Deanna Himanga's BOOZHOO, COME PLAY WITH US

Boozhoo, Come Play With Us is a terrific board book. Published in 2002 by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, this board book for toddlers is comprised of photographs of Native kids at the Fond du Lac Head Start, with two lines of text on each page.

At the top of the first page is "Boozhoo, Whitney." In the center of the page is a photo of Whitney, and beneath it is "Boozhoo means hello."



This pattern continues throughout the book. At the top of every page is "Boozhoo, (name of the child in the photo)" Below each photo is a line of text.



Here's two pages from inside:

The inside cover is a note that says "In an effort to develop culturally appropriate materials for our children and families, the Fond du Lac Head Start Program dedicates this book to the many children of the Fond du Lac Reservation."

Inside the back cover is a pronunciation guide for the Ojibwe words used in the book. And, the back outside cover is a collage of all the children shown in the book. The text at the top reads "Gigawaabaamin means" and at the bottom, "see you around."

An outstanding board book, I got my copy from Oyate for six dollars.

Maybe this book can help teachers displace the erroneous and ubiquitous "HOW" as the way Indians say hello.

Note, 6/25/2012: You can also get the book directly from the Fond du Lac Tribe. 

Highly Recommended! BOOZHOO! HELLO! by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

 

Boozhoo! Hello! 

Written and illustrated by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (member 

of Wasauksing First Nation)

Translated by Mary Ann Corbiere (Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory)

Published in 2024

Publisher: Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

****

As you see, we are giving this book a 'highly recommended' review. But... 

Some books are delightful! 

I could also say 'delightfully recommended' because it is precisely the sort of book I would have used back when I was teaching kindergarten and first grade, and that I would have read to our daughter when she was little. Most elementary school teachers know this style of book. Questions are posed and answers given in the text but we can answer as we please, in the moment! 

Cast your eyes up to the cover, above, and look at that wolf's smile as it looks over its shoulder. See the joy in its face? That's where the delight is. The style of Pawis-Steckley's art is called Woodland. In an author's note he tells us he began drawing this book for his newborn daughter. As she grew, he shared the art he was creating. She would clap and smile. I read that author's note after I read the book. I had felt something special as I read it, and now that I have read the author's note, I get it. His illustrations are infused with his daughter's clap, and her smile. 

The format for Boozhoo! Hello! is this: on the left side of the double-paged spread is a page filled with an illustration. Facing it is a page of text in large font. Those words, as you might guess by the book's title, are in Anishinaabemowin at the top half of the page and English at the bottom half, as shown below.

This marvelous book begins with a rising sun and moves through a day's journey. On that first page, it is morning in the woods. "What" I imagine myself saying enthusiastically to a group of children, "do you see?" The sun! Flowers! Trees! Someone would say 'there's an animal behind the trees.'  It is the wolf! When we turn the page we see this:

One of my favorite pages is the one with a young otter on its back in the water, splashing, smiling, playing. A dear one in my own family loves otters. I think he's gonna like that page. 

See why I'm so delighted? 

As we near the end of the book, we see a page where three "little ones" (children) are asked what they hear. Turn the page and we see these words:

gookookoo debtaagzit

dbaajmat dbikak?

Shhh! Mbe nbaak!

Nahaaw, gookookoo.

Gga-waabmin.

an owl hooting

goodnight?

Shhh! It's time to sleep 

now.

Goodnight, owl. 

Imagining myself again, reading that last page in a quiet voice and pointing out the moon, the stars, the owl's closed eyes...  

Niimiwin - Everyone Dance

A few years ago the Fond du Lac Head Start program published a terrific board book called Boozhoo: Come Play With Us. Set at the headstart, the book consists of photographs of Native children at play. Text on each page is in Ojibwe and English.

This year they published another board book. This one is Niimiwin - Everyone Dance. I've ordered it. What I've read about it so far is that it is about pow wows. I look forward to getting it! If its anything like Boozhoo, it'll be on my list of Top Ten Books for Preschool-Aged Children.  You can order a copy from the Fond du Lac Head Start for $5.95. Here's the cover:

Beverly Blacksheep's Board Books

I'm currently doing some research on board books by Native authors...  Ones that feature Native children, or stories, or concept books (books that teach something like numbers, colors, etc.).  Previously, I've written about board books such as Boozhoo, Come Play With Us, and today I'm pointing to the series of board books written and illustrated by Beverly Blacksheep. 

What are board books? 

In The Essential Guide to Children's Books and their Creators, Anita Silvey tells us that Rosemary Wells's board books featuring a rabbit named Max sparked the publication of what we call board books. The Max books came out in 1979. Remember them?  Max's Breakfast was a favorite in our house.

Rather than pages made of paper, the pages in a board book are thick cardboard pages. The thickness makes them relatively indestructible (they don't tear or rip or bend like paper does) and because the pages are stiff, a toddler is able to more easily turn from one page to the next. 

We had many board books in our home, but there weren't any that I knew of that featured Native children or stories. So, I made a lot of books for my daughter. I glued photographs of her family and cousins onto cardboard, covered the cardboard with clear vinyl shelfpaper, and then bound several of those pages together with tape or string. They are treasures and played a role in my daughter's love of books. I wish I had a photograph of us with one of our homemade books, but I don't. Here, though, are three photos of our reading life. Top right is me reading to Liz. I think its Blueberries for Sal. Bottom right is Brooke, Liz's cousin, reading Dear Zoo to Liz. And on the left is a photo of Liz in the "chair and a half" that belonged to her grandmother, Betty (my husband's mother). It is the right size for a parent and child to sit, side-by-side, as they read.

As far as I know, there aren't any board books that reflect Pueblo life. I'll turn now, to the subject of this essay, the board books by Beverly Blacksheep. Here's the cover of Baby Learns about Colors:

I find Blacksheep's books absolutely gorgeous, from the colors she uses to the design of the books, they are wonderful. The colors range from soft pastels to brilliant purples that leap out from the crisp white background used throughout the books.

With the exception of the covers, each page has two languages: Navajo and English as seen in this page from Baby's First Laugh:

The people in the books are all shown wearing traditional clothing that is also worn today by some people as everyday attire.

In all there are eight books, published in 2003 and 2005 as follows:

2003
Baby's First Laugh
Baby Learns about Colors
Baby Learns to Count
Baby Learns about Animals

2005
Baby Learns about Seasons
Baby Learns about Senses
Baby Learns about Time
Baby Learns about Weather

To write my review, I've ordered the books---not by year of publication---but by a chronological ordering of the age of the Navajo baby featured in the series. (FYI: The Navajo Nation spans Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. They maintain an extensive website where you can learn about tribal government and history.)

Blacksheep has a website where you can see some of her art. The books, however, are available from Salina Bookshelf. Let's begin!

A new baby presents many moments for its family to look forward to...  That first laugh is a big one. We wait and wait and do all manner of things to make a baby smile and laugh. And we delight! We delight in that first laugh. That's what Baby's First Laugh is about.

The book opens with baby, sleeping in her cradleboard. (If you want to learn a bit about a Navajo cradleboard, go here and view a slide show.) Her parents are nearby, wondering "Who will make baby laugh?" It won't be her dad or her mom or her sister or her brother or her grandfather, either. All of them make her cry while trying to elicit that laugh. Then we get to grandma, who, of course, makes baby laugh.

Native families, particularly those on reservations, live near each other, with grandparents figuring prominently in a child's life and are there for many of the "firsts" that a child experiences. My mom, for example, was with me when my daughter, Liz, took her first steps. She spent many hours playing with Liz and singing to her. Here's a photo that captures both, play and singing:

In Baby Learns About Seasons, the baby's mom takes her out of the cradleboard. She's old enough to sit by herself.

In the spring she laughs as she watches her sister give a bottle to newborn lambs. She watches her dad prepare the fields and in the summer she sees the plants growing. She goes with her grandmother to gather corn pollen and is with her mom when she is picking peaches. In the fall she sits amongst pumpkins and leaves and she gathers pinon nuts. And in the winter, she is with her family as they gather and tell winter stories:

In Baby Learns to Count, Baby counts the familiar things in her life: her kitten, shoes, birds, rabbits, fingers, toys, butterflies, letters, marbles, and buttons.

Here's the page about her shoes, or, to use a common word, "moccasins." You don't see "moccasins" in the Navajo text because moccasins is not a Navajo word. It's not a Tewa (at Nambe our language is Tewa) word, either. There is no glossary that tells us which of the words in the Navajo text is their word for shoes. Navajo speakers will know which one it is, though, which points to an interesting aspect of the series. Readers who know and speak and read Navajo can read the Navajo text. The book isn't meant to teach the Navajo language. Instead, it works beautifully for readers for whom Navajo is their first language. Blacksheep's book, then, is unique because of what it does for Navajo families who use their language as their first language. (For a reader-friendly research article on bilingual books, see Bilingual Books: Promoting Literacy and Biliteracy in the Second-Language and Mainstream Classroom, by Gisela Ernst-Slavit and Margaret Mulhern, published in 2003 by the International Reading Association.)

Baby turns two years old in Baby Learns About Time.

The book opens with Baby in her bed on the morning of her birthday. She watches the sun rise and at noon, she helps her sister make lunch and serves everyone the mutton stew they made. In the afternoon her older brother plays with her outside. At sunset she's back inside, blowing out the candles on her birthday cake and in the evening she opens her present and gets a new pony (rocking horse) that she wanted.

Then its bedtime, and her mom sings her to sleep. In Baby Learns About Time, we see elements of mainstream American culture (big bows on wrapped gifts), and, elements of Navajo ways of being (learning to prepare traditional foods) as Baby goes through a day marked, not by the clock, but, by the natural progression of any given day.

A lot of people think that New Mexico and Arizona are deserts with intense heat, but there are four seasons in the northern parts of each state, as shown in Baby Learns About Weather.

Baby is shown on sunny days, but also on rainy days (where she sees a rainbow) and on snowy days where she tries to catch snowflakes. In this and the last three books, you can see that Baby is older.

In Baby Learns About Colors, she plays catch with a red ball and builds a tiny hogan with brown twigs. To do that she needs the dexterity of a slightly older child, and to feed green grass to rabbits and give bread crumbs to blue birds, she needs to know how to be still and quiet.

In Baby Learns About Senses, she helps her grandmother prepare a meal.

To do that, all her senses come into play. She tastes the goats milk they will use, she smells the mutton cooking over the fire, and she listens for the bubbling of the stew. And, she uses her sense of touch when she helps make the frybread:

The last book in my presentation of the series is Baby Learns About Animals.

Thus far, Baby has learned to help her family, and she's learned how to be around wild animals. In Baby Learns About Animals, she learns to take care of the domestic animals that are significant to her and to the Navajo people. She feeds oats to the horse, gives grain to the sheep, and teaches the sheepdog how to sit. She gives water to the colt:

and after all her work is done, she goes to sleep. In this series, readers can learn a lot about a Navajo family, and readers who are Navajo have a terrific set of books that reflect their lives, or, the lives of a Navajo family living a life infused with Navajo ways of being. I love the books and recommend them to everyone. They have something to offer all of us.  They're available from booksellers like Amazon, but if you can, order them from Salina Bookshelf. Its a small press, and I much prefer to send my dollars to a small press. Or, order them from Oyate and support the work that Oyate does.

And if you know of other board books by Native writers, let me know! Here's some that I've written about already:

Boozhoo: Come Play With Us, by Deanna Himanga
I See Me, by Margaret Manuel
Welcome Song for Baby, by Richard Van Camp

Highly Recommended: BIINDIGEN! AMIK SAYS WELCOME

Biindigen! Amik Says Welcome

by Nancy Cooper (Chippewas of Rama First Nation)

Illustrations by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (Wasauksing First Nation)

Published in 2023

Publisher: Owl Kids (Canada)

Reviewer: Jean Mendoza

Review Status: Highly Recommended

This is a short-and-sweet review of a cool picture book from the shelves of one of my favorite local places, the Urbana Free Library in Urbana, Ilinois. It's a pleasure to know they offer some of the most current books by and about Indigenous people. 

Here's what the publisher, Owl Kids, says about Biindigen!:

It’s a special day for Amik the beaver and her little sister, Nishiime. Their cousins are coming to visit! Amik is excited, but Nishiime feels nervous about meeting new people, and when the cousins finally arrive, Nishiime disappears.

Lively, immersive illustrations show Amik and her cousins as they search the woods for Nishiime. Each creature they encounter, introduced to readers using their Anishinaabe names, reveals how beavers help the forest community. A fish thanks them for digging canals in the mud that they swim through. A deer thanks the beavers for cutting down trees so they can reach the tastiest leaves. None of the creatures have seen Nishiime, but keen-eyed kids will have spotted her hiding in the background throughout the story....With the perfect blend of fact and fun, this salute to the industrious beaver is also an energetic celebration of Indigenous perspectives, languages, and diversity.

Reason #1 to recommend this book: the illustrations. AICL has reviewed several books illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, including Sharice's Big Voice. Readers will notice differences in how Pawis-Steckley approaches the subjects in each of the books. In Biindigen! the animals' bodies have some of the stylized lines and forms seen in Boozhoo! Hello!, but they have a somewhat different "feel."  They are plump, sleek, and lively-looking. And it's fun looking for Nishiime after she vanishes from her sister's sight.

My only concern is that the inking on some of the pages in the copy I have is so dark that details can be hard to see. In the sample pages on the Owl Kids web site,  the illustrations seem much brighter.

Reason #2: centering Indigenous knowledge. Author Nancy Cooper reveals in a non-didactic (yet accurate) way how beavers operate as a keystone species in the environments they occupy. This is an important understanding for children, as many people mistakenly view beavers as destructive -- cutting down trees, blocking streams, and so on. But the other animals that appear in the story express gratitude for the ways beaver activity benefits them.

Another fact implicit in Cooper's storytelling is that Native Nations interacted with each other for millennia, across distance and language differences, often using water routes on their journeys. The Beaver cousins do the same thing -- traveling far to get together, carrying or wearing items from their homelands and nations. That's something to point out when sharing the book with children.

Reason #3: promotion of Indigenous languages. The beavers know each other by their names in the languages of the places they come from, including Anishinaabemowin, Inuktitut, and Ayajuthum. Cooper's storytelling incorporates several Anishinaabe words (the meanings are apparent in context) and provides pronunciations and English definitions in the back matter. Seeing their language in good books is a big positive for Native children, and learning about Indigenous languages is important for non-Native kids, as well.

Reason #4: portraying shyness as okay. Amik and the cousins are eager to get together. Nishiime thinks she is, but is overtaken by shyness. She watches instead, as many young children do in new situations. She returns to Amik only when the cousins are about to depart, after she has determined that she will feel safe with them. Instead of scolding her or pointing out the joy she missed by not joining in, the older beavers are happy to see her and answer her questions before they head for home. 

Biindigen: Amik Says Welcome can be an asset in several areas of the primary curriculum. I hope teachers and librarians will follow the example of my favorite library and get a copy -- or more than one -- for the bookshelves.

 

2011 Opening Minds Conference - Chicago Metro AEYC

A hearty welcome to people who attended Choosing and Using Picture Books about Native Americans: What's New, What's Good, and What's Best Practice at Opening Minds, the 1011 Chicago Metro AEYC conference in January, 2011. (For those who don't know, the conference is for educators in early childhood).

Jean Mendoza and I are glad that you attended our session, and are happy to provide you with this list of books we discussed. Click on the titles for more information about each one. Some may be available from Oyate. Where possible, I provide a link to the webpage for the publisher. As is always the case with a conference presentation, time is limited, and presenters are never able to say something about every book they want to...  So, this is an incomplete list.

Board and Concept Books

• Welcome Song for Baby, by Richard Van Camp, available from Orca Books.
• I See Me, by Margaret Manuel, published by Theytus Books.
• Boozhoo, Come Play With Us, by Deanna Himango
• Learn the Alphabet with Northwest Coast Native Art, and Learn to Count with Northwest Coast Native Art; and Explore the Animals available from Northwest Coast Books.
• Beverly Blacksheep's board books available from Salina Bookshelf.
• Owl's See Clearly at Night, by Julie Flett, available from Simply Read Books.

Traditional Stories

• Pia Toya: A Goshute Indian Legend, by Children of Ibapah Elementary School (order used copy from your preferred used bookseller).
• Muskrat Will Be Swimming, by Cheryl Savageau, available from Tilbury House. 
• The Story of the Milk Way: A Cherokee Tale, by Joseph Bruchac and Gayle Ross (order a used copy from your preferred used bookseller).

Contemporary Stories

• Thanks to the Animals, by Allen Sockabasin, available from Tilbury House.  
• Two Pairs of Shoes, by Esther Sanderson, available from Oyate.
• The Day Matthew Touched the Sky, by Alyssa Kelly, available from the Salish Language Revitalization Institute.
• Good Luck Cat, by Joy Harjo, available from Oyate.
• Jingle Dancer, by Cynthia Leitich Smith, available from Oyate. 
• Less than Half, More than Whole, by Michael Lacapa, available from Oyate.
• Indian Shoes, by Cynthia Leitich Smith, available from Oyate.
• When the Shadbush Blooms, by Carla Messinger, available from Oyate.

Historical Settings

• Shi-Shi-Etko and Shin-Shin's Canoe by Nicola Campbell, available from Groundwood Books.  
• Crossing Bok Chitto and Saltypie by Tim Tingle. Get Saltypie from Cinco Puntos Press.
• Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich, available from Birchbark Books. 

Nonfiction

• Huckleberry Picking by Rosie Matt, Pat Pierre, Melanie Sandoval and Tachini Pete, available from the Salish Language Revitalization Institute.  
• Children of Clay by Rina Swentzell (order from your preferred used bookseller). 

Internet Resources

• American Indians in Children's Literature
• "How to Tell the Difference: A Guide"
• Teaching Young Children about Native Americans
• Examining Multicultural Picture Books for the Early Childhood Classroom: Possibilities and Pitfalls

Chicago Area Resources

• Title VII Indian Education Program, Chicago Public Schools
• American Indian Center of Chicago

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

 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:

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

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

Illustrated by Tara Audibert (Wolastoqey)

Published by Heartdrum

Publication Year: 2021

Reviewed by Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

****

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

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

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

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

And now, the Short and Sweet Rec:

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

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

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

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

Try saying: "Jo Jo Makoons Azure nindizhinikaaz." 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

______

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

SLJ's 2013 Focus On "Resources and Kid Lit about American Indians"

School Library Journal has a "Focus On" series in its Collection Development category. Each "Focus On" is devoted to a single topic. This month, I'm the author of the Focus On column. For it, I provided an annotated list of over 30 children's and young adult books and apps. Most are by Native authors of the U.S. or Canada. The column this month is Resources and Kid Lit about American Indians.

I love the book cover layouts SLJ's staff put together to go with the column. I love them so much, that I am reproducing them here. I would love to see these books on display in every library in the country! As I look at each cover, I remember vividly where I was when I read each one. That's because these books are outstanding. 

I'll take a moment, too, to thank members of the American Indian Library Association for their help in locating apps. I couldn't include all of them, but plan to write about those that I list below, and some that I learned about too late to include for the article. 

I'll also take a moment to point you to my previous Focus On column for SLJ. Published in 2008, it was the prompt for me to come up with my "Top Ten" lists (see top right column of AICL for links to those Top Ten lists). I'll be adding the books in the 2013 Focus On column to the Top Ten lists, too. 

Thanks, SLJ, for providing me with an opportunity to put these terrific books in front of a wide audience!

Please take time to go directly to the article and read the annotations. They're brief, but I've written--or will write about--each one of them on AICL. Here's the list. For previous/future posts on them, look for them in the 'label's section (far right column towards the bottom) or simply type the book title (in quotation marks) in the search bar (top left corner right).

BOARD BOOKS

Baby's First Laugh, by Beverly Blacksheep

Boozhoo, Come Play with Me, by Deanna Himango

Cradle Me, by Debby Slier

Little You, by Richard Van Camp

Good Morning World, by Paul Windsor

ELEMENTARY

Whale Snow, by Debby Dahl Edwardson

Chickadee, by Louise Erdrich

Kunu's Basket: A Story from Indian Island, by Lee DeCora Francis

Chikasha Stories, Volume One: Shared Spirit, by Glenda Galvan

Fatty Legs: A True Story, by Christy & Margaret Pokiak-Fenton

Greet the Dawn: The Lakota Way, by S. D. Nelson

Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hidatsa Story, by S. D. Nelson

The Christmas Coat: Memories of my Sioux Childhood, by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness Into Light, by Tim Tingle

Kamik: An Inuit Puppy Story, by Donald Uluadluak

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection, edited by Matt Dembicki

My Name is Not Easy, by Debby Dahl Edwardson

If I Ever Get Out of Here, by Eric Gansworth

Triple Threat, by Jacqueline Guest

Under the Mesquite, by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Walking on Earth, Touching the Sky: Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School, edited by Timothy P. McLaughlin

Native Writers: Voices of Power, by Kim Sigafus and Lyle Ernst

Super Indian: Volume One, by Arigon Starr

How I Became a Ghost, by Tim Tingle

HIGH SCHOOL

Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years, edited by Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson

Killer of Enemies, by Joseph Bruchac Update on Sep 30 2023: I (Debbie Reese) no longer recommend Bruchac's work. For details see Is Joseph Bruchac truly Abenaki?

The Round House, by Louise Erdrich

House of Purple Cedar, by Tim Tingle

Code Talker Stories, by Laura Tohe

The Moon of Letting Go: And Other Stories, by Richard Van Camp

Robopocalypse, by Daniel H. Wilson

APPS

Anompa: Chickasaw Language Basic, Chickasaw Nation

Bramble Berry Tales--The Story of Kalkalilh: Book One, Rival Schools Media Design

Navajo Toddler, Isreal Shortman

Ojibway, Ogoki Learning Systems

WEBSITES

Chickasaw Kids, Chickasaw Nation

Infinity of Nations Culture Quest, National Museum of the American Indian

We Shall Remain, PBS

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