota and Alaska. Stories of brown bears, gathering cedar bark, their father singing lullabies in Hidatsa and playing Stardust on the Sax, and trading horses for bikes with the town kids in Elbowoods.
• As cousins, these stories were adventures that we wanted to live up to. So, when we ventured home to North Dakota each summer, we were determined to have similar escapades and did. We jumped off logs in the lake, and when wild ponies wandered on our farm, we corralled them and played rodeo; we found rattlesnakes in the garden, and in solemn moments, we gathered around the tipi rings dotting the land and imagined our ancestors’ lives on the prairie.
• But the stories that were told around the kitchen table that later informed all of us cousins as adults were the stories about our chiefs and my grandfather, who was tribal chairman of Fort Berthold. My grandfather, Martin Old Dog Cross, bravely fought against the government to stop the Garrison Dam, which eventually flooded our ancestral lands. Martin would meet with Senators in Washington DC and proclaim, “There is no price for our land.”
• With this legacy of leadership through oral storytelling, I learned that these powerful stories offered keys to resilience. So, with a career in education and mental health and near retirement, I decided to write for children. I wanted to provide all the kids with what my family offered me through oral storytelling.

It began with FOREVER COUSINS.

• It is a story of my family and many families who experienced the Indian Relocation Act. Who knew a picture book format could offer all of this? I didn’t initially; this was my first attempt at a picture book. I soon discovered I could tell a universal story of love and friendship between cousins with all the beauty of our Native culture sprinkled through the story as organically as we live. And the back matter, the author’s note could express my need to tell the untold history and tribal and native cultural relevance. It also began with a lovely team of allies.
• I found Debbie Reese on social media. I Instant Messaged her and asked her many questions. She directed me to Tracy Sorell, who spent over an hour on the phone with me, passing on her wisdom. Later, Traci and I were paired together as mentors and mentees through WNDB (We Need Diverse Books), and everything began to change. 
• Tracy introduced me to freelance editor Karen Boss, who was patient and professional and helped me edit Forever Cousins. Then she said, “I don’t say this to everyone; I’d like you to submit this to Charlesbridge.”
• At the same time, I met Nicole Geiger, agent extraordinaire with Full Circle Literary Agency. I knew I wanted to be with this agency, which supported diverse creatives in children’s literature for decades.
• My community expanded through the Kweli Children of Color Conference with Laura Pegram’s leadership, Native writing intensives sponsored by Heartdrum and WNDB with editor Rosemary Brosnan and Cynthia Leitich Smith, Highlights Native retreats with Tracy Sorell, and international online Native writing critique groups. We are a solid Native community of support and a soft nest to retreat to.

Closing

• So, Forever Cousins was created with this circle of support and belief. And with a talented illustrator, Jonathan Nelson, who made the beautiful, vibrant, and playful art. I will forever be grateful to these allies and the community we continue to grow and nurture with many unique tribal voices and needed stories.
• Thank you, American Indian Library Association, for this honor of best picture book, which I’m thrilled to share with Andrea Rogers and her brilliant story.
• And last, I thank my family, who offered stories that run as deep as the tipi rings still outlined on our prairie.

Ku'daa, University of New Mexico Native Alumni Chapter!

I am deeply honored that the University of New Mexico's Native American Alumni Chapter chose me to receive one of its Outstanding Alumni Awards for 2022.  I received this stunningly beautiful plate, painted by Sherry L. Aragon of Acoma Pueblo. 

Here's the flyer announcing the gala:

Due to prior commitments, I wasn't able to travel to Albuquerque for the gala, but I did send in a recorded message for them. The gala itself was on the same day as the Brackeen v Haaland oral argument at the Supreme Court on Nov 9. This is what I said:

Good evening. 

This morning, Native people from across the country were gathering in Washington DC or online to listen to the Supreme Court oral arguments in Brackeen v Haaland. 

I’m living in the San Francisco Bay area right now. Wherever I am, I talk about kids and books. or more precisely, the ways that stories in books tell others who we are. That work is why I can’t be with you tonight. I’m in the midst of working with teachers in this area. 

I tell teachers and librarians that our status as sovereign native nations has been left out of popular, classic, and award winning books. Those books shape what people know about us. They shape what the Brackeen’s know about us. Those books are part of why the Indian Child Welfare Act is at risk, right now.

Those books are a threat to our sovereignty. 

I’m grateful to UNM’s Native American Alumni Chapter for selecting me to receive this award. It acknowledges the importance of the work I do to help educators understand what is wrong with those popular and award-winning books. 

And it acknowledges the work I do to bring visibility to Native writers who are creating books that affirm who we are. 

In October, an absolutely terrific picture book by two Native people came out. That book is Forever Cousins. Written by Laurel Goodluck and illustrated by Jonathan Nelson, it is about cousins growing up together in the Bay Area. 

 

In the Author’s Note, Goodluck writes about the Indian Relocation Act. It is why she grew up in the Bay Area. She also writes about sovereignty! 

I talked about Forever Cousins in a workshop I did earlier this week. After the workshop, one of the participants approached me. She was deeply touched by Goodluck’s book. She is from Tesuque Pueblo, and like Laurel, grew up in the Bay Area. 

Forever Cousins is one book, but it sits amongst a growing number of books by Native writers and illustrators who are creating books that should be in every classroom, and every library.

Like many of you, I’m deeply worried about Brackeen v. Haaland, and, I am confident that as we continue to raise our voices and use books by Native writers, we are disrupting the harms done by older classics that misrepresent who we are. Buy books by Native writers, and talk about them to everyone you know. Help me to bring visibility to books that lift our children and our nations. 

Ku’daa.  

I offer my congratulations to Nicolle Gonzales. She, too, was honored by the Native Alumni chapter. She founded the Changing Woman Initiative. Here's a video of her:

If you are able to support her work, go to the Changing Woman Initiative's website. Down at the bottom of the page is a Donate button. 

Highly Recommended! A first look at Yáadilá!: Good Grief!, Written by Laurel Goodluck; illustrated by Jonathan Nelson

Yáadilá! Good Grief! 

Written by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara)

Illustrated by Jonathan Nelson (Diné)

Published in 2025

Publisher: Heartdrum (HarperCollins)

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

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Back in 2016 I read a comic called The Wool of Jonesy -- and I loved it. Since then I've followed Jonathan Nelson's work. Again and again, his words and art are precisely what I want Native kids to have. Then in 2022, I read Laurel Goodluck's Forever Cousins. Her storytelling hits me like Jonathan's does. Her books are the ones I want all Native kids to have. He did the illustrations for Forever Cousins. If you've participated in webinars I do online, you know that I talk about their book a lot. And now, they're partnered up again in Yáadilá! Good Grief! 

Imagine me opening Yáadilá! Good Grief! Then imagine my smile as I see the sheep in the endpaper art! Something about Nelson's illustrations of sheep appeals to me in ways I can't explain. There aren't any on the cover (shown above) but sheep are a significant part of the story Goodluck and Nelson give to us. On the cover, you see a family (a grandmother, parents, and two children). 

Here's the synopsis:

Bahe and Dezba are helping their grandmother, Nali, move from her sheep camp home to their house. The family is packing up, carrying heavy boxes, and settling into a new life together, which isn’t always easy. At every frustration, they throw up their hands and exclaim, “Yaadila!” Good grief!

Bahe sees that this big change is hardest for Nali. But he has a secret plan. Whatever can he be doing with a bucket of water, all that yarn, and Dezba’s dollhouse?

In this heartwarming and quintessentially Navajo (Diné) story, author Laurel Goodluck (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Tsimshian) and illustrator Jonathan Nelson (Diné) together show a big change for an Elder made easier with a creative gesture of love and care.  

In my webinars, I tell participants to go right to the end matter in a book to study the author's notes. Those pages are packed with information that teachers, parents, librarians -- anyone who is going to use the book -- need to fully engage the story.

When you flip to the back of this book to find the Author's Note, the first thing you'll is a large red box with a note (white text on a red background) from the "Helpful Narrator" who says

Shhh. Don't tell Bahe, but I'm sneaking back. Wow, wasn't that a fun story? You learned how to yáadilá. You saw how a little sister could be annoying when you're busy doing something nice for your nali. And how cool was it to learn new Diné words? Now it's that time in a picture book when you learn about the author. The author--

In the midst of that sentence, we see an interruption in black text: "Excuse me? What are you doing here?" and then, the final sentence in the red box:

The author has a few words to share on her own. Yáadilá! I'm really done. Hágoónee'.

And beneath that red box/note from Helpful Narrator, we find the Author's Note. 

We first met Helpful Narrator in the opening pages. There, it tells us (the readers) how to say yáadilá and how to convey it, too, with body language. As soon as I get a hard copy of the book, I'll be back with some screen captures to show you how this all plays out. 

Helpful Narrator's purpose is to speak to us in ways that resonate with me. Within Native communities--and yours, too, perhaps--a reading or storytelling has moments when the reader/speaker steps out of the story to say something. It is a natural way of storytelling. In film, that's called "breaking the fourth wall" and it annoys some people, but I like it because it feels right to me. Storytelling is not strictly a performance! Storytellers might perform but they also engage their audience. That's what Helpful Narrator does in the opening pages, and at the end, too. 

I'll be back with more to say about this wonderful book. Obviously I am delighted with it which means I'm highly recommending that you get it for your public and school libraries, and for your classrooms, and your home library, too!

2024 American Indian Literature Award Medal Acceptance: Jonathan Nelson

Editors Note: On January 25, 2025, the American Indian Library Association (AILA) held its Youth Literature Award Ceremony in Phoenix. I am pleased to share the remarks Jonathan Nelson delivered when he received the American Indian Youth Literature Award in the picture book category for Forever Cousins. 

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AIYLA Medal Acceptance Remarks

Jonathan Nelson

Ya'at'eeh! Shi ei yinishye. Kiyaa'aanii doo Naakai dine'e baschichiin. Hooghan lani da shicheii doo Táchii’nii da shinali.

Hello. My name is Jonathan Nelson. I am of the Towering House clan, born for the Mexican clan. My maternal grandparents are of the Many Hogans clan and my paternal grandparents are of the Red-Running-Into-The-Water clan.

I’m grateful and honored to be here with you all and among the creators listed on the agenda for the American Indian Youth Literature Awards.

I’ve been awarded 2 awards and, yes, I was curious about giving the same speech twice. Thanks to Charlesbridge and Laurie Goodluck to share my talents on Forever Cousins. I also want to thank Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins, and Kim Rogers for giving me the opportunity to collaborate on A Letter for Bob.

It’s been awhile since I’ve been back to Phoenix, the homelands of the of the Akimel O'odham (Pima), Piipaash (Maricopa), and Yavapai people. It’s great to see some of them here along with everyone else and these heavy hitters. I'm grateful and honored to be sharing this space and time with you.

In sharing my process I’d like to share some work I did back in 2009. I painted a series of six vinyl records I labeled Ewe-volution. You as in sheep. Get it? It’s a story about a mother and her son, a ram. The mother is the first to ever realize that she's a being, a person.

Her son begins to grow and he doesn't have to think about his own existence. He knows who he is and he has aspirations and goals. You can see how he grows. It relates with how I’ve gone through life and how the younger generations perceive education.

I got my start in art as a young kid drawing Garfield, Snoopy, then Spiderman, Hulk, and Batman. In high school, I began painting. Today, I work as a graphic artist, web designer, and illustrator.

In 2001, I had just met, my partner, Dr. Christine Nelson in Scottsdale and began dating. All the way from the Rez, she’s from Farmington and I’m from Hogback. I was working as a skycap at Sky Harbor and 9/11 happened and everything came to a halt. I needed to find work right away. We looked at different options and suggested I go back to school. We toured Al Collins Graphic Design School in Tempe and that’s where I got my start in graphic design and illustration. I didn't know I could do that with my art as I finished high school.

So, Dr. Chris and I have a 14-year-old son, Olin. He’s back in Denver and couldn’t be with us. So, he is kind of like the ram along with the younger generations we’re watching grow. He’s been seeing and hearing our work since he was a baby. Dr. Nelson with her research and writing contributions to papers, journals, and books. He’s watched me paint, sketch, and draw on canvas and iPad. He’s been with us on work trips to conferences and comic book conventions where we’ve presented and showcased. He hears about our research, projects, and discussions on higher education, career, and activist art among other topics in our fields.

I’m grateful to work with these authors, designers, and educators, and, more so, within various Indigenous communities, companies, and student organizations. Olin and the youth are seeing us do this work. We’re giving them pathways they could follow, something to shoot for. I illustrate that in my books. Olin, and my nieces and nephews, the youth, can see themselves in these books. I draw these characters for my wife, my son, my nieces and nephews, grandmas and grandpas and so on and so forth. I hope you can also see them for yourselves and your communities.

Thanks to Charlesbridge and Heartdrum & HarperCollins. Thanks to my agent, Nicole Gieger at Full Circle Literary. And thanks to American Indian Youth Literature Awards for these honors and inviting me here for this ceremony.

Highly Recommended: WE WEAVE by Daniel W. Vandever and Deonoveigh Mitchell

We Weave

Written by Daniel W. Vandever (Diné)

Illustrated by Deonoveigh Mitchell (Diné)

Published in 2024

Publisher: South of Sunrise Creative

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

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Why am I so pleased with this book? It hits all the key points in books I recommend:

• Native author
• Native illustrator
• Set in present day
• Tribally specific content
• Includes Native language(s)

But there's more to say! As I write, it is baseball season so I'll use a baseball phrase: It's a home run! We Weave is a home run. Vandever and Mitchell hit a homer! 

Earlier today a friend was telling me about the Native information her child is getting in school. It sounds like the school they go to is not hesitating to teach middle school children about boarding schools. That's a topic that we ought to see in all educational materials about Native people. I wonder, though, if my friend's school is also making sure children learn that we're still here and that we use technology much like the devices they themselves use? A cell phone features prominently in We Weave. I also recommend you read Laurel Goodluck's picture book, Forever Cousins. In it, two cousins use their phones to stay in touch.

We Weave is one of many picture books that can help with that teaching. (Note here that I encourage everyone to read picture books by Native writers and illustrators, no matter how old you or your child are! Mostly likely, none of the content you received in school depicted us as people of the past and fails to show us as people of the present day who know who we are as citizens or tribal members of our specific, unique nations.)

Let's start by looking at the cover. That's a grandmother sitting at a loom. She's gazing at a child who is holding a phone. See the emoji's above the phone? Nice touch! Those are first impressions but look closer. See the child's hairstyle? And moccasins, and the loom the grandmother is weaving on? These are most definitely specific to the Diné people. 

As you open the book you see the dedication page that says, in part, "be proud of who you are, where you're from, and where you're going." Many parents say that to their children but that dedication includes words in Diné. Beneath the dedication are three terms you'll see as you read the book. Masaní (Grandmother), Shiyázhí (My Little One), and Dzil Yáázh (Little Mountain). 

The story begins with Masaní reading a letter that says school is going virtual. How many of you got letters like that when the pandemic took over? Shiyázhí replies that he doesn't have a computer. All he has is a phone. He's sitting on the couch. Above/behind him are photographs on the wall of someone who was (or is) in the service. In Native homes across the country you'll find framed photos like those. Native people serve in the US armed service at a high rate. Including those photos behind Shiyázhí is an especially nice touch that reflects reality. 

His grandmother replies "We weave to get what we need" and that kicks off the story Vandever and Mitchell give us. Masaní describes all the steps she goes through to weave. She intends to sell the rug to get enough money to buy a computer. Shiyázhí uses his phone to document what they do. 

The grandmother is weaving a rug, and her grandson is weaving a story!

As they near the first day of school, she's disappointed. She hasn't finished in time to actually sell the rug herself and thinks they can't buy a computer, but her grandson has used his weaving to sell her rug. His weaving is videos of all she did to make the rug--and his weaving went viral. Together they have worked to get the computer. Together, they've been weaving. Hence, the 'we' in We Weave. 

I really like this book! It was on AICL's 2024 year-end list but I ran out of time to post a review in 2024. As always, I recommend you flip to the Author's Note to learn from Vandever. He tells us things most textbooks do not. And he provides a "Caution with Technology" note, too. As more children use phones, the adults in their lives can clamp down in punitive ways, and/or they can teach them about online safety. I'm glad to see Vandever's note. 

Get a copy of We Weave and ask for it at your library!  

Sign up! California Indian Ed for All offers a free series of On-line Book Club meetings with Native Authors

This Thursday (September 12), I am giving a webinar in California Indian Ed for All's online book club series. These webinars are open to the public, and there is no charge for them. They start this week and go all the way to June of 2025. They are live/online from 3:30 to 5:00 Pacific Time. Sign up! 

If you teach courses in children's literature or social studies or literature or history or library services for youth (getting a bit carried away there, but I do think anyone whose work has to do with Native peoples and children should join), consider asking your students to sign up. I think you just need to register once and you'll be enrolled in all of them. A few days prior to each event you'll receive an email with a link to join in. (Note: I don't know if the webinars will be recorded and made available later.)

If you are a teacher, librarian, or parent, please sign up! You'll hear directly from authors of books you can use in your classroom. Knowing them through the webinars will help you impart more substance to the children you work with. 

As you look through the schedule, you'll see children's book authors but you'll also see books from scholars whose books will help you become more knowledgeable about Native peoples. Being more knowledgeable helps you become more adept at teaching children and adults, and they help you see problems like bias and stereotyping.

Sept 12 - Debbie Reese, Selecting and Using Children's Books about Boarding Schools

Sept 26 - Jean Pfaelzer, California: A Slave State

Oct 17 - Traci Sorell, We Are Still Here: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know, Being Home, and Contenders

Oct 24 - Christine Day, We Still Belong, The Sea in Winter, and I Can Make This Promise

Oct 31 - Debbie Reese, Children's Books about Native Youth and their Hair

Nov 7 - Laurel Goodluck, Forever Cousins, Rock Your Mocs and She Persisted: Deb Haaland

Dec 19 - Cynthia Leitich Smith, Hearts Unbroken, Jingle Dancer, and Sisters of the Neversea

Jan 16 - Michaela Goade, Berry Song, Remember, We Are Water Protectors, and Being Home

Jan 23 - Deborah Miranda, Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir

Feb 13 - Cutcha Risling-Baldy, We are Dancing for You: Native Feminisms and the Revitalization of Women's Coming-of-Age Ceremonies

Feb 20 - William Bauer, California Through Native Eyes: Reclaiming History

Feb 27 - William Bauer, We Are the Land: A History of Native California

Mar 13 - Debbie Reese, Children's Books about Native People in the Sciences

Mar 20 - Dina Gilio-Whitaker, Understanding Stereotypes and Native Americans, Part One: Master Narratives and Root Myths

Mar 27 - Dina Gilio-Whitaker, Understanding Stereotypes about Native Americans, Part Two: Modern Myths

Apr 17 - Carole Lindstrom, We Are Water Protectors, My Powerful Hair, and Autumn Peletier: Water Warrior

April 24 - Monique Gray Smith, My Heart Fills with Happiness, When We are Kind, and You Hold Me Up

May 8 - Laurel Goodluck, Fierce Aunties and Too Much: My Great Big Native Family

June 5 - Debbie Reese, Learn about New Children's Books by Native People

Here's screen caps of the schedule. Each one shows photos of the authors and a list of the books they'll be talking about. They are arranged according to months. Share this post with everyone you know! 

Recommended: The Case of the Missing Auntie

 How often have you read a middle grade mystery novel that had you in tears just a few pages after making you laugh? That's what happened when I spent yesterday with an ARC of Michael Hutchinson's new Mighty Muskrats Mystery, The Case of the Missing Auntie (Second Story Press, 2019). 

In The Case of Windy Lake, Hutchinson introduced four mystery-solving Cree cousins: Atim, Chickadee, Samuel, and Otter, known in their community as the Mighty Muskrats. Now he has the Muskrats head for the Big City to visit some more cousins, and to attend a big event called the Exhibition Fair. Hutchinson reveals a bit more about each character this time, along with a lot more about historical and contemporary Indigenous experience in the part of the world currently known as Canada.

Chickadee looks forward to the Exhibition (the Ex), but she's also on a mission. Their Grandpa has told her about his younger sister who was taken from a boarding school decades ago, and lost in "The Scoop" The family hasn't seen or heard from her since, and he wants very much to find her. "The Scoop" is the informal name for a set of Canadian policies that resulted in many First Nations children disappearing, forever separated from their families. Chickadee is determined to find out what happened to Auntie Charlotte, even if that means she has to guilt-trip her cousins into helping her. And even if she has to navigate the city transit system alone while Atim, Samuel, and Otter try to find a ticket for Otter to a sold-out concert by their favorite Indigenous band.

Hutchinson's storytelling is engaging. The kids find some good allies and face some unexpected challenges, even dangers. To say more about the plot lines might give something away. So.

Windy Lake featured some standout prose, and Hutchinson's way with words is evident in Missing Auntie as well. Here are a couple of examples.

a) Chickadee and her older cousin Harold are talking at breakfast about the contrasts between the Windy Lake reserve and the city. Harold says, "City people don't seem to know there is a different life out there. It's like the city mouse killed the country mouse and forgot he ever existed. Our people can get lost in the city." That sly reference to one of Aesop's fables made me smile and think, "Funny!" and "Yikes!" at the same time.

b) And here's part of the description of an arcade and pool hall the Muskrats enter during their effort to get that concert ticket for Otter: "The Crystal Palace was a mixture of deep shadows, colorful neon, and arcade lights. It smelled like the ghosts of greasy burgers and spilled pop....A palisade of pool sticks lined the outside walls. A scattering of players focused on their games. The smack and click of pool balls colliding kept a random tempo."

But you don't get the impression that Hutchinson is bashing urban life -- the Muskrats meet some good people, people of subtle courage and outright heroism, along with racists, criminals, and people who have lost themselves. It's clear that the city can be a combination of the strange, the unfriendly, the wondrous, and the ordinary. And the characters of the Muskrats are developing, too, in ways that are easy to appreciate. These are good-hearted, caring, smart young people, but they're all individuals.

Hutchinson also weaves in factual information as the kids sort out what happened to their Grandpa's little sister.  Occasionally that can seem like a lot of exposition, but some readers won't know otherwise about the boarding schools and the Scoop, about present-day bureaucracy, about Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and about how the old racist policies continue to affect First Nations families today.

I found the ending to be realistic and satisfying, even though it unfolded in a way I didn't expect. Overall, Missing Auntie is a good read, with an emotional "punch," and I can hardly wait for the Mighty Muskrats to take their next case. But Missing Auntie won't be out until spring 2020. Preorder your copy now from Second Story Press!

News: American Indian Library Association announced its 2024 Youth Literature Awards

Good morning, AICL readers! Yesterday (Jan 22, 2024) the American Library Association announced its annual book awards. Below a list of the winners of the American Indian Library Association's Youth Literature Awards, given every two years (even-numbered years). Soon, all these books listed below will have the AIYLA seal on them! The photo below is from the AILA website and shows a selection of the books with their seals. 

You can order seals for your copies, directly from the American Indian Library Association. 

Here is a photo of the AILA Youth Literature Award committee members who were there for the announcements and Cindy Hohl (far right) who is the 2024-2025 president of the American Library Association (thank you to Hannah Buckland for permission to use the photo). Cindy Hohl is a member of the Santee Sioux Nation. Members of the committee this year were Naomi Bishop, Akimel O'odham; Mandi Harris, Cherokee Nation; Tara Kenjockety, Ho-Chunk & Seneca Nations; Kelley Kor, Cherokee Nation; Debbie Reese, Nambe Owingeh; Ophelia Spencer, Dine; Duane Yazzie, Hopi and Navajo; and Allison Waukau, Menominee and Navajo.  The committee was co-chaired by Joy Bridwell, Chippewa Cree Tribe; and Danielle Burbank, Dine.  

PICTURE BOOK AWARD

Forever Cousins written by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan & Hidatsa and Tsimshian), illustrated by Jonathan Nelson (Navajo/Diné) and published by Charlesbridge

A Letter for Bob written by Kim Rogers (Wichita & Affiliated Tribes), illustrated by Jonathan Nelson (Navajo/Diné) and published by Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

PICTURE BOOK HONORS

Berry Song written and illustrated by Michaela Goade (Tlingit Nation) and published by Little, Brown and Co., a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Rock Your Mocs by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan & Hidatsa and Tsimshian), illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw Nation) and published by Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Remember by Joy Harjo (Mvskoke Nation), illustrated by Michaela Goade (Tlingit Nation) and published by Random House Studio, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House

Celebration by Lily Hope (Tlingit), illustrated by Kelsey Mata Foote (Tlingit) and published by Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI)

Contenders by Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation), illustrated by Arigon Starr (Kickapoo Tribe) and published by Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House

MIDDLE GRADE AWARD

We Still Belong written by Christine Day (Upper Skagit), cover art by Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw Nation) and published by Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

MIDDLE GRADE HONOR BOOKS

She Persisted: Maria Tallchief by Christine Day (Upper Skagit), illustrated by Alexandra Boiger and Gillian Flint and published by Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House

She Persisted: Deb Haaland by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan & Hidatsa and Tsimshian), illustrated by Alexandra Boiger and Gillian Flint and published by Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Eagle Drums written and illustrated by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson (Iñupiaq) and published by Roaring Brook Press

Jo Jo Makoons: Fancy Pants by Dawn Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe), illustrated by Tara Audibert (Wolastoqey) and published by Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Jo Jo Makoons: Snow Day by Dawn Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe), illustrated by Tara Audibert (Wolastoqey) and published by Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Mascot by Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation) and Charles Waters, jacket illustration by Nicole Neidhardt (Navajo) and published by Charlesbridge

She Persisted: Wilma Mankiller by Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation), illustrated by Alexandra Boiger and Gillian Flint and published by Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House

YOUNG ADULT AWARD

Rez Ball by written by Byron Graves (Ojibwe), jacket art by Natasha Donovan (Métis) and published by Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

YOUNG ADULT HONOR BOOKS

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), jacket illustrations by Michaela Goade (Tlingit Nation) and published by Henry Holt and Company, a trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group

Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline (Métis) and published Tundra Books, an imprint of Tundra Book Group, a division of Penguin Random House of Canada Limited

Running with Changing Woman by Lorinda Martinez (Diné), cover design by Brittany Gene (Navajo) and published by Salina Bookshelf

Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers (Cherokee Nation), illustrated by Jeff Edwards (Cherokee Nation) and published by Levine Querido

Heroes of the Water Monster by Brian Young (Navajo Nation), jacket art by Shonto Begay (Diné) and published by Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.