Children's Book Suggestions | Native American Heritage Month 2024

Some of our favorite books by Indigenous authors from the last year. For more books, browse the library catalog or view last year's recommended picture books and chapter books.

In our nonfiction section, Native American history is shelved in 973.0497, traditional stories in 299.7, biographies by subject last name in 921, and languages in 497.

Updated October 18, 2024
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County) Oregon City Public Library
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Too much : my great big native family
Goodluck, Laurel
Paper Book
A little boy wants a chance to shine on his own but discovers that being apart from his large and lively Native family isn't necessarily better in this heartwarming and humorous picture book. When Russell gets a part in the school play, he lights up like a shining star--and he...

Mandan, Hidatsa, Tsimshian (Picture Book Age 4-8)

Métis like me
Hilderman, Tasha
Paper Book
Are you Metis like me? A group of children of Metis descent share and explore all the ways they celebrate and experience their heritage - enjoying traditional foods like bannock bread and Saskatoon berries; crafting with beads; sharing stories, dance, music and songs. Each child shares a different...

Métis (Picture Book Age 4-8)

Chooch Helped
Rogers, Andrea L.
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE CALDECOTT MEDAL! A Cherokee girl introduces her younger brother to their family's traditions--begrudgingly!--in a heartfelt picture book full of gorgeous collage illustrations from debut artist Rebecca Lee Kunz. Sissy's younger brother Chooch...

Cherokee (Picture Book Age 4-8)

When we gather = (Ostadahlisiha) : a Cherokee tribal feast
Rogers, Andrea L.
Paper Book
Nothing welcomes spring like a wild onion dinner! As the dirt warms and green sprouts poke up, a Cherokee girl joins her family in the hunt for green onions. Together, they pick enough to bring to a feast, which is cooked with love and shared by their community. ...

Cherokee (Picture Book Age 4-8)

The luminous life of Lucy Landry
Johnson, Anna Rose
Paper Book
Lucy, a spirited French-Ojibwe orphan, is sent to the stormy waters of Lake Superior to live with a mysterious family of lighthouse-keepers--and, she hopes, to find the legendary necklace her father spent his life seeking... Selena Lucy Landry (named for a ship, as every sailor's...

Ojibwe (Children\'s Fiction Grades 3-5)

It bears repeating
Tagaq
Paper Book
Beginning with 1 proud polar bear standing tall and ending with 10 bears waving goodbye, this delightful counting book shows polar bears in all their forms: slippery and fast, crafty and cool, hungry and proud. Tanya has created a story meant to be read aloud, incorporating simple Inuktitut words...

Inuktitut (Picture Book Age 4-8)

Reasons to Look at the Night Sky
Daniel, Danielle
Paper Book
Luna has always loved the night sky. She's an eleven-year-old who knows everything there is to know about space, and dreams of one day becoming an astronaut. The first step in her plan to get there is to ace the space unit in her science class and secure a spot in NASA's summer space camp. But when...

Ojibwe (Children\'s Fiction Grades 3-5)

Red Bird danced
Quigley, Dawn
Paper Book
With lyrical verse and powerful emotion, Dawn Quigley (Ojibwe) tells the story of urban Native kids who find strength in connection with those who came before and in the hope that lets them take flight. Ariel and Tomah have lived in the city's intertribal housing complex all their lives....

Ojibwe (Children\'s Fiction Grades 3-5)

Buffalo dreamer
Duncan, Violet
Paper Book
Summer and her family always spend relaxed summers in Alberta, Canada, on the reservation where her mom's family lives. But this year is turning out to be an eye-opening one. First, Summer has begun to have vivid dreams in which she's running away from one of the many real-life residential schools...

Cree (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

The other side of perfect
Florence, Melanie
Paper Book
Two kids from two different worlds form an unexpected friendship in this lens into the interworking of empathy. Told in alternating narratives, The Other Side of Perfect is infused with themes of identity, belonging, and compassion, reminding us that we are all more than our circumstances,...

Cree (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Rule school
Quigley, Dawn
Paper Book
It is good to follow the rules. But there are just so many! In this fourth book in the beloved Jo Jo Makoons chapter book series, Jo Jo's talents may not quite include following her substitute teacher's rules... Jo Jo and her classmates are excited that the Elders' Tribal...

Ojibwe (Bridging Fiction Grades 2-4)


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