"Bestsellers in Children's Native American Books"

A colleague wrote to ask if I know of a study of the most-assigned Native author in schools. I don't know of one, but will be looking for one, or, trying to figure out how to get the answer to the question, which is basically, "What book about American Indians is most-often taught/assigned in school?" Course, that would vary by grade level and school and other factors like state, public/private, etc.

One thing I (always) wonder about is best-selling books. One source of info is Amazon. In their "Bestsellers in Children's Native American Books" (time/date of list: 7:23 AM, Central Time, November 8, 2010) are the following titles. Some are on their more than once. In some cases, its clear that the duplicate is a Kindle edition, but others seem to just be repeats. There isn't, for example, a note that says it is an audio copy.

It is, overall, a disappointing list and it makes me grumpy on this Monday morning...  I'm glad to see Native authors on the list, but duplicates of some really problematic books like Touching Spirit Bear?! And it is pretty easy to see that Amazon's customers want works of historical fiction or "myths, legends and folktales."  


#1 - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie.
#2 - Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell
#3 - One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims, by B. G. Hennessy
#4 - Island of the Blue Dolphins (Kindle), by Scott O'Dell
#5 - Squanto's Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving, by Joseph Bruchac
#6 - Touching Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelsen
#7 - North American Indians, by Douglas Gorsline
#8 - Tapenum's Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times
*#9 - Encounter, by Jane Yolen
#10 - Sing Down the Moon, by Scott O'Dell
#11 - The Rough-Face Girl, by Rafe Martin
#12 - Paddle-to-the-Sea, by Holling C. Holling
#13 - Diamond Willow, by Helen Frost
#14 - Red Fox and His Canoe (I Can Read Book), by Nathaniel Benchley
#15 - The Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth George Speare
#16 - The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, by Tomie de Paola
#17 - Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale, by Gerald McDermott
#18 - Touching Spirit Bear (Kindle) by Ben Mikaelson
#19 - Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George
#20 - Touching Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelsen
#21 - Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison, by Lois Lenski
#22 - Mountain Top Mystery (Boxcar Children), by Gertrude Chandler Warner
#23 - Grandmother's Dreamcatcher, by Becky Ray McCain
#24 - On Mother's Lap, by Ann Herbert Scott
#25 - Horse Diaries #5: Golden Sun, by Whitney Sanderson
#26 - The Indian in the Cupboard, by Lynn Reid Banks
#27 - Sacagawea: American Pathfinder, by Flora Warren Seymour
#28 - Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War II, by Joseph Bruchac
#29 - The Heart of a Chief, by Joseph Bruchac
#30 - Little Runner of the Longhouse (I Can Red Book 2) by Betty Baker
#31 - Paddle-to-the-Sea, by Holling C. Hollins
#32 - Love Flute, by Paul Goble
#33 - Soft Rain: A Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears, by Cornelia Cornelissen
#34 - The Journal of Jesse Smoke: A Cherokee Boy, Trail of Tears, 1838, by Joseph Bruchac
#35 - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
#36 - The Birchbark House, by Louise Erdrich
#37 - The Legend of the Bluebonnet, by Tomie dePaola
#38 - Buffalo Woman, by Paul Goble
#39 - Cheyenne Again, by Eve Bunting
#40 - Where the Broken Heart Still Beats: The Story of Cynthia Ann Parker, by Carolyn Meyer
#41 - Julie, by Jean Craighead George
#42 - Children of the Longhouse, by Joseph Bruchac
#43 - Sacred Fire, by Nancy Wood
#44 - Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell
#45 - Mama, Do You Love Me, by Barbara J. Joosse
#46 - The Year of Miss Agnes, by Kirkpatrick Hill
#47 - Sweetgrass Basket, by Marlene Carvell
#48 - Sitting Bull: Dakota Boy, by Augusta Stevenson
#49 - The Talking Earth, by Jean Craighead George
#50 - Rainbow Crow, by Nancy Van Laan
#51 - The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses, by Paul Goble
#52 - The Polar Bear Son: An Inuit Tale, by Lydia Dabcovich
#53 - The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses, by Paul Goble
#54 - Song of the Seven Herbs, by Walking Night Bear
#55 - Ten Little Rabbits, by Virginia Grossman
#56 - The Lost Children: The Boys Who Were Neglected, by Paul Goble
#57- Moccasin Trail, by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
#58 - Thunder Rolling in the Mountains, by Scott O'Dell
#59 - Meet Kaya: An American Girl, by Janet Beeler Shaw
#60 - When the Legends Die, by Hal Borland
#61 - Sacajawea, by Joseph Bruchac
#62 - Knots on a Counting Rope, by John Archambault
#63 - The Porcupine Year, by Louise Erdrich
#64 - Star Boy, by Paul Goble
#65 - Jim and Me, by Dan Gutman
#66 - Kaya: An American Girl: 1764/Box Set, by Janet Beeler Shaw
#67 - Between Earth and Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places, by Joseph Bruchac
#68 - Touching Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelsen
#69 - Weasel, by Cynthia Defelice
#70 - When the Shadbush Blooms, by Carla Messinger
#71 - On Mother's Lap, by Ann Herbert Scott
#72 - The Captive Princess: A Story Based on the Life of Young Pocahontas
#73 - Powwow's Coming, by Linda Boyden
#74 - The Gift of the Sacred Dog, by Paul Goble
#75 - Streams to the River, River to the Sea, by Scott O'Dell
#76 - Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocassets, Massachusetts - Rhode Island, 1653 (Royal Diaries) by Patricia Clark Smith
#77 - Indian Trail (Choose Your Own Adventure) , by R. A. Montgomery
#78 - Arrow Over the Door, by Joseph Bruchac
#79 - At Seneca Castle, by William W. Canfield
#81 - Pocahontas, by Joseph Bruchac
#82 - Squanto's Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving, by Joseph Bruchac
#83 - Christmas Moccsains, by Ray Buckley
#84 - The Game of Silence, by Louise Erdrich
#85 - Encounter, by Jane Yolen
#86 - Beyond the Ridge, by Paul Goble
#87 - Death of the Iron Horse, by Paul Goble
#88 - The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper
#89 - Island of the Blue Dolphins (illustrated) by Scott O'Dell
#90 - Frozen Fire: A Tale of Courage by James Houston
#92 - Blood on the River: James Town 1607, by Elisa Carbone
#92 - The Give-Away: A Christmas Story in the American Tradition, by Ray Buckley
#93 - Mystic Horse, by Paul Goble
#94 - Eating the Plates: A Pilgrim Book of Food and Manners, by Lucilee Recht Penner
#95 - Mysteries in Our National Parks: Cliff Hanger, by Gloria Skurzynski
#96 - Jim Thorpe, Olympic Champion, by Guernsey Van Riper Jr
#97 - Good Hunting, Blue Sky (I Can Read Book) by Peggy Parish
#98 - Guests, by Michael Dorris
#99 - Hiawatha and Megissogwon by Henry W. Longfellow
#100 - Sing Down the Moon, by Scott O'Dell


Observations? Books by four Native authors are on the list: Sherman Alexie, (Update on Sep 30 2023: I no longer recommend Bruchac's work. For details see Is Joseph Bruchac truly Abenaki?)  Joseph Bruchac, Louise Erdrich, and Michael Dorris.  I'll return to this list later to share analyses and observations. Right now, I gotta head to class. The class? American Indian Studies 101, where, over the course of the semester, students gain insight and skills in recognizing problematic depictions of Native peoples. It is encouraging to see that development in them. I wish everyone in the US could take an Intro to American Indian Studies course. Then maybe there'd be some CHANGE in what they buy.

Carolyn Dunn on COYOTE SPEAKS

As readers of American Indians in Children's Literature know, I have strong feelings about retellings of Native story, especially when the source for the retelling is the stories archived by the Bureau of Ethnography in the late 1800s and early 1900s. My analysis of Penny Pollock's Turkey Girl and of Kristina Rodanas' Dragonfly's Tale demonstrates that Frank Hamilton Cushing misinterpreted what he observed when he was living amongst the Zuni people.

In my research, I search for books, chapters, and articles about those archived stories, and, about disclosure of sacred stories. Pueblo people are very guarded about what we share. On this site, I've written about intellectual property, and pointed to the Hopi Tribe and their statement on intellectual property.

As I prepare my paper for next week's meeting of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association in Minneapolis, I'm revisiting the topic of disclosure. Last year, my paper was about Arrow to the Sun, Turkey Girl and Dragonfly's Tale. I'm reading (again) from Elsie Clews Parson's monograph on the Tewa Indians, The Social Organization of the Tewa of New Mexico, published in 1929. (Tewa is the language we speak at my pueblo, Nambe. It is spoken by several of the northern pueblos.) Parson's was amongst us in the 1920s. In the preface of her monograph, she wrote:

Imitating the secretiveness observed in all the Rio Grande pueblos, I settled in Alcalde, the Mexican town two or three miles north of San Juan, and here, thanks to my helpful and understanding hosts of San Gabriel ranch, I secured informants from San Juan, Santa Clara, and San Ildefonso. My informants worked singly or in couples, niece and uncle, sister and brother, mother and daughter, one interpreting for the other.

I ask you to consider what she says. The pueblos were secretive. Why was that? To circumvent this secretiveness, she set up her research site away from the pueblos, so that her informants would not be seen, so that she could work in secret.

She says that the informant from San Juan was the most helpful, and that his stories are the ones in her Tewa Tales, first published in 1926. Here's what she said about her informant from San Ildefonso:

Information from San Ildefonso was least satisfactory. The women were particularly timid and not well informed; the man was a threefold liar, lying from secretiveness, from his sense of burlesque, and from sheer laziness. Curiously enough, this man, whose social position is of the best, but whose veracity is of the worst according to both white and Indian standards, has probably been hitherto one of our sources of authority on the Tewa.

How does she know he was lying? How does she know what parts of what he said to her were lies? She does not say that she rejected his information, so, is it in her book? She obviously thinks that some of her informants were telling her the truth, but how does she know that?! In short, that paragraph makes me suspicious of her entire monograph.

Her Tewa Tales was recently republished, with a foreword by Barbara Babcock. Babcock includes the first paragraph I excepted above, but not the second one. There is, I think it is fair to say, an assumption that the informant from San Juan was not lying to Parsons. Again, though, I wonder, on what basis did Parsons have confidence in what he told her?

Like I said earlier, we Pueblo people are careful about what we disclose. Disclosure is taken up in Cynthia L. Chavez's dissertation titled Negotiated Representations: Pueblo Artists and Culture. She is Pueblo, raised at San Felipe. Here's a paragraph from the abstract:

Most Pueblo people have committed themselves to the non-disclosure of what they deem culturally sensitive or sacred, because of cultural prohibitions learned since childhood. In this dissertation, I investigate Pueblo artist' reasons for refraining from depicting certain images and/or themes in their artwork. I have interviewed various Pueblo artists of New Mexico (excluding artists from Zuni Pueblo) who choose not to depict culturally sensitive imagery in their artwork due to their cultural heritage. This research is an attempt to obtain insights into Pueblo cultural beliefs about non-disclosure/representation and how this impacts Pueblo people as participants in contemporary Western society and their own Pueblo societies.

Maybe the San Juan informant was not in the "most" category that Chavez writes about, but I wouldn't count on it. Knowing this about us (Pueblo Indians) makes me wonder about stories collected from other tribal nations. This morning, searching for writing on stories from those archives, I came across an essay by Carolyn Dunn. Posted on January 27, 2009 at her blog, Dunn's essay is definitely worth reading. She references an article she wrote in Reading Native American Women: Critical and Creative Representations and, the introduction to Through the Eye of the Deer. I'm going to get and read both items.

In her essay, she talks about Beverly Slapin's review of a book Dunn and Ari Burke published last year. The book is Coyote Speaks. On November 16, 2008, I posted Beverly Slapin's review of Ari Berk and Carolyn Dunn's book, Coyote Speaks. In her essay, Dunn effectively counters some of Slapin's review. Dunn makes several excellent points.

When I posted the review, I indicated that I had not read the book, that I was waiting for my copy. It has not arrived, or, I've misplaced it. I'll reorder today.

That said, I don't think Dunn will persuade me that it is ok to use those archives. Part of my resistance is based on what I know happens to Native stories when they are published in picture book format for young readers. Pollock and Rodanas added their interpretations to the stories Cushing published, thereby adding another layer of misinterpretation to the stories.

And, instead of being treated with the same respect as stories from other world religions, our stories are shelved over in the folklore section of the library. Dunn's Coyote Speaks is shelved in the 398.2089 section of the library, which is where all Native "folktales" are put. I think it should be in the 200s with other books about religion.

Thinking, and waiting for my copy of Coyote Speaks...

McDermott made up the "Dance of Life" in ARROW TO THE SUN

Sharing some new (to me) information about McDermott's deeply flawed award-winning book, Arrow to the Sun.

On page 27 of Gerald McDermott and YOU, written by Jon Stott, published in 2004, Stott says:

"Although the Dance of Life depicted on the final page of the story is McDermott's own creation, it is true in spirit to the agrarian culture he depicts in the story."

Stott suggests students in middle/upper elementary grades who are studying the book consider researching traditional Pueblo ceremonies, but, he says (bold text is his):

It is extremely important, however, that students realize that these were and still are sacred ceremonies and that photographing or drawing dancers is permitted only with specific permission from the various Pueblos. Therefore, teachers should not encourage the drawing or photocopying or representations of these sacred ceremonies."

I find Stott's words somewhat hypocritical. How can he praise the book in the first place, knowing McDermott made up that dance, and go on to tell students not to draw, photocopy, or represent sacred ceremonies?

That he provides this caution tells us he knows very well that Pueblo people object to the appropriation and denigration of our stories. It seems to me Stott ought to be using what he knows to critique the book. Instead, he says students can create "written narratives about the Boy's experiences in the kivas..."

You may want to read what I've written about McDermott's presentation of kivas. In short, McDermott portrays them as places of trial. In fact, they are places of learning and gathering.

Given its made-up and erroneous information, this book is best shelved in the fantasy section. It certainly does not belong in the non-fiction section! And it certainly does not merit it's Library of Congress subject line "Pueblo Indians--folklore."

I recommend it be weeded. Can you, will you, weed a Caldecott book?
.

Index of Books Reviewed (or otherwise referenced) in A BROKEN FLUTE: THE NATIVE EXPERIENCE IN BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

In 2005, one of the very best resources for critical reviews of book with American Indian content was published. The book is called A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children. Reviews in the book are by 58 different people, many of whom are American Indian.

Reviews in A Broken Flute look critically at the way that American Indians are presented. A good many children’s books with Native content receive rave reviews from mainstream journals whose primary concern is with the literary aspects of a story. Too often, little attention is paid to the accuracy of the story, or the underlying bias and ideology that casts American Indians in ways that suggest we are super- or sub-human creatures whose existence is confined to the remote past, or a mythological space and time. 

If you arrived at this webpage due to an Internet search on a specific title, I encourage you to locate a copy of A Broken Flute and read the review therein. If you already own the book, use the review to help children learn how to look critically at the ways that American Indians are presented in the book. A Broken Flute is available from Oyate.

1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving

Abiding Appalachia: Where Mountain and Atom Meet

Acorn Soup

Across the Wide River

Adaline Falling Star

Adopted by the Eagles

Adventure on Thunder Island

After and Before the Lightning

An Algonquian Year: The Year According to the Full Moon

"Amazing Indian Children" Series:

• Amee-nah: Zuni Boy Runs the Race of His Life
• Doe Sia: Bannock Girl and the Handcart Pioneers
• Kunu: Winnebago Boy Escapes
• Moho Wat: Sheepeater Boy Attempts a Rescue
• Naya Nuki: Shoshoni Girl Who Ran
• Om-kas-toe: Blackfeet Twin Captures an Elkdog
• Pathki Nana: Kootenai Girl Solves a Mystery
• Soun Tetoken: Nez Perce Boy Tames a Stallion

American Indian Myths and Legends
American Indian Mythology, Kiowa Voices, Vol. II: Myths, Legends and Folktales

American Indian Stories

American Indian Trickster Tales

America's Fascinating Indian Heritage

Amikoonse (Little Beaver)

And Still the Turtle Watched

Angela Weaves a Dream: The Story of a Young Maya Artist

Anna's Athabaskan Summer

Antelope Woman

Apache Children and Elders Talk Together

Apache Rodeo

April Raintree

Ararapikva: Creation Stories other People

Arctic Hunter

Arrow Over the Door

Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale

Ashkii and His Grandfather

As Long as the Rivers Flow

Atlas of the North American Indian

Away from Home: American Indian Boarding School Experiences

Back in the Beforetime: Tales of the California Indians

Bead on an Anthill: A Lakota Childhood

Bears Make Rock Soup and other stories

Behind Closed Doors: Stories from the Kamloops Indian Residential School

Beneath the Stone: A Mexican Zapotec Tale

Best Thanksgiving Book: ABC Adventures

Bighorse the Warrior

The Big Tree and the Little Tree

Bineshinnh Dibaajmowin/Bird Talk

The Birchbark House

The Bird who Cleans the World and the Mayan Fables

The Birth of Nanbosho

The Birthday Bear

Bison for Kids

Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux

Blackfoot Children and Elders Talk Together

Black Mountain Boy: A Story of the Boyoood of John Honie

The Blizzard’s Robe

The Blue Roses

Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900-1940

Boat Ride with Lilian Two Blossom

Bone Dance

The Book of Medicines

Boozhoo, Come Play with us

The Boxcar Children: The Mytstery of the Lost Village

A Boy Becomes a Man at Wounded Knee

The Boy Who Loved Mourning

The Boy Who Made Dragonfly

A Braid of Lives: Native American Childhood

Brave Bear and the Ghosts: A Sioux Legend

Brave Eagle’s Account of the Fetterman Fight

The Bravest Flute: A Story of Courage in the Mayan Tradition

Bring Back the Deer

Brothers in Arms

Brother Eagle, Sister Sky

Buffalo: with Selections from Native American Song-Poems illustrated with original paintings

Buffalo Before Breakfast

Buffalo Bird Woman’s Garden: Agriculture of the Hidatsa Indians

Buffalo Days

Buffalo Dreams

Buffalo Hunt

The Buffalo Jump

Building an Igloo

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West

Caddie Woodlawn

California Missions to Cut out: Book 1

California Missions: Projects and Layouts

Caribou Song/atihko nikamon

Cherokee Sister

Cheryl Bibalhats/Cheryl’s Potlach

Chester Bear, Where Are You?

Cheyenne Again

The Chichi Hoohoo Bogeyman

Children of Clay: A Family of Pueblo Potters

Children of the First People

Children of the Great Muskeg

Children of Guatemala

Children of the Indian Boarding Schools

Children of the Midnight Sun: Young Native Voices of Alaska

Children of the Maya: A Guatemalan Odyssey

Children of Native American Today

Children of the Sierra Madre

Children of the Tlingit

Children of the Longhouse

Children of Yucatan

The Choctaw Code

Chronicles of American Indian Protest

Clambake: A Wampanoag Tradition

Clamshell Boy: A Makah Legend

Cloud Eyes

Continuum

"Council for Indian Education" Series:

• Charlie Young Bear
• The Day of the Ogre Kachinas
• Fire Mate
• From the Ashes
• Heart of Naosaqua
• Navajo Long Walk (Armstrong)
• Nesuya's Basket
• Quest for Courage

The Courage of Sarah Noble

A Coyote Columbus Story

Coyote Fights the Sun: A Shasta Indian Tale

Coyote and the Fire Stick: A Pacific Northwest Indian Tale

Coyote and the Grasshoppers: A Pomo Legend

Coyote and the Laughing Butterflies

Coyote and Little Turtle

Coyote in Love

Coyote in Love with a Star

Coyote and the Magic Words

Coyote Makes Man

Coyote Places the Stars

The Coyote Rings the Wrong Bell

Coyote Sings to the Moon

Coyote Steals the Blanket: A Ute Tale

Coyote Stories

Coyote Stories for Children

Coyote Stories of the Montana Salish Indians

Coyote Stories of the Navajo People

Coyote: A Trickster Tale from the American Southwest

Coyote the Trickster

Coyote and the Winnowing Birds

Crafts for Thanksgiving

Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas

Crazy Horse’s Vision

Crow Children and Elders Talk Together

The Crying Christmas Tree

Dakota Dreams

Dancing Drum: A Cherokee Legend

Dancing Rainbows

Dancing with the Indians

Dancing with the Wind: The ArtsReach Literary Magazine

Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road

Daughter of Suqua

Day of the Dead: A Mexican- American Celebration

The Days of Augusta

The Day Sun Was Stolen

Death of the Iron Horse

Dezbah and the Dancing Tumbleweeds

The Diary of Anne Frank

Did You Hear Wind Sing Your Name? An Oneida Song of Spring

The Dirt is Red Here

Dirt Road Home

Discovering the Inca Ice Maiden

Doe Sia: Bannock Girl and the Handcart Pioneers

Doesn’t Fall Off His Horse

Don’t Know Much About Sitting Bull

Dragonfly Kites/pijihakanisa

Dragonfly’s Tale

Dreamcatcher (Maynard)

Dreamcatcher (Osofsky)

The Dreamcatcher: Keep your happy dreams-forever!

Drumbeat, Heartbeat: A Celebration of the PowWow

Durable Breathe

Eagle Feather

Eagle Feather—An Honor

Eagle Song

Earth Daughter: Alicia of Acoma Pueblo

Earth Maker’s Lodge: Native American Folklore, Activities, and Foods

Earthmaker’s Tales: North American Indian Stories About Earth Happenings

Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875-1928

Elderberry Flute Song: Contemporary Coyote Tales

Emma and the Trees/Emma minwaah mtigooh

Enduring Wisdon: Sayings from Native Americans

Eskimo Boy: Life in an Inupiaq Eskimo Village

The Eye of the Needle

Eyes of Darkness

False Face

Feather in the Wind

A Few More Stories: Contemporary Seneca Indian Tales of the Supernatural

Firefly Night

Fire Race: A Karuk Coyote Tale

The First American Thanksgiving

First Came the Indians

First Nations Families

First Nations Technology

The First Thanksgiving (George)

The First Thanksgiving (Hayward)

The First Thanksgiving (Jackson)

The First Thanksgiving (Rogers)

First Woman and the Strawberry: A Cherokee Legend

Five Little Katchinas

The Flute Player

Follow the Stars: A Native American Woodlands Tale

Food and Recipes of the Native Americans

Forbidden Talent

Fort Chipewyan Homecoming: A Journey to Native Canada

Fox on the Ice/mahkesis miskwamihk e-cipatapit

Fox Song

Four Seasons of Corn: A Winnebago Tradition

From Abenaki to Zuni: A Dictionary of Native American Tribes

From the Belly of the Beast

From the Deep Woods to Civilization

From the Land of the White Birch

Frozen Land: Vanishing Cultures

The Gathering: Stories for the Medicine Wheel

The Gift of the Sacred Pipe

Ghost Dance (Seale)

The Ghost Dance (McLerran)

The Ghost Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890

A Gift for Ampato

Gift Horse

The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl, New Mexico, 1864

Giving Birth to Thunder, Sleeping with His Daughter: Coyote Builds North America

Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message

Gold Fever

Goodbird the Indian: His Story

The Good Luck Cat

Good News from New England: A True Relation of Things Very Remarkable at the Plantation of Plimoth in New England

The Grandchildren of the Incas

Grandchildren of the Lakota

Grandfather Drum

Grandfather Four Winds and Rising Moon

Grandmother’s Pigeon

Grandma’s Special Feeling

Grandmother Five Baskets

Grandmother’s Dreamcatcher

Grandmother’s Gift: Stories from the Anishinaabeg

The Great Buffalo Race

The Great Canoes: Revising a Northwest Coast Tradition

Green Grass, Running Water

Growing up Native American

Growing Up: Where the Partridge Drums Its Wings

Halfbreed

The Handbook of North American Indians, California

Headliner’s Island

Hands-on Latin American: Art Activities for All Ages

Hau Kola-Hello Friend

A Heart Full of Turquoise

Here Comes Tricky Rabbit!

Hiroshima No Pika

History of the Ojibway Nation

Home Country

Home to Medicine Mountain

Honour the sun

Horse Raid: An Arapaho Camp in the 1800s

House Made of Dawn

How the Birch Tree Got Its Stripes

How Chipmunk Got his Stripes

How to Draw Indian Arts and Crafts

How Eagle Got His Good Eyes

How the Indians Bought the Farm

How the Loon Lost Her Voice

How Magpie Got His Yellow Bill

How the Mouse Got Brown Teeth

How Raven Freed the Moon

How the Robin Got Its Red Breast: A Legend of the Sechelt People

How the Seasons Came: A North American Indian Folktale

How the Stars Fell Into the Sky

The Hunter and the Woodpecker

I Can’t Have Bannock but the Beaver Has a Dam

If You Were At…The First Thanksgiving

I Knew Two Metis Women

Iktomi and the Buzzard

Iktomi and the Coyote

Iktomi and the Ducks

Iktomi Loses His Eyes

I Heard the Owl Call My Name

I’ll sing ‘til the day I die: Conversations with Tyendinaga Elders

The Illustrated History of the Chippewas of Nawah

in a vast dreaming

Indian Boyhood

Indian Cartography

Indian Crafts and Activity Book

Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains

The Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, Pennsylvania

The Indians’ Book

The Indian in His Wigwam

The Indian School

Indian School Days

Indian School: Teaching the White Man’s Way

Indian Shoes

In the Fifth World: Portrait of the Navajo Nation

Ininatig’s Gift of Sugar: Traditional Native Sugarmaking

Initiation

Into the Moon: Heart, Mind, Body, Soul

In Two Words: A Yup’ik Eskimo Family

Iron Horses

Isaac’s Dreamcatcher

Ishi: America’s Last Stone Age Indian

Ishi Rediscovered

Ishi’s Journey, from the Center to the Edge of the World: A Historical Novel about the Last Wild Indian in North America

Ishi: The Last of His People

Ishi’s Tale of Lizard

Ishi in Two Worlds: A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America

Island of Los Luggage

Is My Friend at Home? Pueblo Fireside Tales

Itch Like Crazy

It Could Always Be Worse

It’s a Family Thanksgiving

Jack Pine Fish Camp

James Bay Memories

Jason and the Sea Otter

Jason’s New Dugout Canoe

Jingle Dancer

The Journal of Julia Singing Bear

Jumping Mouse and the Great Mountain: A Native American Tale

“Just Talking About Ourselves”: Voices of Our Youth

Ka-ha-si and the Loon: An Eskimo Legend

Karok Myths

"Kaya" Series:

• Changes for Kaya: A Story of Courage
• Kaya's Escape! A Survival Story
• Kaya's Hero: A Story of Giving
• Kaya and Lone Dog: A Friendship Story
• Kaya and the River Girl
• Kaya Shows the Way: A Sister Story
• Meet Kaya: An American Girl

Keepers of the Animals: Native American Stories and Wildlife Activities for Children

Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children

Keepers of Life: Discovering Plants through Native American Stories and Earth Activities for Children

The Killing of Chief Crazy Horse: Three Eyewitness Views by the Indian, Chief He Dog, the Indian-White, William Garnett, and the White Doctor, Valentine McGillycuddy

Kinaalda: A Navajo Girl Grows Up

Kokopelli and the Butterfly

Kokopelli’s Gift

Kokopelli, Drum in Belly

Kumak’s House: A Tale of the Far North

Ktunaxa Legends

Kwulasulwut: Stories from the Coast Salish

Kwulasulwut II: More Stories from the Coast Salish

Kyle’s Bath

Lakota and Dakota Animal Wisdom Stories

Lacrosse: The National Game of the Iroquois

Ladder to the Sky: How the Gift of Healing Came to the Ojibway Nation

Lakota Sioux Children and Elders Talk Together

Land of the Spotted Eagle

The Landing of the Pilgrims

Last Leaf First Snowflake to Fall

The Last Warrior

The Last Yahi: A Novel About Ishi

The Ledgerbook of Thomas Blue Eagle

The Legend of Jimmy Spoon

The Legend of Mexicatl

The Legend of the Lady Slipper

The Legend of Lady’s Slipper

The Legend of Leelanau

The Legend of the Loon

The Legend of Mackinac Island

The Legend of Sleeping Bear

The Legend of Spinoza, the Bear Who Speaks from the Heart

Legend of the White Buffalo Woman

Legends of the Iroquois

Lessons from Mother Earth

Lessons from Turtle Island: Native Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms

Less than Half, More than Whole

Let’s Be Indians!

Let’s Celebrate Thanksgiving

Lies to Live By

The Life and Death of Crazy Horse

The Light on the Tent Wall

Listen to the Night: Poems for the Animal Spirits of Mother Earth

Little Bear’s Vision Quest

Little Coyote Runs Away

The Little Duck/Sikhpsis

Little Eagle Lots of Owls

Little Firefly: An Algonquian Legend

A Little History of My Forest Life: An Indian-White Autobiography by Eliza Morrison

Little House on the Prairie

Little Voice

Little White Cabin

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

The Long March

Longwalker’s Journey: A Novel of the Choctaw Trail of Tears

Lord of the Animals: A Miwok Indian Creation Myth

Lost Bird of Wounded Knee: Spirit of the Lakota

The Lost Boy and the Monster

Luminaries of the Humble

Maata’s Journal

Maybe I Will Do Something: Seven Coyote Tales

Maii and Cousin Horned Toad

Mali Npnaqs: The Story of a Mean Little Old Lady

Mama, Do You Love Me?

Mama’s Little One

Manabozho’s Gifts: Three Chippewa Tales

The Manitous: The Spiritual World of the Ojibway

The Matchlock Gun

Mayers: A Yucatec Maya Family

Mayuk the Grizzly Bear

Meet Mindy: A Native Girl from the Southwest

Meet Naiche: A Native Boy from the Chesapeake bay Area

Meet Tricky Coyote!

Memory Songs

The Middle Five: Indian Schoolboys of the Omaha Tribe

Millie Cooper’s Ride: A True Story from History

Minik’s Story

Mink and Cloud

Mink and Grey Bird

Mink and Granny

Mink and Whale

Minuk: Ashes in the Pathway

The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway

Missions of the Central Coast

Missions of the Inland Valleys

Missions of the Los Angeles Area

Missions of the Monterey Bay Area

Missions of the San Francisco Bay Area

Missions of the Southern Coast

Mohawk Trail

Montezuma and the Aztecs

Moon Mother: A Native American Creation Tale

Moonstick: The Seasons of the Sioux

The Moon, the Sun, and the Coyote

More Earthmaker’s Tales: North American Indian Stories About Earth Happenings

More Star Tales: North American Indian Stories about the Stars

Morning on the Lake

Morning Sun, Black Star: The Northern Cheyenne Indians and America’s Energy Crisis

The Morning the Sun Went Down

Mourt’s Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth

Murdo’s Story: A Legend from Northern Manitoba

“Mush-hole”: Memories of a Residential School

Muskrat Will Be Swimming

My Arctic 1, 2, 3

My Grandmother’s Cookie Jar

My Heart Is on the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl, Carlisle Indian School, Pennsylvania, 1880

My Indian Boyhood

My Name is Seepeetza

My Navajo Sister

My People, the Sioux

Mystery of Coyote Canyon

Mystery of the Navajo Moon

Myths of the Cherokee

Myths and Legends of the Sioux

Nanabosho Dances

Nanabosho: How the Turtle Got Its Shell

Nanabosho, Soaring Eagle, and the Great Sturgeon

Nanobosho Steals Fire

Nanabosho and the Woodpecker

Native America: Portrait of the Peoples

Native American Culture Series: Arts and Crafts

Native American Culture Series: Child Reading

Native American Culture Series: Daily Life

Native American Culture Series: The European Invasion

Native American Culture Series: Spiritual Life

Native American Culture Series: Tribal Law

A Native American Feast

Native American Gardening: Stories, Projects, and Recipes for Families

Native American Picture Books of Change: The Art of Historic Children’s Editions

Native American Testimony

Native Americans

Native Americans in Children’s Literature

Native Americans: Projects, Games and Activities for Grades K-3

Native Americans: Projects, Games and Activities for Grades 4-6

Native North American Literature

The Naughty Little Rabbit and Old Man Coyote

Navajo ABC: A Dine Alphabet Book

Navajo Coyote Tales

Navajo Creation Myth: The Story of the Emergence

Navajo Long Walk (Armstrong)

Navajo Long Walk (Bruchac)

Navajo Stories of the Long Walk Period

Navajo: Visions and Voices Across the Mesa

Night Is Gone, Day Is Still Coming: Stories and Poems by American Indian Teens and Young Adults

The Night the White Deer Died

Nishnawbe: A Story of Indians in Michigan

No Borders

No Parole Today

Northern Lights: The Soccer Trails

Northwest Coast Indians

Northwoods Cradle Song: From a Menominee Lullaby

No Time to Say Goodbye: Children’s Stories of Kuper Island Residential School

Ocean Power: Poems from the Desert

Of Mother Earth and Father Sky: A Photographic Study of Navajo Cultures

Of Plymouth Plantation

Ojibwa Texts

The Ojibway Dream

Ojibway Family Life in Minnesota

Old Bag of Bones: A Coyote Tale

Old Enough

Old Father Storyteller

The Old Hogan

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims

One More Story: Contemporary Seneca Indian Tales of the Supernatural

On Mother’s Lap

On the Trail of Elder Brother: Gous’gap Stories of the Micmac Nation

On the Trail Made of Dawn: Native American Creation Stories

Orca’s Song

The Other Side of Nowhere

Our Journey

Outfoxing Coyote

Outlaws, Renegades and Saints: Diary of a Mixed-up Halfbreed

Pablo Remembers: The Fiesta of the Day of the Dead

Pah

Partial Recall: Photographs of Native North Americans

Pasquala: The Story of a California Indian Girl

The Path of the Quiet Elk

People of the Breaking Day

People of Salmon and Cedar

The People with Five Fingers

Photographs and Poems by Sioux Children

Pia Toya: A Goshute Indian Legend

The Pilgrims and Me

The Pilgrim’s First Thanksgiving

Pipaluk and the Whales

The Place at the Edge of the Earth

Plains Indians Diorama to Cut and Assemble

Pomo Basketmaking: A supreme art for the weaver

Popul Vuh

A Portrait of Spotted Deer’s Grandfather

Potlach: A Tsimshian Celebration

Power

Powwow

Powwow Summer: A Family Celebrates the Circle of Life

The Prince and the Salmon People

Protectors of the Land: An Environmental Journey to Understanding the Conservation Ethic

Pte Oyate: Buffalo Nations, Buffalo People

Pueblo Boy: Growing Up in Two Worlds

Pueblo Girls: Growing Up in Two Worlds

Pueblo Storyteller

Quest for the Eagle Feather

Questions and Swords: Folktales of the Zapatista Revolution

A Quick Brush of Wings

Quillworker: A Cheyenne Legend

Rachel’s Children

The Rainbow Bridge

The Rainbow Bridge: A Chumash Legend

Rainbow Crow

A Rainbow at Night: The World in Words and Pictures by Navajo Children

Rain Is Not My Indian Name

Rainy’s Powwow

The Range Eternal

Raven and the Moon and The Oystercatcher: Two Haida Legends

Raven Goes Berrypicking

Raven Returns the Water

Raven and Snipe

Raven’s Gift

Raven’s Light: A Myth from the People of the Northwest Coast

The Raven Steals the Light

Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest

A Really Good Brown Girl

Recovering the Word: Essays on Native American Literature

Red Hawk’s Account of Custer’s Last Battle

Red Hawk and the Sky Sisters: A Shawnee Legend

Red Flower Goes West

Red Indian Fair Book

Red Parka Mary

red woman with backward dyes

The Return of crazy horse

Rising Voices: Writings of Young Native Americans

A River Lost

Rolly’s Bear

The Rough-Face Girl

Runs With Horses

The Sacred Harvest: Ojibway Wild Rice Gathering

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

Saanii Dahataal: The Women Are Singing

Salmon Boy

A Salmon for Simon

Salmon Summer

Sculpted Stones/Piedras Labradas

Seaman’s Journal: On the Trail with Lewis and Clark

The Sea Monster’s Secret

Searching for Chipeta: The Story of a Ute and Her People

The Second Bend in the River

The Secrets and Mysteries of the Cherokee Little People, Yunwi Tsunsdi

The Secret of the White Buffalo

Seeds of Struggle, Songs of Hope: Poetry of Emerging Youth y Sus Maestros del Movimeniento

Selu: Seeking the Corn Mother’s Wisdom

Seminole Children and Elders Talk Together

The Seven Fires: An Ojibway Prophecy

The Seven Visions of Bull Lodge as Told by His Daughter Garter Snake

Seya’s Song

Shannon: An Ojibway Dancer

Shingebiss: An Ojibwa Legend

Shooting Back from the Reservation: A Photographic View of Life by Native American Youth

The Sign of the Beaver

Sika and the Raven

Sing Down the Moon

Sing Down the Rain

The Sioux: Facts, Stories, Activities

Sitting Bull, Champion of the Sioux

Sitting Bull and His World

Skeleton Man

The Sketchbook of Thomas Blue Eagle

Skunny Wundy and other Indian Tales

SkySisters

The Snake that Lived in the Santa Cruz Mountains and Other Ohlone Stories

Soaring Spirits: Conversations with Native American Teens

Solar Storms

Soloman’s Tree

Son of Raven, Son of Deer: Fables of the Tse-Shaht People

Song of the Hermit Thrust: An Iroquois Legend

Song of Sedna

Songs from the Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave

Songs of Shiprock Fair

The Song Within My Heart

The Sound of Flutes

Speak to Me Words: Essays on Contemporary American Indian Poetry

Spider Spins a Story: Fourteen Legends from Native America

Spider Woman

The Spirit Line

Spirit of the Maya: A Boy Explores His People’s Mysterious Past

Spirit of the White Bison

Spirit Transformed: A Journey from Tree to Totem

Spirit Voices of Bones

Spotted Eagle and Black Crow: A Lakota Legend

Spotted Tail’s Folk: A History of the Brule Sioux

The Spring Celebration

Squanto and the First Thanksgiving

The Star Maiden

Star Tales: North American Indian Stories about the Stars

Stories of the Road Allowance People

The Story of Blue Elk

The Story of Colors/La Historia de los Colores

A Story of the Dreamcatcher

The Story of the First Thanksgiving

The Story of Jumping Mouse: A Native American Legend

The Story of the Pilgrims

A Story to Tell: Traditions of a Tlingit Community

The Storyteller’s Sourcebook

The Story of Thanksgiving (Bartlett)

The Story of Thanksgiving (Skarmeas)

Strong Hearts: Native American Visions and Voices

The Sugar Bush

Sunflower’s Promise: A Zuni Legend

Sunpainters: Eclipse of the Navajo Sun

Supper for Crow: A Northwest Coast Indian Tale

A Symphony of Whales

T’aal: The One who Takes Bad Children

The Tale of Rabbit and Coyote

Ten Little Rabbits

Testimony: Death of a Guatemalan Village

The Thanksgiving Beast Feast

Thanksgiving Fun Activity Book

Thanksgiving Day (Gibbons)

Thanksgiving Day (Rockwell)

Thanksgiving: A Native Perspective

The Thanksgiving Story

That Tricky Coyote!

Thunderwoman: A Mythic Novel of the Pueblos

The Truth about Sacajawea

There Still are Buffalo

They Dance in the Sky: Native American Star Myths

They Were Strong and Good

This Land is My Land

Those Tiny Bits of Beans

Thunder Bear and Ko: The Buffalo Nation and Nambe Pueblo

Time Among the Navajos: Traditional Lifeways on the Reservation

Tjatjakiymatchan (Coyote): A Legend from Carmel Valley

To Kill an Indian: Indian Views on the Last Days of Crazy Horse

To Live in Two Worlds: American Indian Youth Today

Tonweya and the Eagles and Other Lakota Tales

Totem Pole

Totem Pole Carving: Bringing a Log to Life

Truth and Bright Water

The Turkey Girl: A Zuni Cinderella Story

Turkey’s, Pilgrims, and Indian Corn

Turquoise Boy: A Navajo Legend

Turtle Island: Tales of the Algonquian Nation

Turtle Lung Woman’s Granddaughter

Turtle Meat and other Stories

Turtle’s Race with Beaver

Two Bad Boys: A Very Old Cherokee Tale

Two Bear Cubs: A Miwok Legend from California’s Yosemite Valley

Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival

Two Pairs of Shoes

Urban Voices: The Bay Area Indian Community

The Upstairs room

The Vanishing Race and Other Illusions: Photographs of Indians by Edward S. Curtis

Vatos

The Very First Americans

The Very First Thanksgiving Day

Voice of the Turtle: American Indian Literature 1900-1970

Waboseg (An Ojibwe story about Rabbits’ ears)

Waheenee: An Indian Girl’s Story

Wait for Me!

Walking the Choctaw Road

Walks in Beauty

Walk Two Moons

Waleye Warriors: An Effective Alliance Against Racism and for the Earth

War of the Eagles

Waterlily

Watership Down

We Are All Related: A Celebration of Our Cultural Heritage

We Are the Many: A Picture Book of American Indians

Weaving a California Tradition: A Native American Basketweaver

Weave Little Stars Into My Sleep: Native American Lullabies

Whale Brother

Whale Girl

When Beaver Was Very Great

When the Chenoo Howls: Native American Tales of Terror

When the Moon is Full: A Lunar Year

When the Rain Sings: Poems by Young Native Americans

When the World Ended, How Hummingbird Got Fire, How People Were Made

Where Courage Is Like a Wild Horse

Where Did You Get Your Moccasins

Where Only the Elders Go—Moon Lake Loon Lake

Where There Is No Name for Art: The Art of Tewa Pueblo Children

Where the Rivers Meet

Whispers Among the Mission Trail

Whispers from the First Californians: A Story of California’s First People

White Buffalo Woman: A Storybook Based on Indian Legend

White Wolf

who will tell my brother?

Why Buffalo Roam

Wild Rice and the Ojibway People

The Winter People

Winter Thunder: Retold Tales

Wisahkecahk Flies to the Moon

The Wish Wind

WolfStar

Women of the Struggle: Portraits and Testimony of Native American Women

Word Up! Hope for Youth Poetry

The World of Manabozho: Tales of the Chippewa Indians

The Worry Stone

Wounded Knee

Writing as Witness

The Year of Miss Agnes

Yonder Mountains: A Cherokee Legend

Yudonsi: A Tale from the Canyons

A Zuni Artist Looks at Frank Hamilton Cushing

Zuni Breadstuff

Zuni Children and Elders Talk Together

The Zunis: Self-Portrayals

Second Post: The POC Challenge

Near the end of my post About the POC Challenge, I wondered if people participating in the POC Challenge are reading critics of color. I posed the question because my research on children's books about American Indians shows that most reviewers do not have the expertise necessary to recognize flaws in the way that authors and illustrators portray American Indians.

This lack of knowledge means that some deeply flawed books get starred reviews, nominated for (and win) awards, and end up on "Best Books" lists. All of this praise means the book is purchased by more people, and the flaws are passed on to more and more readers. Hence, misconceptions and erroneous information flows into the child or young adult who reads the book, and they go on to select and read books whose images of Indians feels familiar to them.  It's a cyclical and burgeoning problem for all of us.

A handful of new and old books that have been discussed here on American Indians in Children's Literature demonstrate the depth and breadth of the problem. I note them below, but start looking around on this blog and you'll find many others.

Arrow to the Sun, by Gerald McDermott, won the Caldecott in 1978.

Bearstone, by Will Hobbs, a popular writer with many books about American Indians.  

Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech, won the Newbery in 1995.

Take a look at the lists of books discussed on this site (lists are by title and by label). There, you'll find Touching Spirit Bear, Sign of the Beaver, Twilight, Little House on the Prairie...

I thought, at first, that the books eligible for the Challenge were books written by people of color, but I see now that any book with a character of color is eligible, and, based on the book list being generated, the "color" is not limited to the four groups in the United States commonly labeled as "underrepresented" (American Indian, African American, Asian American, Latino/a American). To gain insight to those four populations and books about them, read Teaching Multicultural Literature in Grades K-8 and Using Multiethnic Literature in the K-8 Classroom. Both are edited by Violet J. Harris.

To focus specifically on American Indians, participants can read my site, but they can also read A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children edited by Doris Seale and Beverly Slapin.

In comments to my first post about the POC Challenge, Thomas Crisp referenced the GLBT challenge. He referenced the work of David Levithan's work on this body of literature, but look for articles by Crisp, too. I like a word Cynthia Leitich Smith used in her comment: Commitment.  I hope the bloggers participating in the challenge become committed to reading criticism, and applying that criticism to their reviews.

 

"Fairy Tales: Zero Tolerance?"

Over on Worlds of Words, Marilyn Carpenter has an essay up called "Fairy Tales: Zero Tolerance?"

I read it this morning, and, like what I read. Carpenter's essay is about details of Chinese culture in Donna Jo Napoli's Bound. Click on over and read what she has to say.

I make similar arguments here on American Indians in Children's Literature. Course, here I refer to American Indian content, while Carpenter is focused on Chinese culture. The larger point is that authors must get the details right!

For examples of problems I've found, take a look at:


Gerald McDermott's ARROW TO THE SUN


McDermott made up the "Dance of Life" in ARROW TO THE SUN

Also see "Proceed with Caution: Using Native American Folktales in the Classroom" published in Language Arts in January, 2007, where I discuss Penny Pollock's Turkey Girl, and Kristina Rodanas's Dragonfly's Tale. (Send me an email [dreese dot nambe at gmail dot com] and I'll send you a copy.)

2008 Children's Literature Association Conference

I spent the last couple of days at the 2008 Children's Literature Association (ChLA) Conference. I met many people (professors) with whom I've had email with over the last ten or so years. Among them are Michael Joseph, Tammy Mielke, Kara Keeling, and June Cummins. A lot of people there read this blog and encourage their students to read it, too. It was terrific, too, to meet Tom Crisp, a student in Teacher Education at Michigan State, and talk with Ben Smallwood, at Illinois State.

There were several presentations on Sherman Alexie's YA novel, and one on Bruchac's Dark Pond and Skeleton Man. Ben Smallwood talked about Tim Tingle's books. All were thoughtful papers, not romanticizing the writers or their books, but posing good questions. I am intrigued by Adrienne Kertzer's challenge over whether or not the illustrations in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian support the text, and will return to the book to consider her challenge.

In my presentation, I talked about three books I've written about on this blog (McDermott's Arrow to the Sun, Pollock's Turkey Girl, and Rodanas Dragonfly's Tale,) none of which I recommend.

Conferences are time well-spent. Meeting people, hearing others thoughts in person. Next year's conference is in Charlotte, North Carolina. A special thanks to Linnea Hendrickson for encouraging me to attend ChLA.

"Would you want to be an Indian?"

Doing some research on use of Gerald McDermott's not-to-be-used-book-about-Pueblo-Indians, Arrow to the Sun, I found a page about global diversity, wherein a kindergarten teacher uses the book....

A culminating activity asks students to draw a picture, and, the teacher poses some questions. She posted two drawings and the Q&A. Here's one set of Q&A (red font is hers):

1. Can you tell me something about Indians? They shoot arrows
2. Would you want to be an Indian? Why or why not? No, because I would be dead

In her reflection of the activity, the teacher says:

State evidence in two or more sentences to show that your students gained knowledge during your Global Diversity lesson.

Through this lesson, my students gained knowledge about Indians that they did not know prior to this lesson. They learned what Indians ate, how they lived, some myths the Indians had, and much more information they did not know previously.

Note the use of past tense, and, the statement that her students gained information. Sadly, they gained MISinformation.

"Proceed with Caution: Using Native American Folktales in the Classroom"

The January 2007 issue of Language Arts, published by the National Council of Teachers of English, is out. In it is "Proceed with Caution: Using Native American Folktales in the Classroom," an article I wrote. In it, I discuss the ways that American Indian story is appropriated and distorted when authors retell those stories in picture books for children.

Specifically, I discuss McDermott's Arrow to the Sun, Pollock's Turkey Girl: A Zuni Cinderella Story, and Rodanas's Dragonfly's Tale. All three are widely available in bookstores, public and school libraries. But, all three are deeply flawed. Good stories, perhaps, but they provide little value in terms of informing readers about Pueblo Indians. And as many of you know, teachers often use children's books like these to teach their students about, in this case, Pueblo Indians.

Have you used one of these books in your teaching? Do you have it in your library? I hope the article is helpful to you, and that you view these books and others like them in a different way after reading the article.

I'll say again, I do not blame any teacher for embracing these books. We're all products of a society that romanticizes American Indians. That can change, though, and this article is one tool you can use to bring about that change.

Recommended Children's/YA/Reference/Resource Books

Items selected in the early 2000s by Debbie Reese, Assistant Professor, American Indian Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Jean Mendoza, Assistant Professor in Early Childhood Education, Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois (Last Update: Sep 2017. Our views have shifted since the list was created. See recent Best Books.) 

Note: There are three sections here. Scroll down to find each one.  

Section 1: A Sampling of Recommended Children's and Young Adult Books about American Indians

Section 2: Books and Articles about American Indians in Children's Literature

Section 3: Books about American Indian Culture

Section 1: A Sampling of Recommended Children's and Young Adult Books about American Indians 

PIC – Picture book; RF – Realistic Fiction; HF – Historical Fiction; NF – Nonfiction; P – Poetry; TL – Traditional Literature; B – Biography; AB – Autobiography; E – Elem.; M – Middle School; YA – Young Adult

Alexie, Sherman. (1994) Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight In Heaven. New York: Harperperennial. (RF - YA)

Alexie, Sherman (2007) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. NY: Little Brown. (RF-YA)

Allen, Paula Gunn. (2001) As Long As the Rivers Flow: The Stories of Nine Native Americans. New York: Scholastic (B – E/M)

Ancona, George. (1993) Powwow. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Ancona, George. (1995). Earth Daughter: Alicia of Acoma Pueblo. Macmillan. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Andrews, Jan. (1998). Very Last First Time. Aladdin (PIC/RF – All ages).

Archuleta, Margaret L., Brenda J. Child, and K. Tsianina Lomawaima. (2000) Away from Home: American Indian Boarding School Experiences. Phoenix: The Heard Museum. (NF – YA)

Begay, Shonto (1995) Navajo: Visions and Voices Across the Mesa. New York: Scholastic (P – All ages)

Blacksheep, Beverly [illustrator] (2003). Baby Learns About Animals. Flagstaff, AZ : Salina Bookshelf (PIC/Board book for toddlers)

Blacksheep, Beverly [illustrator] (2003). Baby’s First Laugh Flagstaff, AZ : Salina Bookshelf (PIC/Board book for toddlers)

Blacksheep, Beverly [illustrator] (2003). Baby Learns to Count, Flagstaff, AZ : Salina Bookshelf (PIC/Board book for toddlers)

Blacksheep, Beverly [illustrator] (2003). Baby Learns about Colors, Flagstaff, AZ: Salina Bookshelf (PIC/Board book for toddlers)

Braine, Susan. (1995). Drumbeat…Heartbeat: A Celebration of the Powwow. Lerner Pub. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Broker, Ignatia. (1983) Night Flying Woman. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society. (HF - YA)

Note from Debbie Reese on Sep 30, 2023: I no longer recommend Joseph Bruchac's work. For details, see Is Joseph Bruchac truly Abenaki?

Bruchac, Joseph (2004) Hidden Roots, New York: Scholastic. (RF – M)

Bruchac, Joseph. (1993). Fox Song. Philomel Books (PIC/RF – E/M).

Bruchac, Joseph. (1995). The Story of the Milky Way. Dial Books for Young Readers (PIC/TL – All ages).

Bruchac, Joseph. (1996). Eagle Song. Dial (PIC/RF – E/M).

Bruchac, Joseph. (1998) Arrow Over the Door. New York: Dial. (HF - E/M)

Bruchac, Joseph. (1997) Bowman’s Store. New York: Dial. (Autobiography - M/YA)

Bruchac, Joseph. (1996) Children of the Longhouse. New York: Dial. (HF - E/M)

Bruchac, Joseph. (1998). Heart of a Chief. Dial (RF - M).

Bruchac, Joseph. (2001) Skeleton Man. HarperCollins. (RF – M/YA)

Campbell, Maria. (1973) Halfbreed. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press (RF - M/YA)

Campbell, Nicola. (2006) Shi-shi-etko, NY: Groundwood. (PIC – All Ages)

Carlson, Lori Marie [ed.] (2005). Moccasin Thunder. NY: Harper Collins. (RF - YA) Short stories by Harjo, Hogan, Alexie, Smith.

Champagne, Duane. (1994) Chronology of Native North American History. Detroit: Gale Research (NF – All ages)

Champagne, Duane. (1994) Native America: Portrait of the Peoples. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. (NF – All ages)

Child, Brenda. (2000). Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900-1940. Bison Books Corporation. (NF – All ages)

Children of LaLoche & Friends. (1990). Byron through the Seasons. Fifth House Ltd. (PIC/RF – E/M).

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, (2005), Lincoln: U of Nebraska Press. (PIC/TL – All ages)

Crum, Robert. (1994). Eagle Drum: On the Powwow Trail with a Young Grass Dancer. Simon & Schuster. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

De Montano, Marty Kreipe (1998) Coyote in Love with a Star. New York: Abbeville Press. (PIC/TL – All ages)

Deloria, Ella. (1988) Waterlily. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. (HF - M/YA).

Deloria, Vine. (1969). Custer Died For Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto. New York: MacMillan. (NF – M/YA)

Dorris, Michael. (1994) Guests. New York: Scholastic (HF - E/M)

Dorris, Michael (1992) Morning Girl. New York: Scholastic (HF - E/M).

Dorris, Michael. (1996). Sees Behind Trees. New York: Scholastic (HF - E/M)

Dorris, Michael. (1998). The Window. Hyperion (RF – M/YA).

Earling, Debra Magpie. (2002). Perma Red. Blue Hen Books. (RF-YA).

Eastman, Charles. (1977) From the Deep Woods to Civilization. University of Nebraska Press. (AB – M/YA)

Eastman, Charles (1993) Indian Boyhood. Alexander, VA: Time Life Books. (AB - M/YA)

Ellis, Clyde. (1996). To Change Them Forever: Indian Education at the Rainy Mountain Boarding School, 1893-1920. University of Oklahoma Press. (NF – M/YA)

Erdrich, Louise. (1999). Grandmother's Pigeon. Hyperion (PIC/RF - E).

Erdrich, Louise. (1999). Birchbark House. New York: Hyperion. (HF - E/M)

Erdrich, Louise. (2005) Game of Silence. New York: HarperCollins (HF – E/M)

Eyvindson, Peter. (1984). Kyle’s Bath. Pemmican Publications (PIC/RF - E).

Eyvindson, Peter. (1988). Chester Bear, Where Are You? Pemmican Publications (PIC/RF - E).

Gravelle, Karen. (1997). Growing Up Where the Partridge Drums Its Wings. Franklin Watts. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Francis, Lee. (1996). Native Time: A Historical Time Line of Native America. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin. (NF – All ages)

Geiogamah, Hanay & Darby, Jaye T., (1999). Stories of Our Way: An Anthology of American Indian Plays. Los Angeles: UCLA American Indian Studies Center. (Anthology – YA).

Grace, Catherine O’Neill and Bruchac, Margaret. (2001). National Geographic Society. (NF – All ages)

Hale, Janet Campbell. (1993). Bloodlines. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. (RF - YA).

Hale, Janet Campbell. (1998). The Owl’s Song. University of New Mexico Press (RF - YA).

Harjo, Joy. (1996) Woman Who Fell From the Sky. W. W. Norton & Company (P – YA)

Harjo, Joy. (2000). The Good Luck Cat. (PIC/RF - E/M)

Himango, Deanna. (2002). Boozhoo, Come Play With Us. Cloquet, MN: Fond du Lac Head Start Program (available from www.oyate.org). (NF/PIC - Board book for babies and toddlers)

Howe, LeAnne. (2001). Shell Shaker. Aunt Lute Books. (Fiction – YA)

Howe, LeAnne. (2005). Evidence of Red: Prose and Poems. Salt Publishing. (Poetry – YA)

Hubbard, Jim. (1994) Shooting Back from the Reservation. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Hucko, Bruce. (1996) A Rainbow At Night: The World in Words and Pictures. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. (NF – All ages)

Hucko, Bruce. (1996). Where There Is No Name for Art: The Art of Tewa Pueblo Children.Santa Fe, N.M.: School of American Research: Distributed by the University of Washington Press. (NF – All ages)

Hungry Wolf, Beverly. (1980). The Ways of My Grandmothers. New York: Quill. (RF - YA)

Hunter, Sally, M. (1997) Four Seasons of Corn: A Winnebago Tradition. Photographs by Joe Allen. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Hunter, Sara Hoagland. (1996). The Unbreakable Code. Northland (PIC/RF – E/M).

Hyer, Sally. (1990). One House, One Voice, One Heart: Native American Education at the Santa Fe Indian School. Museum of New Mexico Press. (NF – All ages)

Jaakola, Lyz. (2001). Our Journey. Cloquet, MN: Fond du Lac Head Start Program. (RF/PIC - Board book for babies and toddlers)

Johnson, Diane Hamm. (1997). Daughter of Suqua. Albert Whitman & Co. (RF – E/M).

Keeshig-Tobias, Lenore. (1991). Bird Talk. Sister Vision (PIC/RF – E/M).

Keeshig-Tobias, Lenore. (1997). Emma and the Trees. Sister Vision (PIC/RF – E/M).

King, Sandra. Shannon: An Ojibway Dancer. (1993). Photographs by Catherine Whipple. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

King, Thomas. (1993 ) One Good Story That One. Toronto: HarperPerennial. (RF – YA)

King, Thomas. (1991) Medicine River. NY: Penguin. (RF – YA)

King, Thomas. (1992) A Coyote Columbus Story. Toronto: Douglas McIntyre Ltd. (PIC/TL – M/YA)

King, Thomas. (2000) Truth and Bright Water. Atlantic Monthly Press. (RF – YA)

King, Thomas. (2003). The Truth about Stories. Minneapolis: U of Minn Press. (NF – YA)

Krull, Kathleen. (1995). One Nation, Many Tribes: How Kids Live in Milwaukee’s Indian Community. Lodestar. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Kusugak, Michael. (1993). Northern Lights: The Soccer Trails. Annick Press Ltd. (PIC/RF – E/M).

Kusugak, Michael. (1996). My Arctic 1, 2, 3. Annick Press Ltd. (PIC/RF - E).

Lacapa, Michael. (1993). Antelope Woman, An Apache Folktale. (PIC/TL – E/M)

Lacapa, Kathleen & Michael. (1994). Less Than Half, More Than Whole. Northland (PIC/RF – E/M).

LaFlesche, Francis. (1963)The Middle Five: Indian Schoolboys of the Omaha Tribe. Lincoln: U of Neb. Press. (NF - M/YA)

Littlechild, George. (1993) This Land is My Land. Children’s Book Press. (PIC/RF – All ages)

Lomawaima, K. Tsianina (1994). They Called It Prairie Light. University of Nebraska Press (NF – M/YA).

Maher, Ramona. (2003). Alice Yazzie’s Year. Berkeley: Tricycle Press. (PIC/RF – E/MA).

Marra, Ben. (1996) Powwow: Images Along the Red Road. Photographs by Ben Marra. New York: Abrams. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

McDonald, Megan. (1997). Tundra Mouse. Orchard Books (PIC/RF – E/M).

McMillan, Bruce. (1997). Fort Chipewyan Homecoming: A Journey to Native Canada. Lerner Pub. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

McNickle, D’Arcy. (1978). Wind from an Enemy Sky. HarperCollins. (RF - YA).

McNickle, D’Arcy. (1978). The Surrounded. University of New Mexico Press. (RF - YA).

McNickle, D’Arcy. (1987). Runner in the Sun. University of New Mexico Press. (HF – M/YA).

Mendoza, Durango (1994) “Summer Water and Shirley” in Judith A. Stanford, Ed. Connections: Reading and Writing in Cultural Contexts., Third Edition. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing, pp. 184-191. (Anthology – YA)

Messinger, Carla (2007) When the Shadbush Blooms. (PIC/E-M)

Momaday, N. Scott (1974) An Angle of Geese and Other Poems. Boston: Godine (P – YA)

Momaday, N. Scott (1999) Circle of Wonder. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. (PIC/RF – E/M)

Montour, Joel. (1996). Cloudwalker: Contemporary Native American Stories. Fulcrum (RF - M).

Moore, MariJo. (2000). The Cherokee Little People. Barrington, IL: Rigby. (PIC/TL – E/M).

Moore, Marijo. (2000). The Ice Man. Barrington, IL: Rigby. (PIC/TL – E/M).

Moore, MariJo. (2000). First Fire. Barrington, IL: Rigby. (PIC/TL – E/M).

Munsch, Robert. (1989). A Promise Is a Promise. Annick Press Ltd. (PIC/RF – E/M).

National Museum of the American Indian (2007) Do All Indians Live in Tipis? (NF/EL-YA)

Okanagan Tribal Council (1999) How Food Was Given, How Names Were Given, and How Turtle Set the Animals Free. Okanagan Tribal Council. (TL – All Ages)

Orie, Sandra DeCoteau. (1995) Did You Hear Wind Sing Your Name? An Oneida Song of Spring. NY: Walker & Co. (PIC/P – all ages)

Ortiz, Simon. (1988). The People Shall Continue. Children’s Book Press. (PIC/P - all ages)

Parker, Dorothy R. (1996). Phoenix Indian School: The Second Half Century. University of Arizona Press. (NF – YA)

Peters, Russell. (1992) Clambake: A Wampanoag Tradition. Photographs by John Madama. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co., 1992. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Quoyawayma, Polingaysi. (1964). No Turning Back. A Hopi Indian Woman’s Struggle to Live in Two Worlds. University of New Mexico Press (AB – M/YA).

Red Shirt, Delphine (1998). Bead on an Anthill: A Lakota Childhood Lincoln: U of Nebraska Press. (NF – YA)

Regguinti, Gordon. (1992) The Sacred Harvest: Ojibway Wild Rice Gathering. Photographs by Dale Kakkak. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co., (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Rendon, Marcie. (1996) Powwow Summer: A Family Celebrates the Circle of Life. Photographs by Cheryl Walsh Bellville. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Rockwood, Joyce. (1976) To Spoil the Sun. New York: Henry Holt (HF - M/YA) [Eds. note on Sep 11, 2017: I need to revisit this book. Views on books like this have shifted since the list was initially created. For the present time, I do not recommend it.]

Roessel, Monty. (1993) Kinaaldá: A Navajo Girl Grows Up. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Roessel, Monty. (1995) Songs from the Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co. (Photo essay/NF – All ages).

Roessel, Ruth. (1973). Navajo Stories of the Long Walk Period. Tsaile, AZ: Navajo Community College Press. (NF – YA)

Rose, LaVera. (1999) Grandchildren of the Lakota. Photographs by Cheryl Walsh Bellville. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Ross, Gayle (1995) How Turtle’s Back Was Cracked: A Traditional Cherokee Tale. New York: Dial (PIC/TL – E/M)

Ross, Gayle (1996) The Legend of the Windigo. New York: Dial (PIC/TL – E/M)

Ruoff, A. Lavonne Brown. (1991) Literatures of the American Indian. New York: Chelsea House (NF – All ages)

Sanderson, Esther. (1990). Two Pairs of Shoes. Pemmican Publications (PIC/RF - E).

Savageau, Cheryl. (1996). Muskrat Will Be Swimming. Northland (PIC/RF – E/M).

Scott, Ann Herbert. (1992). On Mother’s Lap. Clarion (PIC/RF - E).

Sekaquaptewa, Eugene. (1994). Coyote and the Winnowing Birds. Clear Light (PIC/TL – All ages).

Skolnick, Sharon. (1997) Where Courage is Like a Wild Horse. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. (RF - YA)

Smith, Cynthia. (2000). Jingle Dancer. Morrow Junior (PIC/RF – E/M).

Smith, Cynthia (1999). Rain is Not My Indian Name. New York: HarperCollins (RF - E/M)

Smith, Cynthia (2002). Indian Shoes. New York: HarperCollins (RF-E/M)

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk (1995). Completing the Circle. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press (Autobiography – YA)

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk.(1993). The Chichi Hoohoo Bogeyman. University of Nebraska Press (RF – E/M).

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk (1993) The Sioux: A First Americans Book. Holiday House. (NF – All ages).

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk. (1993). When Thunders Spoke. University of Nebraska Press (F - E/M).

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk, (1994). The Nez Perce: A First Americans Book. Holiday House. (NF – All ages).

Sneve, Viriginia Driving Hawk (1994). The Seminoles: A First Americans Book. Holiday House. (NF – All ages).

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk. (1995). High Elk’s Treasure. Holiday House (RF – E/M).

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk, (1995) The Hopis: A First Americans Book. Holiday House (NF – All ages)

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk, (1995) The Iroquois: A First Americans Book. Holiday House (NF – All ages)

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk. (1995) The Navajos: A First Americans Book. Holiday House (NF – All ages)

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk (1996). The Cherokees: A First Americans Book. Holiday House. (NF – All ages).

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk, (1996) The Cheyennes: A First Americans Book. Holiday House. (NF – All ages).

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk, (1997), The Apaches: A First Americans Book. Holiday House. (NF – All ages).

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk, (2003), Enduring Wisdom: Sayings from Native Americans. Holiday House (NF – All ages).

Steltzer, Ulli. Building an Igloo. New York: Henry Holt, 1995. (Photo essay/NF – All ages).

Sterling, Shirley. (1997). My Name is Seepeetza. Douglas & McIntyre (RF - M).

Stroud, Virginia. (1994). Doesn’t Fall Off His Horse. Dial Books for Young Readers (PIC/TL – All ages).

Students of G.T. Cunningham Elementary School (1996). We Are All Related: A Celebration of Our Cultural Heritage. (NF- all ages)

Swamp, Jake. (1997) Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message. Lee & Low. (PIC/P - all ages)

Swentzell, Rina. (1992) Children of Clay: A Family of Pueblo Potters, Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co., 1992. (Photo essay/NF – all ages)

Talashoema, Herschel; Sekaquaptewa, Emory (Ed.); and Pepper, Barbara (Ed.). (1994). Coyote and Little Turtle. Clear Light. (PIC/TL – All ages).

Tapahonso, Luci (1997). Blue Horses Rush In. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. (P/RF – YA)

Tapahonso, Luci. (1999). Songs of Shiprock Fair. Kiva (PIC/P – All ages).

Thompson, Sheila. (1991). Cheryl’s Potlatch. Yinka Dene Language Institute. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Turcotte, Mark. (1995). Songs of Our Ancestors. Chicago: Children’s Press (PIC/P – All ages)

Van Camp, Richard. (1998), The Lesser Blessed. Douglas & McIntyre (RF – YA)

Van Camp, Richard; ill. by George Littlechild, (1997). A Man Called Raven. Children’s Book Press. (PIC/RF – E/M)

Van Camp, Richard; ill. by George Littlechild, (1998). What’s the Most Beautiful Thing you Know about Horses. Children’s Book Press. (PIC/RF – E/M)

Van Camp, Richard. (2007) Welcome Song for Baby. (Board book – All ages).

Velarde, Pablita. (1993) Old Father Storyteller. Santa Fe: Clear Light Publishers. (TL - all ages) – includes “Turkey Girl”

Waboose, Jan Bourdeau. (1998). Morning on the Lake. Kids Can Press (PIC/RF – E/M).

Waboose, Jan Bourdeau (2001). Sky Sisters. (PIC/RF – E/M)

Wallis, Velma. (1993) Two Old Women. New York: HarperPerennial (HF - M/YA)

Walking Turtle, Eagle. (1997). Full Moon Stories. Hyperion (TL – All ages).

Wheeler, Bernelda. (1995). Where Did You Get Your Moccasins? Peguis Publications (PIC/RF - E).

Wheeler, Bernelda. (1993). I Can’t Have Bannock but the Beaver Has a Dam. Peguis Publications (PIC/RF - E).

Whitethorne, Baje. (1994). Sunpainters: Eclipse of the Navajo Sun. Northland (PIC/TL – All ages).

Wittstock, Laura Waterman. (1993). Ininatig's Gift of Sugar: Traditional Native 

Sugarmaking. Photographs by Dale Kakkak. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Wood, Ted. (1992). A Boy Becomes a Man at Wounded Knee. Walker and Company. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Yamane, Linda. (1997) Weaving a California Tradition: A Native American Basket Maker.Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications. (Photo essay/NF – All ages) Photographs by Dugan Aguilar. 

Section Two: Recommended Resources about Native Americans in Children’s Literature

Atleo, M., Caldwell, N., Landis, B., Mendoza, J., Miranda, D., Reese, D., Rose, L., Slapin, B., Smith, C. (1999). A Critical Review of Ann Rinaldi's My Heart is on the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, A Sioux Girl. Oyate. http://oyate.org/books-to-avoid/index.html

Caldwell-Wood, Naomi, and Lisa A. Mitten. (1991) “I” Is Not for Indian: The Portrayal of Native Americans in Books for Young People. http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/ailabib.htm

Internet Public Library: Native American Authors. Provides a list of Native American authors, plus a short biography, a list of published works, and links to relevant sites. http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/

Kuipers, Barbara. (1991) American Indian Reference Books for Children and Young Adults. Englewood: Libraries Unlimited.

McCann, D. (1993). Native Americans in Books for the Young. In V. Harris (Ed.) Teaching Multicultural Literature in Grades K-8. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc.

Mendoza, Jean and Reese, Debbie. (2001). Examining Multicultural Picture Books for the Early Childhood Classroom: Possibilities and Pitfalls. Early Childhood Research and Practice 3 (2), On-line: http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v3n2/mendoza.html

Molin, Paulette. (2005). American Indian Themes in Young Adult Literature. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.

Native American Books. This on-line resource contains critical reviews of children’s books. http://www.kstrom.net/isk/books/bookmenu.html

Reese, Debbie A., & Caldwell-Wood, Naomi. (1997). Native Americans in Children's Literature. In V. J. Harris (Ed.), Using Multiethnic Literature in the K-8 Classroom. Christopher Gordon, Inc.

Reese, Debbie. (2001). Representations of Native American Women and Girls in Children’s Historical Fiction, in Lehr, Susan. (Ed.) Beauty, Brains and Brawn: Construction of Gender in Children’s Literature. Portsmouth: Heinemann.

Reese, Debbie. (1999). Authenticity & Sensitivity: Goals on writing and reviewing books with Native American themes. School Library Journal 45 (11), pp. 36-37. On-line: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA153126.html

Reese, Debbie A. (1998). “Look Mom! It’s George! He’s a TV Indian!” Horn Book Magazine, 74(5), pp. 636-641.

Seale, Doris, and Slapin, Beverly. (2006). A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children. AltaMira Press.

Slapin, Beverly, and Seale, Doris. (1998). Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children. University of California, American Indian Studies Center.

Smith, Cynthia L. Native American Themes in Books for Children and Teens. Start exploring Smith’s site with this page: http://cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/diversity/native_am/NativeThemes_intro.html

Smithsonian Institution. A Critical Bibliography on North American Indians for K-12. An extensive site, arranged by geographical area. http://www.nmnh.si.edu/anthro/outreach/Indbibl/index.html

Thompson, M.K. (Sept: 2001) “A sea of good intentions: Native Americans in books for children.” The Lion and the Unicorn.

Tyler, Rhonda Harris (Jul/Aug 2000) “Indian in the Cupboard: A Case Study in Perspective” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), Vol. 13, Issue 4 

Section Three: Recommended Professional Resources. Books and websites listed here can help teachers and librarians locate books, do fact checking, and gain insight and awareness of issues related to Native culture and Native perspectives.

Aperture.(1995) Strong Hearts: Native American Visions and Voices. New York: Aperture.

American Indian Library Association website: http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/aila.html

Berkhofer, Robert E. (1978). The White Man’s Indian. New York: Vintage Books.

Bigelow, Bill. (1998). Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years. Milwaukee: Rethinking Schools.

Cubbins, E.M. (1999) Techniques for Evaluating American Indian Web Sites. An excellent page with substantive information.http://www.u.arizona.edu/~ecubbins/webcrit.html

Davis, Mary B. (1996). Native America in the Twentieth Century: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publishing Inc.

Deloria, Phillip. (1998). Playing Indian. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Hirschfelder, Arlene; Molin, Paulette Fairbanks; & Wakim, Yvonne. (1999). American Indian Stereotypes in the World of Children. Scarecrow Press.

Hoxie, Frederick E. (1996). Encyclopedia of North American Indians. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

Mitten, Lisa. Native American Home Pages. http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/indians.html

Reese, Debbie. (1996) Teaching Young Children about Native Americans. ERIC Digest. Urbana, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. On-line: http://ecap.crc.uiuc.edu/eecearchive/digests/1996/reese96.html

Reese, Debbie. (1997). Thoughts on Not Seeing Oneself. Gender and Culture in Picture Books, School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies, Rutgers University. [on-line publication]

Seale, Doris, B. Slapin, & C. Silverman. (1998) Thanksgiving: A Native Perspective. Berkeley: Oyate.

Smithsonian Institution. Erasing Native American Stereotypes. An essay based on work done by June Sark Heinrich, Council on Books for Interracial Children, 1977 http://anthropology.si.edu/outreach/Indbibl/sterotyp.html

Stedman, Raymond William. (1982). Shadows of the Indian. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

Womack, Craig. (1999) Red on Red: Native American Literary Separatism. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota Press.