Children's Books for Native American Heritage Month

A selection of picture books, beginning readers, novels, graphic novels, nonfiction, and biography by Native American authors.

Updated September 9, 2025
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1

Dance fast
Cribbins, AR
Paper Book
This charming and humorous book celebrates Pomo traditions and explores creative frustration, perfectionism, and the value in embracing your mistakes.  I want to dance! Bizzy can't wait to dance with all her friends and family at...

2

Loaf the cat goes to the powwow
DeShaw, Nicholas
Paper Book
A Native American boy's cat surprises him at his first powwow-making for a very special dance indeed! Loaf the cat loves to play with her boy, and when she's particularly happy, she'll make the purr sound for him. She also likes to keep tabs on him, so when he disappears one day,...

3

A family tree
Drouillard, Staci Lola
Paper Book
A modern-day twist to The Giving Tree, this book chronicles the changes brought upon a beloved family tree that must be uprooted and planted on new land. This debut picture book by Staci Lola Drouillard (Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe descendant) celebrates...

4

This land
Fairbanks, Ashley
Paper Book
This engaging story about native landsinvites kids to trace history and explore their communities. "An adorable primer on the history of land."--PEOPLE.com Before my family lived in this house, a different family did, and before them, another family, and another...

5

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...

6

Fierce aunties!
Goodluck, Laurel
Paper Book
A joyful and vibrant celebration of what makes aunties so special, from Indigenous author and illustrator team Laurel Goodluck and Steph Littlebird inviting all kids to connect with the fierce aunties in their lives. Who do you go to for advice and support? Or when you want an...

7

Keepunumuk : Weea?chumun's Thanksgiving story
Greendeer, Danielle
Paper Book
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. A beautiful new classic perfect for fall. Written and illustrated by four Indigenous creators, this picture book for 3-7-year...

8

For a girl becoming
Harjo, Joy
A baby girl is welcomed to the breathing world by generations of her family and set on the magnificent journey of becoming. As she grows, she is reminded of her connections to the natural world; to her family, her ancestors, her neighbors; to the source of all magic and sorrow--and of her...

9

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,...

10

Fry bread : a Native American family story
Maillard, Kevin Noble
Paper Book
Winner of the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal An 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 verse by...

11

Chooch helped
Rogers, Andrea L.
Paper Book
A Cherokee girl introduces her younger brother to their family's traditions -- begrudgingly! -- in this Caldecott Medal winning picture book written by Walter Award-winner Andrea L. Rogers and featuring gorgeous collage illustrations from debut artist Rebecca Lee Kunz. Sissy's...

12

Rez dogs
Bruchac, Joseph
Paper Book
Renowned author Joseph Bruchac tells a powerful story of a girl who learns more about her Penacook heritage while sheltering in place with her grandparents during the coronavirus pandemic. Malian loves spending time with her grandparents at their home on a Wabanaki reservation...

13

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...

14

The birchbark house
Erdrich, Louise
Paper Book
"[In this] story of a young Ojibwa girl, Omakayas, living on an island in Lake Superior around 1847, Louise Erdrich is reversing the narrative perspective used in most children's stories about nineteenth-century Native Americans. Instead of looking out at 'them' as dangers or curiosities, Erdrich,...

15

The storyteller
Hobson, Brandon
Paper Book
From National Book Award finalist Brandon Hobson, a kaleidoscopic middle-grade adventure that mixes the anxieties, friendships, and wonders of a Cherokee boy's life with Cherokee history and lore. Ziggy has ANXIETY. Partly this is because of the way his mind works, and how overwhelmed he...

16

Indian no more
McManis, Charlene Willing
Paper Book
American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner - American Indian Library Association 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.<...

17

The used-to-be best friend
Quigley, Dawn
Paper Book
American Indian Youth Literature Award: Middle Grade Honor Book! 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...

18

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...

19

Stone River crossing
Tingle, Tim
Paper Book
From the award-winning author of How I Became a Ghost, a tale of unlikely friendship and miracles. When Martha Tom helps Lil Mo and his family escape from the plantation across the river, it's just the beginning of a Choctaw adventure of a lifetime. Martha Tom knows better...

20

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...

21

The ribbon skirt
Mukwa, Cameron
Paper Book
A joyful coming-of-age middle-grade graphic novel by debut Indigenous creator Cameron Mukwa about the journey of a two-spirit kid who wants to create a ribbon skirt for the upcoming powwow.Ten-year-old Anang wants to make a ribbon skirt, a piece of clothing typically worn by girls in the...

22

Chester Nez and the unbreakable code : a Navajo code talker's story
Bruchac, Joseph
Paper Book
A Junior Library Guild Selection April 2018 2018 Cybils Award Finalist, Elementary Non-Fiction BRLA 2018 Southwest Book Award 2019 Southwest Books of the Year: Kid Pick 2020 Grand Canyon Award, Nonfiction Nominee 2020-2021...

23

Classified : the secret career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee aerospace engineer
Sorell, Traci
Paper Book
An American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award Honor Picture Book 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...

24

Finding my dance
Thundercloud, Ria
Paper Book
In her debut picture book, professional Indigenous dancer Ria Thundercloud tells the true story of her path to dance and how it helped her take pride in her Native American heritage. At four years old, Ria Thundercloud was brought into the powwow circle, ready to dance in the...

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