Native American Heritage - Picture Books & Board Books

Books for young children celebrating Native American Heritage and Indigenous voices.

Updated October 31, 2023
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Takelma Language Primer:: Animals
Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians
Paper Book
Native American language primer, teaching animal vocabulary. Based on the tribal Crater Lake creation story.
Bowwow powwow : bagosenjige-niimi'idim
Child, Brenda J.
Paper Book
Windy Girl is blessed with a vivid imagination. From Uncle she gathers stories of long-ago traditions, about dances and sharing and gratitude. Windy can tell such stories herself-about her dog, Itchy Boy, and the way he dances to request a treat and how he wriggles with joy in response to, well,...
Look, Grandma! Ni, Elisi!
Coulson, Art
Paper Book
Celebrate diversity, math, and the power of storytelling! Bo wants to find the perfect container to show off his traditional marbles for the Cherokee national Holiday. It needs to be just the right size- big enough to fit all the marbles, but not too big to fit in his family's...
The range eternal
Erdrich, Louise
Paper Book
The story of a girlhood lived in the glow of a woodstove from one of the country's most distinguished and beloved authors, now back in print At the heart of a home in the Turtle Mountains sits a woodstove. It is where Mama makes her good soup, where she...
Black bear red fox [Board Book] colours in Cree
Flett, Julie
Paper Book
We all play = Kimêtawânaw
Flett, Julie
Paper Book
A BEST CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: New York Times, Washington Post, New York Public Library, Kirkus Reviews, Globe and Mail, Horn Book, and Boston Globe STARRED Reviews in Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly, The Horn...
Stolen words
Florence, Melanie.
Paper Book
The story of the beautiful relationship between a little girl and her grandfather. When she asks her grandfather how to say something in his language - Cree - he admits that his language was stolen from him when he was a boy. The little girl then sets out to help her grandfather find his language...
I am dreaming of ... [Board Book] animals of the Native Northwest
Gleeson-Lyall, Melaney
Paper Book
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...
Rock Your Mocs
Goodluck, Laurel.
Paper Book
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...
My heart fills with happiness
Gray Smith, Monique
Paper Book
★ "A quiet loveliness, sense of gratitude, and--yes--happiness emanate from this tender celebration of simple pleasures."--Publishers Weekly, starred review "Will leave the youngest readers gladly imagining what fills their own hearts with joy."--The New York Times The sun on...
The first blade of sweetgrass : a Native American story
Greenlaw, Suzanne
Paper Book
Musquon must overcome her impatience while learning to distinguish sweetgrass from other salt marsh grasses, but slowly the spirit and peace of her surroundings speak to her, and she gathers sweetgrass as herancestors have done for centuries, leaving the first blade she sees to grow for future...
Josie dances
Lajimodiere, Denise K.
Paper Book
Josie dreams of dancing at next summer's powwow. But first she needs many special things: a dress, a shawl, a cape, leggings, moccasins, and, perhaps most important of all, her spirit name. To gather all these essential pieces, she calls on her mom, her aunty, her kookum, and Grandma...
We are water protectors
Lindstrom, Carole
Paper Book
From author Carole Lindstrom and illustrator Michaela Goade comes a New York Times bestselling and Caldecott Medal winning picture book that honors Indigenous-led movements across the world. Powerfully written and gorgeously illustrated, We Are Water Protectors,...
Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh : niibing, dgwaagig, bboong, mnookmig dbaadjigaade maanpii mzin'igning
Luby, Brittany
Paper Book
An Anishinaabe child and her grandmother explore the natural wonders of each season in this lyrical, bilingual story-poem. In this lyrical story-poem, written in Anishinaabemowin and English, a child and grandmother explore their surroundings, taking pleasure in the familiar sights that...
Fry bread : a Native American family story
Maillard, Kevin Noble
Paper Book
Winner of the 2020 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal A 2020 American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honor Winner "A wonderful and sweet book . . . Lovely stuff." --The New York Times Book Review Told in lively and powerful...
Grandma's tipi : a present-day Lakota story
Nelson, S. D.
Paper Book
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...
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....
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
Paper Book
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...
Swift Fox all along
Thomas, Rebecca (Poet)
Paper Book
What does it mean to be Mi'kmaq? And if Swift Fox can't find the answer, will she ever feel like part of her family?   When Swift Fox's father picks her up to go visit her aunties, uncles, and cousins, her belly is already full of butterflies. And when he tells her that...
May we have enough to share
Van Camp, Richard
Paper Book
Award-winning author Richard Van Camp wrote this book to express his gratitude for all that surrounds him and his family. The strength of their connections, the nature that provides for them, the love that is endless. Complemented by photos from photographers who celebrate their own...

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