Topics in the Youth Collection

"This book brings to life the timeless lessons of Mousewoman -- lessons that embody the principles outlined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. A first of its kind, this book empowers children to become proudly aware of their rights."

This board book "celebrates the potential of every child" and "the joy babies bring into the world."

"This beautiful bedtime poem, written by acclaimed Inuit throat singer Celina Kalluk, describes the gifts given to a newborn baby by all the animals of the Arctic."

"Nadia Sammurtok lovingly invites the reader into the amautik--the pouch in the back of a mother's parka used to carry a child--to experience everything through the eyes of the baby nestled inside, from the cloudlike softness of the pouch to the glistening sound of Anaana's laughter."

"As she waits for the arrival of her new baby, a mother-to-be gathers gifts to create a sacred bundle. A white feather, cedar and sage, a stone from the river . . . Each addition to the bundle will offer the new baby strength and connection to tradition, family, and community. As they grow together, mother and baby will each have gifts to offer each other."

"In Navajo families, the first person to make a new baby laugh hosts the child's First Laugh Ceremony. Who will earn the honor in this story?"

A young girl spends the summer at her grandmother's home on the Standing Rock Reservation in this illustrated, heartwarming family story from acclaimed, award-winning author-artist S. D. Nelson. Now that Clara is almost in third grade, she's finally old enough to spend her first summer away from home visiting her grandma, Unci, and her cousin at their home in Standing Rock Reservation. To welcome her visit, Uncle Louie brings an extra-special surprise in his pickup truck: the tipi that's been passed down through their family for generations. The girls learn how to stack the poles and wrap the canvas covering around them, how to paint spirit pictures on its walls, and how the circle of the tipi tells its own story, reminding us how to live in the great Circle of Life. Over long days spent playing outside, doing beadwork together, telling stories, singing songs, and sleeping under the stars, the tipi brings the family closer together. As summer draws to an end, goodbye comes all too soon, but Clara will always cling to the memories of summer days and starry nights . . . and Grandma's tipi.

Baby Rattlesnake wants a rattle like his older siblings have. His crying keeps the rattlesnake elders up all night so his parents give him a new rattle. Sure enough, he misuses his new rattle. When he tries to scare the chief's daughter, she steps on his rattle and crushes it. Sad and defeated, he returns to his forgiving family who give him "big rattlesnake hugs."

"When a young girl moves from the country to a small town, she feels lonely and out of place. But soon she meets an elderly woman next door, who shares her love of nature and art. As the seasons change, can the girl navigate the failing health of her new friend?"

"When Uncle and Windy Girl attend a powwow, Windy watches the dancers and listens to the singers. She eats tasty food and joins family and friends around the campfire. Later, Windy falls asleep under the stars. Uncle's stories inspire visions in her head: a bowwow powwow, where all the dancers are dogs. In these magical scenes, Windy sees veterans in a Grand Entry, and a visiting drum group, and traditional dancers, grass dancers, and jingle-dress dancers--all with telltale ears and paws and tails. All celebrating in song and dance. All attesting to the wonder of the powwow."
This book is bilingual, co-printed in English and Ojibwe.

"The Indian in us must disappear, they say. It must be tamed." In the late 1880s, ten-year-old Young Bull is sent to boarding school to learn the white man's ways. Eve Bunting's sensitive and poetic text recreates an experience shared by many Native American children in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Irving Toddy's dramatic paintings capture the beauty and color of the world Young Bull has left behind- and the vivid memories he preserves in his ledger drawings.

"Mary Golda Ross designed classified airplanes and spacecraft as Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's first female engineer. Find out how her passion for math and the Cherokee values she was raised with shaped her life and work."

There is a river called Bok Chitto that cuts through Mississippi. In the days before the War Between the States, in the days before the Trail of Tears, Bok Chitto was a boundary. On one side of the river lived the Choctaws. On the other side lived the plantation owners and their slaves. If a slave escaped and made his way across Bok Chitto, the slave was free. Thus beginsCrossing Bok Chitto, told by award-winning Choctaw storyteller Tim Tingle and brought to life with the rich illustrations of Jeanne Rorex Bridges. Martha Tom, a young Choctaw girl, knows better than to cross Bok Chitto, but one day--in search of blackberries--she disobeys her mother and finds herself on the other side. A tall slave discovers Martha Tom. A friendship begins between Martha Tom and the slave's family, most particularly his young son, Little Mo. Soon afterwards, Little Mo's mother finds out that she is going to be sold. The situation seems hopeless, except that Martha Tom teaches Little Mo's family how to walk on water to their freedom. Choctaw storytellerTim Tingle blends songs, cedar flute, and drum with tribal lore to bring the lore of the Choctaw Nation to life in lively historical, personal, and traditional stories. His collection of storiesWalking the Choctaw Road was selected as the Oklahoma Book of the Year. ArtistJeanne Rorex Bridges traces her heritage back to her Cherokee ancestors.Crossing Bok Chitto is her first fully illustrated book.

"As a little girl, Jolyana Begay-Kroupa dreamed of becoming Miss Navajo. After years of learning the language, culture, and traditions, her chance finally comes to take on the important role. The skills she learned help her in tough competitions but will they be enough to earn her the crown of Miss Navajo?"

"Centuries are blended into a special moment when a grandmother takes her granddaughter to dance on Smooth Rock Island."

"Fry bread is food. It is warm and delicious, piled high on a plate. Fry bread is time. It brings families together for meals and new memories. Fry bread is nation. It is shared by many, from coast to coast and beyond. Fry bread is us. It is a celebration of old and new, traditional and modern, similarity and difference."

"Some cats are good luck. You pet them and good things happen. Woogie is one of those cats. But as Woogie gets into one mishap after another, everyone starts to worry. Can a good luck cat's good luck run out?"

"Herizon follows the journey of a Diné girl as she helps her grandmother retrieve a flock of sheep. Join in her venture across land and water with the help of a magical scarf that will expand your imagination and transform what you thought possible. "

"Jenna loves the tradition of jingle dancing that has been shared by generations of women in her family, and she hopes to dance at the next powwow. But she has a problem -- how will her dress sing if it has no jingles?"

"Johnny spies a pheasant which he believes is sleeping and his Grandma fears is dead, but they learn they were both wrong when the pheasant departs, leaving behind a gift."

"As she prepares for her first powwow, an Ojibwa girl practices her dance steps, gets help from her family, and is inspired by the soaring flight of Migizi, the eagle."

In this Wampanoag story told in a Native tradition, two kids from the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe learn the story of Wee chumun (corn) and the first Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving story that most Americans know celebrates the Pilgrims. But without members of the Wampanoag tribe who already lived on the land where the Pilgrims settled, the Pilgrims would never have made it through their first winter. And without Wee chumun (corn), the Native people wouldn't have helped. An important picture book honoring both the history and tradition that surrounds the story of the first Thanksgiving.

Like millions of other children who call Los Angeles home, Kiki's a city girl, even if she was born on a reservation. Her parents left the Taos Pueblo long ago, and she hasn't been back since she was a baby. But when she returns with her parents during spring break, Kiki feels like a tourist in a place that should feel like home. An honest look at the challenges and rewards of contemporary American Indian life, Kiki's Journey is enhanced by Jonathan Warm Day's glowing illustrations of the Pueblo and its people.

Thick clusters of vivid blue flowers, which resemble old-fashioned sunbonnets, cover the Texas hills in the springtime every year. These lovely wild flowers, known by the name of bluebonnet, are the state flower of Texas.This favorite legend based on Comanche Indian lore, tells the story of how the bluebonnet came to be. Tomie dePaola's powerful retelling and his magnificent full-color paintings perfectly capture the Comanche People, the Texas hills, and the spirit of She-Who-Is-Alone, a little girl who made a sacrifice to save her tribe.

"In this lyrical story-poem, written in Anishinaabemowin and English, a child and grandmother explore their surroundings, taking pleasure in the familiar sights that each new season brings. We accompany them through warm summer days full of wildflowers, bees and blueberries, then fall, when bears feast before hibernation and forest mushrooms are ripe for harvest. Winter mornings begin in darkness as deer, mice and other animals search for food, while spring brings green shoots poking through melting snow and the chirping of peepers."

"When Nibi, an Indigenous girl, turns the tap in her house, only mucky brown water comes out. That starts her on a search for clean water to drink. Though she must face polluted rivers, unfriendly neighbors, and her own temporary discouragement, Nibi's joyful energy becomes a catalyst for change and action as her community rallies around her to make clean drinking water available for all."

"A little orphan who has been abandoned on the sea ice by a group of cruel hunters is discovered and adopted by a polar bear elder. While living in the bear's village, the orphan learns many lessons about survival and his own place in the world."

"Because she has been very ill and weak, River cannot join in the dancing at this year's tribal powwow, she can only watch from the sidelines as her sisters and cousins dance the celebration--but as the drum beats she finds the faith to believe that she will recover and dance again."

The ancient Mayan belief that the future was divinely decreed and could not be changed is the basis for this original tale of a boy who must defeat the Rain God in a ball game to save his people from disaster. Mayan art and architecture were the inspiration for the spectacular cut-paper artwork.

"In this powerful family saga, author Tim Tingle tells the story of his family's move from Oklahoma Choctaw country to Pasadena, TX. Spanning 50 years,Saltypie describes the problems encountered by his Choctaw grandmother--from her orphan days at an Indian boarding school to hardships encountered in her new home on the Gulf Coast."

"The most renowned Native American Indian potter of her time, Maria Povika Martinez learned pottery as a child under the guiding hands of her Ko-ōo, her aunt. She grew up to discover a new firing technique that turned her pots black and shiny, and made them--and Maria--famous. This inspiring story of family and creativity illuminates how Maria's belief in sharing her love of clay brought success and joy from her New Mexico Pueblo to people all across the country."

"This inspiring picture book autobiography tells the remarkable story of Sharice Davids, one of the first Native American women elected to Congress and the first LGBTQ congressperson to represent Kansas." Includes a four-page note about the Ho-Chunk Nation from Jon Greendeer, a former president of the Nation.

Winner of the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and finalist for the Governor General's Award: Children's Illustration This moving sequel to the award-winning Shi-shi-etko tells the story of two children's experience at residential school. Shi-shi-etko is about to return for her second year, but this time her six-year-old brother, Shin-chi, is going, too. As they begin their journey in the back of a cattle truck, Shi-shi-etko tells her brother all the things he must remember: the trees, the mountains, the rivers and the salmon. Shin-chi knows he won't see his family again until the sockeye salmon return in the summertime. When they arrive at school, Shi-shi-etko gives him a tiny cedar canoe, a gift from their father. The children's time is filled with going to mass, school for half the day, and work the other half. The girls cook, clean and sew, while the boys work in the fields, in the woodshop and at the forge. Shin-chi is forever hungry and lonely, but, finally, the salmon swim up the river and the children return home for a joyful family reunion.

"Two Ojibway sisters set off across the frozen north country to see the SkySpirits' midnight dance. It isn't easy for the younger sister to be silent, but gradually she begins to treasure the stillness and the wonderful experiences it brings. After an exhilarating walk and patient waiting, the girls are rewarded by the arrival of the SkySpirits -- the northern lights -- dancing and shimmering in the night sky."

A grandmother's love is forever in Star People, a picture book about remembrance and tradition from S. D. Nelson, award-winning author and member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.   "A young Lakota Indian girl narrates the story of how she and her little brother, Young Wolf, survive a prairie fire." --School Library Journal   "A stirring, original story based on Lakota legend . . . The swirling images of the celestial dance beautifully reflect the story's celebration and awe of the natural world." --Booklist   Sister Girl and her brother, Young Wolf, wander away from their village and soon find themselves far out in the surrounding prairie. They sit down in the grass and watch the clouds passing above billow to form an eagle, horses, and other creatures.   We sat in the dry, sweet-smelling grass, watching the clouds drift overhead. Young Wolf pointed and said, "Sister Girl, that cloud looks like a buffalo's head!" We both laughed with amazement. "There's an eagle," I cried!   Suddenly, animals begin to race past the children on the ground--followed by a wall of fire! Fleeing along with the frightened beasts, Sister Girl and Young Wolf save themselves by tumbling into a shallow stream. The fire leaves behind ash and a barren, forbidding landscape. The children realize that they are hopelessly lost. Night is coming--how will they get home to their parents? And why are the evening stars dancing so?   Drawing upon traditional Lakota ledger book art, S. D. Nelson's illustrations bring to life a memorable new legend about the Star People.

Intricate cut-paper illustrations incorporating Pacific Northwest motifs accompany this original story of the Tlingit princess Kchokeen, who is rescued from drowning by a guardian spirit that later enables her to summon a great wave and save her people from hostile strangers.

"From chasing, chirping birds, to swimming, squirting whales, this book for young readers reminds them how animals play just like them."

"Otsaliheliga is a Cherokee word that is used to express gratitude. Journey through the year with a Cherokee family and their tribal nation as they express thanks for celebrations big and small. This book presents a look at modern Native American life as told by a citizen of the Cherokee Nation."

"When a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth and poison her people's water, one young water protector takes a stand to defend Earth's most sacred resource. Inspired by the many indigenous-led movements across North America, this bold and lyrical picture book issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth's water from harm and corruption."

With humor and heart, and brought to life by Jonathan Nelson's warm, distinctive artwork, Kim Rogers's A Letter for Bob celebrates the treasured cars that carry us through our most meaningful childhood moments. Ever since the day Mom and Dad brought Bob home from the car dealership, Bob has been a part of Katie's family. Bob has taken them all over, from powwows to vacations to time spent with faraway family. Bob has been there in sad and scary times and for some of the family's most treasured memories. But after many miles, it's time for the family to say goodbye to Bob... This humorous and tender story about a beloved family car--and all the stories and love carried along for the ride--will appeal to every kid whose family has owned a special car! Kim Rogers is the author of Just Like Grandma, illustrated by Julie Flett, which received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, which called it "a joyous, uplifting celebration of culture and family."

"The small shall be large . . . that's how it must be." In the Andean foothills, a five-year-old Quechua girl is entrusted with a big job: to collect a marrow bone from the neighbor for the family soup. A stunning debut from Indigenous author Suniyay Moreno. Picu's family is very poor. In the dry Andean foothills, her mother must feed fourteen people--her kids, her relatives' kids, and the hired hand's kids--every day. One morning, Picu, the youngest sister, is sent to get a marrow bone from a neighbor. The bone will add flavor and nutrition to the lunchtime soup. Her mother warns her not to dawdle on the two-hour walk, each way, through the wild landscape. But Picu can't help it! She marvels at the butterflies, samples the cactus fruit, and daydreams about using the marrow bone as a football. Will the neighbor let her family keep the bone after the soup is made? Will her mother let her play with it? And will she be punished for being so late? Picu is a child of joie de vivre and resourcefulness. This story, like Picu herself, is tough, hard, and honest. And moving. And fun.  The Youngest Sister features a glossary of Quechuan terms that are used throughout the story. An Aldana Libros Book, Greystone Kids

This informative and inspiring picture book by acclaimed author Kim Rogers (Wichita), with striking artwork by debut illustrator Bobby Von Martin (Choctaw), celebrates the achievements of Clarence Tinker, a member of the Osage Nation who became the first Native American major general. Clarence Tinker always knew that he wanted to do something extraordinary. Something adventurous. Something that made a difference in the world. But as a member of the Osage Nation at the turn of the twentieth century, there were a lot of obstacles that he had to face to achieve his dreams. When he was a child, Clarence was taken away from his family and community. He was forced to attend a prisonlike boarding school, like many other Native children of his generation. There, he wasn't able to speak his language or practice his Osage customs. Still, Clarence kept his dream close to his heart and joined the US Army with the goal of becoming an officer. Though he was treading an unfamiliar path, he worked hard and never forgot his Osage values and traditions that, ultimately, paved his way to success. I Am Osage, the first nonfiction project from the Heartdrum imprint, combines gorgeous, vibrant artwork with a stirring text that celebrates an unsung hero while also shedding light on significant American history. Features an author's note and timeline.

My Little Ogichidaa is inspired by Indigenous motherhood. It invites readers to explore the compelling dreams and hopes of an Indigenous parent for her soon-to-be-born warrior. The word Ogichidaa itself means warrior in Anishinaabemowin, and this beautifully illustrated book is a tribute to Indigenous families everywhere who are proudly raising their children to carry forward their culture, language, and love with resilience, strength, and kindness. This story is proof that despite colonization, our world is full of Indigenous art, beauty, love, and brilliance. Through the eyes of a mother, readers gain insight into the profound bonds of family and community that are central to Indigenous life. This heartwarming and empowering story is a celebration of Indigenous love and the powerful legacy that it creates.

In this happy, vibrant tribute to Rock Your Mocs Day, observed yearly on November 15, author Laurel Goodluck (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Tsimshian) and artist Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw) celebrate the joy and power of wearing moccasins--and the Native pride that comes with them. A perfect book for Native American Heritage Month, and all year round! We're stepping out and kicking it up. Wearing beauty on their feet-- as art, as tradition, with style, with pride-- kids from different Native Nations know every day is a day to ROCK YOUR MOCS!  This book contains an author's note with additional information about moccasins and Rock Your Mocs day, for readers curious to learn more about intertribal pride and the joy found in different Native identities! Rock Your Mocs Day has now been extended to a week in November, and during that week, kids from all over the United States join together to show pride in their heritage. 

"Ella Cara Deloria loved to listen to her family tell stories in the Dakota language. She recorded many American Indian peoples' stories and languages and shared them with everyone. She helped protect her people's language for future generations. She also wrote stories of her own."

"Together with Grampa, Ray Halfmoon, a Seminole-Cherokee boy, finds creative and amusing solutions to life's challenges."

"Indigenous Peoples' Day is about celebrating! The second Monday in October is a day to honor Native American people, their histories, and cultures. People mark the day with food, dancing, and songs. Readers will discover how a shared holiday can have multiple traditions and be celebrated in all sorts of ways."

"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..."
**We also have book 2, FANCY PANTS, also in Y QUI!

"Beautiful, poignant and poetic. This story will weave its way into the hearts and minds of readers for generations." --Monique Gray Smith, author of My Heart Fills With Happiness From beloved Indigenous icon Buffy Sainte-Marie comes a chapter book inspired by oral histories and traditions. On a prairie reserve, Tâpwê receives a mysterious gift from Kokhom (grandma)--and finds himself on an unforgettable adventure.  Tâpwê can't wait to spend a week with his cousins on the other side of the Cree reserve--especially since Kokhom, his grandma, has given him the most amazing gift: a Magic Hat with bluebirds and grass snakes that come to life! Tâpwê is so excited that he soon forgets Kokhom's advice: Watch out for tricksters! Tâpwê's adventure is everything he imagined. He meets his cousins, takes part in a powwow, and sleeps in a tipi. But soon he's reminded of Kokhom's words. Is his new friend Wâpos leading him astray with mischief? Tâpwê and the Magic Hat draws on a rich Indigenous tradition of storytelling and features: A memorable cast of characters from both imagination and legend.  A glossary and pronunciation guide of Cree words used in the book.  A note to parents and teachers from Buffy Sainte-Marie about trickster stories.  An important message for young readers about being yourself, and learning to dance to the beat of your own heart. Features black and white illustrations throughout.

"Native families from Nations across the continent gather at the Dance for Mother Earth Powwow in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In a high school gym full of color and song, people dance, sell beadwork and books, and celebrate friendship and heritage. Young protagonists will meet relatives from faraway, mysterious strangers, and sometimes one another (plus one scrappy rez dog). They are the heroes of their own stories."
Featuring stories and poems by Joseph Bruchac; Art Coulson; Christine Day; Eric Gansworth; Carole Lindstrom; Dawn Quigley; Rebecca Roanhorse; David A. Robertson; Andrea L. Rogers; Kim Rogers; Cynthia Leitich Smith; Monique Gray Smith; Traci Sorell; Tim Tingle; Erika T. Wurth; and Brian Young

"Omakayas, a seven-year-old Native American girl of the Ojibwa tribe, lives through the joys of summer and the perils of winter on an island in Lake Superior in 1847."
This is the first book in the Birchbark House series, followed by (all in Y ERD)
2. The Game of Silence
3. The Porcupine Year
4. Chickadee
5. Makoons

"Sam, Otter, Atim, and Chickadee are four inseparable cousins growing up on the Windy Lake First Nation.[...] When a visiting archeologist goes missing, the cousins decide to solve the mystery of his disappearance. In the midst of community conflict, family concerns, and environmental protests, the four get busy following every lead. From their base of operations in a fort made out of an old school bus, the Mighty Muskrats won't let anything stop them from solving their case!"

"When Nathan goes to visit his grandma, Nali, at her mobile summer home on the Navajo reservation, he knows he's in for a pretty uneventful summer, with no electricity or cell service. Still, he loves spending time with Nali and with his uncle Jet, though it's clear when Jet arrives that he brings his problems with him. One night, while lost in the nearby desert, Nathan finds someone extraordinary: a Holy Being from the Navajo Creation Story--a Water Monster--in need of help. Now Nathan must summon all his courage to save his new friend. With the help of other Navajo Holy Beings, Nathan is determined to save the Water Monster, and to support Uncle Jet in healing from his own pain."

"Hiawatha, a Mohawk, is plotting revenge for the murder of his wife and daughters by the evil Onondaga Chief, Tadodaho, when he meets the Great Peacemaker, who enlists his help in bringing the nations together to share his vision of a new way of life marked by peace, love, and unity rather than war, hate, and fear. Includes historical notes."

"When twelve-year-old Edie finds letters and photographs in her attic that change everything she thought she knew about her Native American mother's adoption, she realizes she has a lot to learn about her family's history and her own identity."

"When Regina's Umpqua tribe is legally terminated and her family must relocate from Oregon to Los Angeles, she goes on a quest to understand her identity as an Indian despite being so far from home."

"Keet, a ten-year-old Tlingit Indian boy, stows away for a voyage on his father's canoe . . . and soon finds himself caught in the middle of a wild seastorm. The story carries him far from his home village, and when he makes land, he winds up right in the middle of a dangerous dispute between two Indian clans."

"Journey through the history of powwow culture in North America, from its origins to the thriving powwow culture of today. As a lifelong competitive powwow dancer, Karen Pheasant-Neganigwane is a guide to the protocols, regalia, songs, dances and even food you can find at powwows from coast to coast, as well as the important role they play in Indigenous culture and reconciliation."

"Aimée, a non-binary Anishinaabe middle-schooler, is on a class trip to offer gifts to Paayehnsag, the water spirits known to protect the land. While stories are told about the water spirits and the threat of the land being taken over for development, Aimée zones out, distracting themselves from the bullying and isolation they've experienced since expressing their non-binary identity. When Aimée accidentally wanders off, they are transported to an alternate dimension populated by traditional Anishinaabe figures in a story inspired by Alice in Wonderland. To gain the way back home, Aimée is called on to help Trickster by hunting down dark water spirits with guidance from Paayehnsag."

"Red Cloud (1822-1909) was a great warrior and chief of the Lakota. Told from his [imagined] perspective, Red Cloud: A Lakota Story of War and Surrender describes the events that brought him to prominence as a leader of his people and how he came to surrender them to the wasichus (White Man), ending their way of life on the Great Plains.   From the intrusion of white settlers into Lakota territory, to the treaties signed with the U.S. government, and to the many subsequent battles, Red Cloud explains how the Lakota became the only nation to win a war against the U.S. Army on American soil. However, unlike fellow warriors Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, Red Cloud eventually came to accept the inevitable advance of white civilization. He submitted to change and moved his followers onto a reservation. The story concludes with Red Cloud's trip to the East Coast, where he visited New York City and met President Ulysses S. Grant."

"In this magical, modern twist on Peter Pan, stepsisters Lily and Wendy are spirited away to Neverland by a mysterious boy and must find a way back to the family they love."

"Renowned Cree painter Allen Sapp's inspired and stunning artwork beautifully complements this sweet story of a young First Nations boy preparing for his first pow-wow. The young boy's Nokum--his beloved grandmother--guides him through the exciting day and watches over him as events unfold. David Bouchard's rhythmic and informative text is based on remembrances from Allen Sapp's childhood."

"Canada's relationship with its Indigenous people has suffered as a result of both the residential school system and the lack of understanding of the historical and current impact of those schools. Healing and repairing that relationship requires education, awareness and increased understanding of the legacy and the impacts still being felt by Survivors and their families. Guided by acclaimed Indigenous author Monique Gray Smith, readers will learn about the lives of Survivors and listen to allies who are putting the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into action."

"Martha Tom knows better than to cross the Bok Chitto River to pick blackberries. The Bok Chitto is the only border between her town in the Choctaw Nation and the slave-owning plantation in Mississippi territory. The slave owners could catch her, too. What was she thinking? But crossing the river brings a surprise friendship with Lil Mo, a boy who is enslaved on the other side. When Lil Mo discovers that his mother is about to be sold and the rest of his family left behind. But Martha Tom has the answer: cross the Bok Chitto and become free. Crossing to freedom with his family seems impossible with slave catchers roaming, but then there is a miracle--a magical night where things become unseen and souls walk on water. By morning, Lil Mo discovers he has entered a completely new world of tradition, community, and . . . a little magic. But as Lil Mo's family adjusts to their new life, danger waits just around the corner."

"Twelve Native American kids present historical and contemporary laws, policies, struggles, and victories in Native life, each with a powerful refrain: We are still here! Too often, Native American history is treated as a finished chapter instead of relevant and ongoing." Topics covered include "forced assimilation (such as boarding schools), land allotment and Native tribal reorganization, termination (the US government not recognizing tribes as nations), Native urban relocation (from reservations), self-determination (tribal self-empowerment), Native civil rights, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), religious freedom, economic development (including casino development), Native language revival efforts, cultural persistence, and nationhood."

"Apple Starkington turned her back on her Native American heritage the moment she was called a racial slur for someone of white and Indian descent, not that she really even knew how to be an Indian in the first place. Too bad the white world doesn't accept her either. And so begins her quirky habits to gain acceptance. Apple's name, chosen by her Indian mother on her deathbed, has a double meaning: treasured apple of my eye, but also the negative connotation a person who is red, or Indian, on the outside, but white on the inside. After her wealthy father gives her the boot one summer, Apple reluctantly agrees to visit her Native American relatives on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in northern North Dakota for the first time. Apple learns to deal with the culture shock of Indian customs and the Native Michif language, while she tries to find a connection to her dead mother. She also has to deal with a vengeful Indian man who loved her mother in high school but now hates Apple because her mom married a white man. Bouncing in the middle of two cultures, Apple meets her Indian relatives, shatters Indian stereotypes, and learns what it means to find her place in a world divided by color."

A tween/teen readers' version of Treuer's book for adults, "updated and expanded to include dozens of new questions and new sections, including a social activism section that explores the Dakota Access Pipeline, racism, identity, politics, and more; over 50 new photos; and adapted text for broad appeal."

"Within these colorful pages, family and community come together in celebration of a girl's journey, offering praise, love, and advice to help carry her forward through the many milestones to come."

"Told in the words of Isaac, a Choctaw boy who does not survive the Trail of Tears, How I Became a Ghost is a tale of innocence and resilience in the face of tragedy. "

Profiles the following musicians:
--Michael Bucher (Cherokee) : vocalist and composer of music to protect sacred sites
--Mary Youngblood (Seminole/Aleut) : Native American flutist
--Crystal Shawanda (Ojibwe) : country music singer
--Blackfire (Navajo) : punk rock and traditional Navajo
--Leela Gilday (Dene) : vocalist and composer with a message of hope and empowerment
--Four Rivers Drum (variety of tribal affiliations) : pow wow drum group
--Jamie Coon (Creek/Seminole) : vocalist combining jazz and pop rock
--Mato Nanji (Nakota Sioux) : guitarist and leader of the band Indigenous
--Shane Yellowbird (Cree) : country music singer
--Gabriel Ayala (Pascua Yaqui) : classical guitarist.

"Style is not just the clothes on our backs--it is self-expression, representation, and transformation. As a fashion-obsessed Ojibwe teen, Christian Allaire rarely saw anyone that looked like him in the magazines or movies he sought out for inspiration. Now the Fashion and Style Writer for Vogue, he is working to change that--because clothes are never just clothes. Men's heels are a statement of pride in the face of LGTBQ+ discrimination, while ribbon shirts honor Indigenous ancestors and keep culture alive. Allaire takes the reader through boldly designed chapters to discuss additional topics like cosplay, make up, hijabs, and hair, probing the connections between fashion and history, culture, politics, and social justice."

"In 2005, when Angela Hovak Johnston heard that the last Inuk woman tattooed in the old way had died, she set out to tattoo herself in tribute to this ancient custom and learn how to tattoo others. What was at first a personal quest became a project to bring the art of traditional tattooing back to Inuit women across Nunavut, starting with Johnston's home community of Kugluktuk. Collected in this beautiful book are moving photos and stories from more than two dozen women who participated in Johnston's project. Together, these women have united to bring to life an ancient tradition, reawakening their ancestors' lines and sharing this knowledge with future generations."

"What do people do when their civilization is invaded? Indigenous people have been faced with disease, war, broken promises, and forced assimilation. Despite crushing losses and insurmountable challenges, they formed new nations from the remnants of old ones, they adopted new ideas and built on them, they fought back, and they kept their cultures alive."

"#Not Your Princess presents an eclectic collection of poems, essays, interviews, and art that combine to express the experience of being a Native woman. Stories of abuse, humiliation, and stereotyping are countered by the voices of passionate women making themselves heard and demanding change. Sometimes angry, often reflective, but always strong, the women in this book will give teen readers insight into the lives of women who, for so long, have been virtually invisible."

Click on the catalog link above for a full list of contributors.

Eric Gansworth's memoir in verse, prose, and artwork tells "the story of his family, of Onondaga among Tuscaroras, of Native folks everywhere. From the horrible legacy of the government boarding schools, to a boy watching his siblings leave and return and leave again, to a young man fighting to be an artist who balances multiple worlds."

"In a graphics-intensive, magazine-style format, 50 Native/Indian contributors from Canada and the United States present visual art (photography, drawings, paintings), poems, interviews and remembrances to show what it means to be Native/Indian today. Topics range from stereotypes and discrimination to discussions of the contributors' careers in activism, modeling, music, visual arts and more."

"Imagine an America very similar to our own. It's got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream.[...] This America been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day. Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry."

"Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, either in her hometown or on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of college, but when her family is struck by tragedy she puts her future on hold to care for her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, a new recruit on her brother Levi's hockey team. When Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, she reluctantly agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source of a new drug. How far will she go to protect her community, if it threatens to tear apart the only world she's ever known?"

"Shane is still reeling from the suicide of his kid sister, Destiny. How could he have missed the fact that she was so sad? He tries to share his grief with his girlfriend, Tara, but she's too concerned with her own needs to offer him much comfort. What he really wants is to be able to turn to the one person on the rez whom he loves--his friend, David. Things go from bad to worse as Shane's dream of going to university is shattered and his grieving mother withdraws from the world. Worst of all, he and David have to hide their relationship from everyone. Shane feels that his only chance of a better life is moving to Toronto, but David refuses to join him. When yet another tragedy strikes, the two boys have to make difficult choices about their future together."

"When Louise Wolfe's first real boyfriend mocks and disrespects Native people in front of her, she breaks things off and dumps him over e-mail. It's her senior year, anyway, and she'd rather spend her time with her family and friends and working on the school newspaper. The editors pair her up with Joey Kairouz, the ambitious new photojournalist, and in no time the paper's staff find themselves with a major story to cover: the school musical director's inclusive approach to casting The Wizard of Oz has been provoking backlash in their mostly white, middle-class Kansas town. From the newly formed Parents Against Revisionist Theater to anonymous threats, long-held prejudices are being laid bare and hostilities are spreading against teachers, parents, and students -- especially the cast members at the center of the controversy, including Lou's little brother, who's playing the Tin Man. As tensions mount at school, so does a romance between Lou and Joey -- but as she's learned, "dating while Native" can be difficult. In trying to protect her own heart, will Lou break Joey's?"

This is a follow-up to The Marrow Thieves. "French has been captured by the Recruiters, confined to one of the infamous residential schools, where the government extracts the marrow of Indigenous people in order to steal the ability to dream, and where the captured are programmed to betray others of their kind, something which he discovers has been done to his brother; meanwhile the other survivors, his found family, are hunting for him, determined to rescue him--and French has to decide just how much, and whom, he is willing to sacrifice to survive and be reunited with Rose and the others."

"Spanning more than 400 years, this classic bottom-up history examines the legacy of Indigenous peoples' resistance, resilience, and steadfast fight against imperialism." Adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese from Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's book for adult readers.

"Humanity has nearly destroyed its world through global warming, but now an even greater evil lurks. The Indigenous people of North America are being hunted and harvested for their bone marrow, which carries the key to recovering something the rest of the population has lost: the ability to dream. In this dark world, Frenchie and his companions struggle to survive as they make their way up north to the old lands. For now, survival means staying hidden - but what they don't know is that one of them holds the secret to defeating the marrow thieves."

"Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She's always felt there was something more out there. She still believes in the old stories. Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Like all cottonmouths, he's been cast from home. He's found a new one on the banks of the bottomless lake. Nina and Oli have no idea the other exists. But a catastrophic event on Earth, and a strange sickness that befalls Oli's best friend, will drive their worlds together in ways they haven't been in centuries. And there are some who will kill to keep them apart.."

"Lou has enough confusion in front of her this summer. She'll be working in her family's ice-cream shack with her newly ex-boyfriend--whose kisses never made her feel desire, only discomfort--and her former best friend, King, who is back in their Canadian prairie town after disappearing three years ago without a word. But when she gets a letter from her biological father--a man she hoped would stay behind bars for the rest of his life--Lou immediately knows that she cannot meet him, no matter how much he insists. While King's friendship makes Lou feel safer and warmer than she would have thought possible, when her family's business comes under threat, she soon realizes that she can't ignore her father forever."

"Miikwan and Dez are best friends. Miikwan is Anishinaabe; Dez is Inninew. Together, the teens navigate the challenges of growing up in an urban landscape - they're so close, they even completed their Berry Fast together. However, when Dez's grandmother becomes too sick, Dez is told she can't stay with her anymore. With the threat of a group home looming, Dez can't bring herself to go home and disappears. Miikwan is devastated, and the wound of her missing mother resurfaces. Will Dez's community find her before it's too late? Will Miikwan be able to cope if they don't?"

"Young, urban Natives powerfully show how their culture and values can survive--and enrich--city life. Much of the popular discourse on Native Americans and Aboriginals focuses on reservation life. But the majority of Natives in North America live off the rez. How do they stay rooted to their culture? How do they connect with their community?"

"Bugz is caught between two worlds. In the real world, she's a shy and self-conscious Indigenous teen who faces the stresses of teenage angst and reserve life. But in the virtual world, her alter ego is not just confident but dominant in a massive multiplayer video game universe. Feng is a teen boy who has been sent from China to live with his aunt, a doctor on the reserve, after his online activity suggests he may be developing extremist sympathies. Meeting each other in real life, as well as in the virtual world, Bugz and Feng immediately relate to each other as outsiders and as avid gamers. As their connection is strengthened through their virtual adventures, they find they have much in common in the real world, too: both must decide what to do in the face of temptations and pitfalls, and both must grapple with the impact of family and community trauma. But betrayal threatens everything Bugz has built in the virtual world, as well as her relationships in the real world, and it will take all her newfound strength to restore her friendship with Feng and reconcile the parallel aspects of her life: the traditional and the mainstream, the east and the west, the real and the virtual."

Award-winning authors David Bowles and Guadalupe García McCall join forces to craft a sweeping fantasy romance about falling in love despite all odds. In modern-day Mexico, Sitlali is all alone after the death of her beloved abuela. Targeted by a dangerous gang member, she flees to the United States to find her father. The night before her journey, she finds an ancient conch shell on the beach and takes it with her as a memento of home. In 1521, Calizto is trapped in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, which is besieged by Spanish invaders. He has fought valiantly, but hope for his people is running out. Desperate to escape, he takes up his mother's sacred conch and sounds a plea to the gods. The conch holds magic neither Sitlali nor Calizto understand, magic that allows them to communicate across centuries--and find comfort in each other as they fight to survive. With each conversation, they fall deeper in love, and as the moon waxes, they become more present to each other. But as danger threatens at every turn, will they ever find a way to truly be together?