Native American Heritage - Middle Grade

Books by Indigenous & Native American authors for grades 3-8.

Updated October 31, 2023
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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...
I can make this promise
Day, Christine
Paper Book
In her debut middle grade novel--inspired by her family's history--Christine Day tells the story of a girl who uncovers her family's secrets--and finds her own Native American identity. All her life, Edie has known that her mom was adopted by a white couple. So, no matter how...
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,...
The case of Windy Lake
Hutchinson, Michael, 1971-
Paper Book
Sam, Otter, Atim, and Chickadee are four inseparable cousins growing up on the Windy Lake First Nation. Nicknamed the Mighty Muskrats for their habit of laughing, fighting, and exploring together, the cousins find that each new adventure adds to their reputation. When a visiting archeologist goes...
Borders
King, Thomas, 1943-
Paper Book
A People Magazine Best Book ★ "The thematic and literary richness of this story is exhilarating."-- Horn Book, starred review ★ "An important and accessible modern tale."-- School Library Journal,<...
In the footsteps of Crazy Horse
Marshall, Joseph, 1945-
Paper Book
Jimmy McClean is a Lakota boy - though you wouldn't guess it by his name: his father is part white and part Lakota, and his mother is Lakota. When he embarks on a journey with his grandfather, Nyles High Eagle, he learns more and more about his Lakota heritage - in particular, the story of Crazy...
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.<...
Race to the sun
Roanhorse, Rebecca
Paper Book
Lately Nizhoni has been able to detect monsters, like Mr. Charles, her dad's new boss at the oil and gas company. He's also alarmingly interested in Nizhoni and her brother, Mac, their Navajo heritage, and the legend of the Hero Twins. Nizhoni knows he's a threat, but her father won't believe her....
The barren grounds
Robertson, David, 1977-
Paper Book
Narnia meets traditional Indigenous stories of the sky and constellations in an epic middle grade fantasy series from award-winning author David Robertson. Morgan and Eli, two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, are brought together in a foster...
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...
Sisters of the Neversea
Smith, Cynthia Leitich
Paper Book
Five starred reviews! In this beautifully reimagined story by NSK Neustadt Laureate and New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee Creek), Native American Lily and English Wendy embark on a high-flying journey of magic, adventure, and courage to a fairy-tale...

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