Indigenous Authors - Recommended reading for children

Updated April 8, 2024
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We still belong
Day, Christine
Paper Book
A thoughtful and heartfelt middle grade novel by American Indian Youth Literature Honor-winning author Christine Day (Upper Skagit), about a girl whose hopeful plans for Indigenous Peoples' Day (and plans to ask her crush to the school dance) go all wrong--until she finds herself surrounded by...
Remember
Harjo, Joy
Paper Book
THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER .AN AMERICAN INDIAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION HONOR BOOK.A BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK HONOR AWARD . NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY School Library Journal . Publishers Weekly . The Horn Book .NPR . The Bulletin . Kirkus Reviews
Also available in eBook format.
Heart berry bling
Dupuis, Jenny Kay
Paper Book
On a visit to her granny, Maggie is excited to begin her first-ever beading project: a pair of strawberry earrings. However, beading is much harder than she expected! As they work side by side, Granny shares how beading helped her persevere and stay connected to her Anishinaabe culture when she...
Berry song
Goade, Michaela
Paper Book
A Caldecott Honor Book! An Indie Bestseller! Caldecott Medalist Michaela Goade's first self-authored picture book is a gorgeous celebration of the land she knows well and the powerful wisdom of elders. On...
When we are kind
Gray Smith, Monique
Paper Book
"Notably centering Indigenous families and characters of color in personal and communal activities--and encouraging readers to evaluate their actions toward others."--Publishers Weekly When We Are Kindcelebrates simple acts of everyday kindness and encourages children to explore how they...
Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.
When we are kind = Nihaa'âadahwiinâit'?ââ¸?igo : [English & Dinâe]
Gray Smith, Monique
Paper Book
"Notably centering Indigenous families and characters of color in personal and communal activities--and encouraging readers to evaluate their actions toward others."--Publishers Weekly When We Are Kindcelebrates simple acts of everyday kindness and encourages children to explore how they...
Nous sommes gentils
Gray Smith, Monique
Paper Book
"Notably centering Indigenous families and characters of color in personal and communal activities--and encouraging readers to evaluate their actions toward others."--Publishers Weekly When We Are Kindcelebrates simple acts of everyday kindness and encourages children to explore how they...
Why we dance : a story of hope and healing
Havrelock, Deirdre
Paper Book
It's a special day--the day of the Jingle Dress Dance! Before the big powwow, there's a lot to do: getting dressed, braiding hair, packing lunches, and practicing bounce-steps. But one young girl gets butterflies in her stomach thinking about performing in front of her whole community. When the...
Âmî osâwâpikones = Dear dandelion
Okemow, SJ
Paper Book
A debut picture book that celebrates self-love, care, and resilience with one of the most widespread plants--the dandelion. Both a love letter to the dandelion and a call to love ourselves in a difficult world, Âmî Osâwâpikones reminds us that we are not defined as others see us. Following...
The song that called them home
Robertson, David
Paper Book
One summer day, Lauren and her little brother, James, go on a trip to the land with their Moshom (grandfather). After they've arrived, the children decide to fish for dinner while Moshom naps. They are in their canoe in the middle of the lake when the water around them begins to swirl and crash....
Also available in eBook format.
Le Chant Vers la Maison
Robertson, David A.
Paper Book
One summer day, Lauren and her little brother, James, go on a trip to the land with their Moshom (grandfather). After they've arrived, the children decide to fish for dinner while Moshom naps. They are in their canoe in the middle of the lake when the water around them begins to swirl and crash....
Just like grandma
Rogers, Kim
Paper Book
Winner of the Charlotte Zolotow Award and an Ezra Jack Keats Award Honor Book. In this lyrical picture book by Kim Rogers (Wichita), with illustrations by Boston Globe-Horn Book Honoree Julie Flett (Cree-Métis), Becca watches her grandma create, play, and dance--and she knows that she...
Powwow day
Sorell, Traci
Ebook
River is recovering from illness and can't dance at the powwow this year. Will she ever dance again? A heartwarming and hopeful contemporary Native American picture book for ages 4-8-year-olds about traditions, community, music, and healing, written and illustrated by Indigenous...
Also available in streaming video format.
Little you
Van Camp, Richard.
Paper Book
Key Selling Points Illustrator Julie Flett received a BolognaRagazzi Special Mention (2019) for her book with Richard Van Camp, We Sang You Home. Little Youhas been translated into more than five languages, including Bush Cree, South Slavey, Chipewyan, Spanish, French and...
Little you = Gidagaashiinh
Van Camp, Richard
Paper Book
Key Selling Points Illustrator Julie Flett received a BolognaRagazzi Special Mention (2019) for her book with Richard Van Camp, We Sang You Home. Little Youhas been translated into more than five languages, including Bush Cree, South Slavey, Chipewyan, Spanish, French and...
Little you = Kîya-k'apisîsisîyân
Van Camp, Richard
Paper Book
Key Selling Points Illustrator Julie Flett received a BolognaRagazzi Special Mention (2019) for her book with Richard Van Camp, We Sang You Home. Little Youhas been translated into more than five languages, including Bush Cree, South Slavey, Chipewyan, Spanish, French and...
Tiger Lily and the secret treasure of Neverland
Dimaline, Cherie
Paper Book
Welcome to Neverland--where an unforgettable adventure is about to begin . . . Tiger Lily and her community, the Indigenous people of Neverland, possess a unique ability: they can choose to grow up. But for now, Tiger Lily is enjoying being thirteen, spending time with her...
Healer of the water monster
Young, Brian
Paper Book
American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner: Best Middle Grade Book! Brian Young's powerful debut novel tells of a seemingly ordinary Navajo boy who must save the life of a Water Monster--and comes to realize he's a hero at heart. When Nathan goes to visit his grandma, Nali...
Also available in eBook format.
Sky Wolf's call : the gift of Indigenous knowledge
Yellowhorn, Eldon
Paper Book
From healing to astronomy to our connection to the natural world, the lessons from Indigenous knowledge inform our learning and practices today. How do knowledge systems get passed down over generations? Through the knowledge inherited from their Elders and ancestors, Indigenous Peoples...
Also available in eAudiobook format.
Ancestor approved : intertribal stories for kids
Smith, Cynthia Leitich
Paper Book
Edited by award-winning and bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of intersecting stories by both new and veteran Native writers bursts with hope, joy, resilience, the strength of community, and Native pride. Native families from Nations across the...
Also available in eBook format.

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