Showing posts with label recommended. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recommended. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Recommended! Wilgyigyet: Learn the Colors in Sm'algyax



Wilgyigyet: Learn the Colors in Sm'algyax
Compiled by the Haayk Foundation
Illustrated by Huk Yuunsk (David Lang)
Publisher: Sealaska Heritage
Published in 2019
Reviewer: Debbie Reese
Review Status: Recommended


Wilgyigyet: Learn the Colors in Sm'algyax is a board book which suggests it is meant for toddlers, but because it teaches color words in Sm'algyax (the Tsimshian language) anybody can use it! Course, you want to hear the words spoken, too, and you can do that with this video:



This gorgeous board book is part of the Baby Raven Reads, a culturally responsive kindergarten readiness program. The tribally specific art is stunning, and I can imagine Native peoples across the continent creating similar books.

Sealaska's website has great materials. Take a look, for example, at Practicing Our Values, which is a blog post about what we can do, now that Coronavirus is impacting our lives.  Get some of the books at the site, or... some of the clothing items! The scarves are especially spectacular.


Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Recommended! nibi is water; nibi aawon nbiish, by Joanne Robertson; translated by Shirley Williams and Isadore Toulouse

nibi is water, nibi aawon nbiish
Written and illustrated by Joanne Robertson (
Translated by Shirley Williams and Isadore Toulouse
Published in 2020
Publisher: Second Story Press
Reviewed by Debbie Reese
Status: Highly Recommended


Last month I (Debbie) was in Toronto at the 2020 Ontario Library Association's Super Conference. There, I spoke (and ate, and laughed--a lot!) with Native women. At one of these moments, they were asking me if I'd seen Joanne Robertson's new board book yet. I had not, but as I listened to them talk about it... to the delight in their voices, I suspected it would be something I'd like, too. 

nibi is water, nibi aawan nbiish arrived at my house and sure enough, it lifted my day! The nuts and bolts, so to speak, are this: it is what some call a "concept" book. It tells us several characteristics of some thing... like an information book, but for very young readers. 

Robertson's book is about water and the many ways that a child experiences it. You can swim or bathe in it, you can drink it, you can use it to wash your clothes... But Robertson reminds us that we need to care for it, that we have to respect, love, and protect it because, as the final page tells us, water is life. 

If you got Robertson's The Water Walker you'll recognize the walkers from that book, in nibi is water, nibi aawan nbiish (note: keep your eyes open... they're in the book, more than once--this is the sort of detail that kids adore!).



I'll state the obvious: this is a bilingual book. On every page, you'll find Ojibwe words and at the end of the book, a pronunciation guide. Get a copy and come back here. Submit a comment! What do you see? What speaks to you? 

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Highly Recommended: Gitige - She/he Gardens



Gitige - She/he Gardens
by Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Anishinaabe consultants Tom Jack, Tara Dupuis, Marcus Ammesmaki, Jodie Locking
Photographs by Autumn Aubu't
Published in 2019
Published by Black Bears and Blueberries Publishing
Reviewed by Jean Mendoza
Review Status: Highly Recommended

The first lines of Gitige - She/he Gardens are, "Here is a story about gardening and what happens with a little watering, sunshine, and children's special care." It's a story that unfolds in the photographs, as it follows young children in their garden through a growing season.

Gitige is the latest of several delightful board books Fond du Lac Band has created that incorporate  words in Anishinaabemowin (or Ojibwemowin). The others have all been reviewed or mentioned on AICL: Boozhoo/Come Play With Us, The Story of Manoomin, niimiwin/Everyone Dance, and Our Journey. Like several of them, Gitige is illustrated with photos of children from the Fond du Lac community. They show preschool-age children involved in the real work of gardening: digging, watering, working with adults, appreciating their plants, and sorting harvested food, as well as dressing up as flowers.

The photos on each page are labeled in English and Anishinaabemowin. At the end of the book is a page showing all the translations. One strength of the book is that the two languages are side-by-side on each page. There are nouns, verbs, phrases, and whole sentences for children to hear, see, and say.

Adults sharing the book can use the words in the captions to start conversations about the pictures,  encouraging children's oral literacy in either language.


An adult who wants to hear the pronunciations of many of these words can find audio by native speakers on The Ojibwe People's Dictionary web site.

Anyone expecting to see a Three Sisters garden in the book may be disappointed. These kids are growing sunflowers, carrots, and a riotous assortment of flowers as well as corn and squash. I found only one problem with the book. On the first page, it looks like the English equivalent of zhoomiingweni has been left off inadvertently. I don't know if that's true for every copy or if mine is the only one. In any case, with adult help, children can do the detective work of figuring out via the glossary which English word belongs there.

You can order Gitige - She/he Gardens and those other great board books from the Fond du Lac Head Start Web site. [Editing on 1/30/2020 to report that until Fond du Lac Head Start is able to update their books page, you can order the book by emailing jeannesmith@fdlrez.com. Thanks, Sam Bloom for letting me know about that problem!]

And ...

Are you a Native writer or artist with an idea for a story? Black Bears and Blueberries Publishing would like to hear from you! Black Bears and Blueberries is a small Native-owned independent press dedicated to developing Native-themed books by Native authors and illustrators. They published and help to market Gitige. See their page of author info, or contact Betsy Albert-Peacock directly at balbert@d.umn.edu.







Tuesday, December 10, 2019

AICL's Best Books of 2019


Below is American Indians in Children's Literature's list of Best Books published in 2019.  Because we are not able to read and review every book that comes out in a given year by the time we create our annual Best Books list, we ask that you come back from time to time to see if we've added anything since your last visit (an "added on [date]" note will be included with books we add after we publish this list). 

Books are presented (primarily) by age of reader(s) but please don't assume that a teen can't get something from a picture book, or that a young adult book is inaccessible to upper elementary or middle grade readers. Your best strategy on selecting books is to get the book and read it yourself to see if it will work with your intended audience. 

In parentheses following the names of individuals, we provide information about each person's identity, such as tribal affiliation or citizenship in a country. This is in keeping with what we did in the index to An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People. Doing this is part of "unmaking the white default." If we have an error in how we've listed you, please let us know.

We hope you share this list with parents, teachers, librarians, caregivers, professors... anybody who works with children and books! And if you know of a book that we did not list, please let us know in the comments.

And, we find ourselves in an awkward spot! Our adaptation of Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States came out in 2019. We hope you'll get it. We're including it in the list, based on the review it received from the @OfGlades team at Indigo's Bookshelf. 




AICL's BEST BOOKS OF 2019

BOOKS BY NATIVE WRITERS OR ILLUSTRATORS

Comics and Graphic Novels

  • Akiwenzie-Damm, Kateri (Chippewa of Nawash First Nation), Sonny Assu (Liǥwildaʼx̱w of the Kwakwaka’wakw Nations), Brandon Mitchell (Mi'kmaq), Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley (Inuit-Cree), Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley (Scottish-Mohawk), David A. Robertson (Norway House Cree Nation), Niigaawewidam James Sinclair (Anishinaabe), Jen Storm (Ojibway, Couchiching First Nation), Richard Van Camp, Katherena Vermette, Chelsea Vowell (Métis); foreword by Alicia Elliott (Tuscarora, Six Nations of the Grand River), and illustrated by Tara Audibert (Wolatoqiyik), Kyle Charles, (Whitefish Lake First Nation) GMB Chomichuk (White), Natasha Donovan (Métis Nation of British Columbia), Scott B. Henderson (White), Ryan Howe (White), Andrew Lodwick (White), Jen Storm; Colour by Scott A. Ford (White) and Donovan Yaciuk (White). This Place: 150 Years Retold. Portage & Main Press. Canada. [Review forthcoming.]
  • Vermette, Katherena (Métis), and Scott B. Henderson (White) and Donovan Yaciuk (White). Red River Resistance (A Girl Called Echo book). Highwater Press, Canada.
  • Visaggio, Magdalene (White), Darcie Little Badger (Lipan Apache), art by Guillermo Sanna; cover by Dan Panosian. Strangelands (series). Humanoids, United States.

Board Books

  • Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Gitige She/He GardensBlack Bears and Blueberries Publishing, USA. Review added on 1/28/2020.
  • Joseph, Kaal.atk' Charlie (Tlingit),  Hlii'ilaang Kun 'Langay family (Haida), HIGaa'xatgu 'Laanaas family (Haida), Haayk Foundation, Nancy Barnes (Tlingit), illustrations by Crystal Kaakeeyaa Worl. Cradle Songs of Southeast Alaska. Sealaska Heritage. Added 1/28/2020.
  • Van Camp, Richard (Tlicho Nation). Photos by Tea & Bannock, a blog by Indigenous women photographers. May We Have Enough To ShareOrca Book Publishers. Canada. 

Picture Books
  • Blaeser, Kimberly (Minnesota Chippewa Tribe), illustration by Marlena Myles (Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscogee). Flights in Thanku: Poems of Gratitude, edited by Miranda Paul (White). Millbrook/Lerner, United States. 
  • Flett, Julie (Cree-Métis). BirdsongGreystone Books. Canada. 
  • Lindstrom, Carole (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), illustration by Marlena Myles (Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscogee). Drops of Gratitude in Thanku: Poems of Gratitude, edited by Miranda Paul (White). Millbrook/Lerner, United States.
  • Maillard, Kevin Noble (Seminole Nation, Mekusukey Band), illustrated by Juana Martinez (Peruvian). Fry Bread: A Native American Family Tradition. Roaring Book Press (Macmillan). USA. 
Note about Fry Bread: the endpapers include names of over 500 tribal nations with a nation-to-nation relationship with the United States, but it also includes several groups recognized by a state (like the group anyone on earth can join--for a price--called the United Cherokee Nation that is recognized by the state of Alabama, but its offices are in New Mexico).  Those endpapers are empowering to legitimate nations, but inclusion of sketchy ones is of significant concern because including them legitimizes the harm they do. 
  • Minnema, Cheryl (Ojibwe), illustrated by Julie Flett (Cree-Métis). Johnny's Pheasant. University of Minnesota Press, United States. 
  • Peacock, Thomas. (Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa), illustrated by Annette S. Lee (Ojibwe and D/Lakota). The Forever Sky. Minnesota Historical Society Press. Added on 4/10/2020.
  • Peacock, Thomas (Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa), illustrated by Jacqueline Paske Gill (White). The Dancers. Amazon On Demand Publishing LLC. USA. [Review forthcoming]
  • Smith, Cynthia Leitich (Muscogee Creek Nation), illustrated by Marlena Myles (Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscogee). Stories for Dinner in Thanku: Poems of Gratitude, edited by Miranda Paul (White). Millbrook/Lerner, United States.
  • Sorell, Traci (Cherokee), illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre (Tongva/Scots-Gaelic). At the Mountain's BasePenguin. United States.
  • Sorell, Traci (Cherokee), illustrated by Marlena Myles (Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscogee). College Degree in Thanku: Poems of Gratitude, edited by Miranda Paul (White). Millbrook/Lerner, United States.
  • Vermette, Katherena (Métis), illustrated by Julie Flett (Cree-Métis). The Girl and the Wolf. Theytus Books. Canada.

For Middle Grades
  • Coulson, Art (Cherokee), illustrated by Hvresse Christie Blair Tiger (Muskogee Creek). The Reluctant StorytellerBenchmark Education. United States.
  • Day, Christine (Upper Skagit). I Can Make This PromiseHarperCollins. United States. 
  • Dunbar Ortiz, Roxanne (White). An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young PeopleAdapted by Jean Mendoza (White) and Debbie Reese (Nambé Pueblo). Beacon Books, USA.  
  • Gyetxw, Hetxw'ms (Brett D. Huson) and Natasha Donovan (Métis). The Grizzly Mother. Highwater Press. Canada. 
  • Hutchinson, Michael (Misipawistik Cree Nation). The Case of Windy Lake (Mighty Muskrat Mystery Series). Second Story Press, Canada.
  • Hutchinson, Michael (Misipawistik Cree Nation). The Case of the Missing Auntie. (Mighty Muskrat Mystery Series). Second Story Press, Canada. 
  • McManis, Charlene Willing (Grand Ronde), with Traci Sorell (Cherokee). Indian No MoreTu Books, United States. 
  • Smith, Cynthia Leitich (Muscogee Creek). A Girl's Best Friend in The Hero Next Door. Crown Books for Young Readers. USA.
  • Weiden, David Heska Wanbli (Sicangu Lakota), illustrated by Jim Yellowhawk (Itazipco Band, Cheyenne River Sioux) & Pat Kinsella (White). Spotted Tail. Reycraft Books. USA. Added on 12/11/19.

For High School



Cross-Over Books (Written for adults; appeal to young adults)
  • Rendon, Marcie (White Earth Anishinabe). Girl Gone Missing. Cinco Puntos Press. USA. [Review forthcoming]  



BOOKS BY WRITERS WHO ARE NOT NATIVE

Picture Books


Recommended: BIRDSONG by Julie Flett

Add Julie Flett's Birdsong to your shelves! It is on several Best Books of 2019 lists and it got starred reviews from the major review journals.



Most of the reviews note Flett's artistic style and the seasonal arrangement of the story. Most note the growth of Katherena as she and her mom leave their home in the city, to a new one in the country where they meet an older woman named Agnes. And most reviewers note the Cree words in the book. It is great to see the reviews and the stars and the book being listed on year-end lists.

Now... what do I see, as I read Birdsong?

Well--this page in particular, caught my eye:


There, you see Katherena and her mom, together, beneath warm covers. I absolutely adore that page! When my daughter was little (well, to be honest, this happens even today), there were many times when we'd snuggle under the warm covers and she'd press her cold feet to my warmth, and squeal "icicles!" just before she did it. Such a fond memory, of warmth and of those cold feet, too!

There's another reason that particular illustration appeals to me. Parents and kids sleeping together is a natural thing amongst us at Nambé. So, it resonates with me as a Native mom. But--sleeping together sure as heck is not seen as natural in White society. I recall talking about it when we moved from Nambé to Illinois for graduate school. In my early conversations when we arrived in Illinois, White people expressed shock that our daughter was with us each night. I pretty much just kept that information to myself after that, but later (still in grad school), I learned that a lot of parents and kids sleep together--but nobody talks about it out of fear they'll be accused of spoiling their child. I also learned that parents and kids in many cultures around the world sleep together. During grad school, we lived in family student housing and made good friends with a family next door to us, from India. I'll never forget the many times Vijaya asked me "why?" about some thing that people in the US do, and I'd just shrug. Some things make no sense. In the ways my family live our lives, we are much more like Vijaya and her family than we are like White US families. And as noted earlier--more people in the US do it than admit to doing it, so I think there's gonna be a lot of folks smiling at that page as they read Birdsong. 

Teachers! Head over to the Greystone Books page for Birdsong and download the Teacher's Guide!

Clearly, I adore Julie Flett's Birdsong! Published in 2019 by Greystone Books, I recommend it, dearly.

Monday, December 09, 2019

Recommended: "A Girl's Best Friend" by Cynthia Leitich Smith, in THE HERO NEXT DOOR

Cynthia Leitich Smith's "A Girl's Best Friend" is one of the stories in The Hero Next Door. Published in 2019 by Crown Books for Young Readers, its main character is a 12-year old named Sophie Bigheart who is Muscogee-Osage and a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. She lives with her mom in a tiny apartment in Austin.



Sophie spends a lot of her free time looking at dogs on the animal shelter website, wishing she could get one--but that's against Miz Wilson's (their landlady) rules. Through their occasional visits, Sophie had learned that Miz Wilson's husband died the year before, and that they had a dachshund. It is clear that Miz Wilson is lonely.

Sophie's lonely, too, for a dog. Soon, Sophie and her mom are doing volunteer work at the shelter, walking and playing with the dogs. Miz Wilson--thinking they've adopted one--evicts them!

Then, Sophie comes up with a plan. By the end of the story, Miz Wilson has adopted a dog, Sophie's agreed to help take care of it, and Miz Wilson has decided to decrease their rent. It is a good solution for everyone. Set in the present day, with information about the main character's identity as a citizen of a tribal nation--and just the kind of story that resonates with a lot of kids--I'm pleased to recommend the story, and the book, too!


Recommended: MAY WE HAVE ENOUGH TO SHARE by Richard Van Camp; photographs by Indigenous Women




Published in 2019 by Orca Book Publishers, May We Have Enough to Share features photographs taken by Indigenous women who blog at Tea & Bannock. As I page through it, I can't help but smile over the expressions of joy and surprise on the faces of the babies and toddlers!

And I find myself peering closely at the stunning beaded artwork on each page. A note in the front of the book tells us it is by Caroline Blechert (Inuvialuit). It is traditional stitchwork that uses dyed and natural porcupine quills and delica beads. Her beaded artwork is beneath Van Camp's words, in a white circle that is placed inside of what looks to me like birchbark. Coupled with the photos, it makes for layers of image to study.



I don't know what Van Camp's intent was, but I read his words as a reminder to all of us that while world politics are in chaos, there are little ones in our lives who, in fact, count on us for their well being.

"May we" he writes on several pages, "have enough to share." Let's look a bit closer at his words. On the first page, I read
May we have enough to share, to know the sweetness of every day.
He doesn't say enough of what, on that page, or on any of the others. I see some reviews characterizing it as gratitude (probably because the words on the back cover include "gratitude"), but I think that's not quite what he's reaching for. I think he's talking about the human impulse to care and love the new and young lives in our own lives. With so much wrong with politics and the environment, we may lose sight of the need to make sure we're holding young ones close, all the time.

May We Have Enough to Share is just what we need!

Sunday, December 01, 2019

Recommended: "Ballad of Weary Daughters"

It's hard to authentically tell stories from the POV of children and youth trying to keep family and self together in the face of parental loss, dysfunction, abuse, or neglect (or institutional abuse). One Native writer who has done that exceptionally well is Vickie L. Sears (Cherokee). Her devastating, often-anthologized "Grace" should be required reading for professionals who work with foster children or other young ones pushed too early into the role of looking out for themselves and their siblings.

"Ballad of Weary Daughters" by Kristine Wyllys (Eastern Band Cherokee) is another insightful story of young people carrying family survival on their shoulders. It's part of an anthology "starring disabled teens" in Unbroken (Farrar Strauss Giroux, 2018, edited by Marieke Nijkamp). We're reviewing it on AICL because of several references to the Tsalagi people and language.

"Ballad" is told in the voice of contemporary high schooler River Smith. River is the daughter of a Tsalagi mother and a white Christian pastor who has recently abandoned his congregation and his family to run off with another woman. River's mother manages to keep putting one foot in front of the other, working long hours to keep food on the table. River steps into the caretaker role for her younger siblings, who are all showing signs of severe stress. It doesn't help that River has a mental illness and her doctors have had trouble getting her medications right.

River and her beloved friend, Lucy, are the "weary daughters" of the story's title. They both feel the stress of barely holding on, and they recognize that their relationship is what gets them through each difficult day. In teaching and social services, when we hear about "resilience factors," this is one of the factors they're talking about: friends who go beyond the typical expectations and serve as literal lifelines for the ones who are struggling. You can't imagine how either River or Lucy could get by without the other's sustaining presence. There is no one else to help them, no support services.

I've read other fiction about teens that feels like a circa-2005 Ruby Payne anecdote catalog of poverty-related dysfunction and catastrophe, where an author just won't stop dumping on the main character.  But "Ballad" works for me because Wyllys shows us a family in what could be called a slow-moving emergency -- one that ravels over time. In real life, those aren't the kind that tend to qualify for substantial official help for a family, but the burden on a teen can still be nearly unbearable. River and her family have lived through one emergency -- the days and weeks after the father's departure. Another may be brewing with one of River's sisters, and River's mental health could become more fragile.

The story ended with me loving both River and Lucy. I wanted more for them -- and more about them. I hope Kristine Wyllys will let us hear from them again.

The Cherokee (Tsalagi) content feels matter-of-fact; Wyllys is not teaching readers; she is saying "This is River's life, in which family conversations contain some Tsalagi words, absent Tsalagi family members are important, and the children are aware that their father's congregation views them as Other because they are not white."

I strongly recommend this story. Other entries in Unbroken are also definitely worth reading.













Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Recommended: The Case of the Missing Auntie


 How often have you read a middle grade mystery novel that had you in tears just a few pages after making you laugh? That's what happened when I spent yesterday with an ARC of Michael Hutchinson's new Mighty Muskrats Mystery, The Case of the Missing Auntie (Second Story Press, 2019)

In The Case of Windy Lake, Hutchinson introduced four mystery-solving Cree cousins: Atim, Chickadee, Samuel, and Otter, known in their community as the Mighty Muskrats. Now he has the Muskrats head for the Big City to visit some more cousins, and to attend a big event called the Exhibition Fair. Hutchinson reveals a bit more about each character this time, along with a lot more about historical and contemporary Indigenous experience in the part of the world currently known as Canada.

Chickadee looks forward to the Exhibition (the Ex), but she's also on a mission. Their Grandpa has told her about his younger sister who was taken from a boarding school decades ago, and lost in "The Scoop" The family hasn't seen or heard from her since, and he wants very much to find her. "The Scoop" is the informal name for a set of Canadian policies that resulted in many First Nations children disappearing, forever separated from their families. Chickadee is determined to find out what happened to Auntie Charlotte, even if that means she has to guilt-trip her cousins into helping her. And even if she has to navigate the city transit system alone while Atim, Samuel, and Otter try to find a ticket for Otter to a sold-out concert by their favorite Indigenous band.

Hutchinson's storytelling is engaging. The kids find some good allies and face some unexpected challenges, even dangers. To say more about the plot lines might give something away. So.

Windy Lake featured some standout prose, and Hutchinson's way with words is evident in Missing Auntie as well. Here are a couple of examples.

a) Chickadee and her older cousin Harold are talking at breakfast about the contrasts between the Windy Lake reserve and the city. Harold says, "City people don't seem to know there is a different life out there. It's like the city mouse killed the country mouse and forgot he ever existed. Our people can get lost in the city." That sly reference to one of Aesop's fables made me smile and think, "Funny!" and "Yikes!" at the same time.

b) And here's part of the description of an arcade and pool hall the Muskrats enter during their effort to get that concert ticket for Otter: "The Crystal Palace was a mixture of deep shadows, colorful neon, and arcade lights. It smelled like the ghosts of greasy burgers and spilled pop....A palisade of pool sticks lined the outside walls. A scattering of players focused on their games. The smack and click of pool balls colliding kept a random tempo."

But you don't get the impression that Hutchinson is bashing urban life -- the Muskrats meet some good people, people of subtle courage and outright heroism, along with racists, criminals, and people who have lost themselves. It's clear that the city can be a combination of the strange, the unfriendly, the wondrous, and the ordinary. And the characters of the Muskrats are developing, too, in ways that are easy to appreciate. These are good-hearted, caring, smart young people, but they're all individuals.

Hutchinson also weaves in factual information as the kids sort out what happened to their Grandpa's little sister.  Occasionally that can seem like a lot of exposition, but some readers won't know otherwise about the boarding schools and the Scoop, about present-day bureaucracy, about Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and about how the old racist policies continue to affect First Nations families today.

I found the ending to be realistic and satisfying, even though it unfolded in a way I didn't expect. Overall, Missing Auntie is a good read, with an emotional "punch," and I can hardly wait for the Mighty Muskrats to take their next case. But Missing Auntie won't be out until spring 2020. Preorder your copy now from Second Story Press!

Recommended! THE RELUCTANT STORYTELLER by Art Coulson; illustrated by Hvresse Christie Blair Tiger

Note from Debbie on Nov 28, 2023: Due to my concerns over Art Coulson's claim of being Cherokee, I am no longer recommending his books.  

There's a specialness to Art Coulson's The Reluctant Storyteller that is moving through my head and heart. You won't find it for sale in the usual places because it is published by Benchmark Education, who publishes "leveled readers" for classroom use. Some people don't like books like this because they don't have the slick production values that you find in books in bookstores.

But!

Don't look away! Benchmark Education offers books that I know--without a doubt--that Native children will be happy to read! One of my favorite books--ever--is Where'd You Get Your Moccasins by Bernelda Wheeler. When I was teaching children's literature way back in grad school in the 1990s, it was on the required list of books I asked pre-service teachers to buy. Some would look at the stapled spine and think less of it without reading the words in the book that made, and makes, my heart soar! They had to learn to set aside elite notions of what a book should be like, and think about the content and what that content could do for readers in their classrooms.



I ask that same thing for The Reluctant Storyteller. The things I look for in a book are all here. It is set in the present day, it is tribally specific, it is written and illustrated by Native people, and it rings true! Coulson knows what he's talking about. The family at the heart of this story is filled with storytellers who adore being out and about, telling Native stories. They're from Oklahoma, but live in the Twin Cities. They do visit, a lot, and a trip is coming up. Chooch, the main character in Coulson's book doesn't want to go. He's rather stay in Minneapolis for the Lacrosse tournament.

Chooch doesn't tell stories and can't imagine himself as a storyteller. His dream? To be a chef. But, nobody knows that he wants to be a chef. He enjoys cooking with his mom and grandma, making up recipes. Things he makes are tasty!

On the way to their Oklahoma, Chooch's uncle tells him a story about a Tsula, a fox who wishes he had a coat of feathers, like Totsuhwa, the redbird that he sees flying about in the trees, so that he could fly, too. One day he runs and runs and runs, so fast, that his feet are off the ground. Day moves into night and, well, he started flying. He's no longer Tsula, the fox. Now, he's Tlameha, the bat. People who read AICL regularly know that I'm careful about traditional stories and how a writer works with them, uses them, bringing them into a book. This story is one that the Cherokee people tell. Coulson is Cherokee. I trust that he's sharing a story that can be shared. And--I love the way he brought it to Chooch.

They get to Oklahoma, and Chooch is drawn to the cooking area of a Native gathering. By the time we get to the final pages of The Reluctant Storyteller, Chooch understands himself in ways he did not before the trip. He's learned that there are many ways to be storytellers.

And, there are many ways to tell stories--to bring stories to children and teens! That's what I mean, up top, where I say there's a specialness to this book. There's layers of truth in it. Layers of Native life, too... 

So, don't turn away from leveled readers. If you open the Benchmark catalog, you'll see other writers there, too. Like Ibi Zoboi! And David Bowles! And Jane Yolen! Jerry Craft, and, Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve! These are names teachers and librarians are familiar with. Look at the catalog! You'll see others, too. 

I like The Reluctant Storyteller very much and recommend that you get it... but I think the books are hard to get. I got my copy from Art Coulson's website.

Recommended: JOHNNY'S PHEASANT written by Cheryl Minnema, pictures by Julie Flett

Johnny's Pheasant is written by Cheryl Minnema (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) and illustrated by Julie Flett (Cree-Métis). New in 2019, it is a picture book I am pleased to recommend.



Grandma's are special, aren't they? Mine was, and I know my mom is special to my daughter and all her other grandchildren. In some families, grandma's make things. When I was a kid, I hung out with my grandma, a lot. I have such fond memories of those times, helping and watching her make things.

Back in the 1960s when the US government was putting a blacktop road on our reservation, they also strung barbed wire fencing to keep livestock off the road. That barbed wire came on wire spools that are about the size of a 5 gallon bucket. The end parts of the spool looked like flower petals. Here's a photo that sort of looks like what I have in my memory:

Image result for barb wire spool vintage

I walked with my grandmother for miles and miles, gathering up empty, cast off spools. At home, she bound them together in an array that she attached to a wood frame. These then became charming gates to the porch, and to the garden. She also worked with feathers. She especially liked peacock feathers. She'd trim them and attach them to fabric wall hangings. They were so pretty!

In Johnny's Pheasant, we see a grandma and grandson, out and about. Johnny spies something in the grass. Turns out, it is a pheasant! Grandma thinks it is dead and that she can use its feathers in her craft work. But Johnny thinks the pheasant is ok. He's right!

The pheasant comes to from its seemingly-dead state, and flies about the house, at one point, landing on Grandma's head! Johnny thinks the pheasant, lying there in Grandma's house, had heard his grandma say she was going to use its feathers--and her words roused it!

From grandma's head, the pheasant flies out the open door. Johnny and his grandma go outside and watch it fly away. But, a single feather flutters to the ground. When Johnny hands it to his grandma, she exclaims "Howah."

Howah is an Ojibwe expression meaning 'oh my!' I enjoyed reading this story, but when I read "Howah," I paused. Ojibwe kids are gonna love that! Johnny's Pheasant is a delight on many levels. Published by the University of Minnesota Press in 2019, I recommend it for every family, Native or not, who tells stories about grandma's. Its quite a heartwarming story! 


Friday, November 15, 2019

Recommended! STRANGELANDS written by Magdalene Visaggio and Darcie Little Badger; art by Guillermo Sanna; Cover by Dan Panosian

Native teens! Go to the Humanoids site and get copies of the comic series, Strangelands. They're written by Magdalene Visaggio and Darcie Little Badger. The art is by Guillermo Sanna, and Dan Panosian did the cover.

I've read the first three...


.... and definitely recommend that you add them to your comic and graphic novel collection.

Here's info about the series:
Two strangers find themselves inextricably tied together by inexplicable superpowers. Fighting their connection could mean destroying the world.
Opposites attract? Elakshi and Adam Land aren’t married. In fact, a month ago, they were perfect strangers, dwelling in lands foreign to one another. But now, they’re forced to remain by one another’s side, for their separation could mean the planet’s demise. Their greatest challenge is to stay together — even if they have to tear the world apart to do so.
See that? Elakshi and Adam's last name is Land. A hint, maybe, about who they are and how and why they have the powers they have--and don't want? I'm intrigued!

Right now in the series they're at a lodge in Colorado where they can rid themselves of these powers. Adam doesn't like the decor of the "Wild Saints" lodge. In this passage, he's glaring at a dreamcatcher, and says:
 ... all this Indian kitsch brings back terrible memories of paper teepees and chicken feather headdresses. Trust me. You do not want to be the only Apache kid at summer camp.
From that passage, we know that Adam is Apache. One of the writers, Darcy Little Badger, is Lipan Apache. I think the first writing of hers that I read was in 2016 when I read "Né le," her space travel story in Love Beyond Body, Space and Time. (If you don't have that book, get it!).

And of course, get this new series, Strangelands. 

Tuesday, October 01, 2019

Recommended: THE CASE OF WINDY LAKE

I've really enjoyed Marcie R. Rendon's first two Cash Blackbear mysteries. Marcie (White Earth Anishinabe) writes them for adults, but older teens will also find them engaging. I recommend them. They aren't the focus of this post; just wanted to mention Murder on the Red River and Girl Gone Missing before moving on to the actual topic.

Michael Hutchinson is a citizen of the Misipawistik Cree Nation, and his The Case of Windy Lake (Second Story Press, 2019) is the first installment in the Mighty Muskrats Mystery series.

Hutchinson's Mighty Muskrats are four cousins--Atim, Chickadee, Otter, and Sam-- who live on the Windy Lake First Nation (pretty sure this is a fictional location) in what's currently called Canada. These tweens are smart, curious, and resourceful. They operate out of an incapacitated school bus on the outskirts of their reservation community.

It's tempting to do a chapter-by-chapter look at what makes this book so appealing -- but with mysteries, that can mean spoilers. So I'll just sum up.

The first case the Muskrats take on is the disappearance of an archaeologist who was working for a mining company in the area. There's a subplot involving a beloved older cousin who actively opposes the mining company's actions that she knows will endanger the community's water supply. A lot of Indigenous communities have dealt with well-educated fools coming in to study them, and lots of Native kids have relatives who are involved in Indigenous environmental rights (and they may be activists themselves). The book's main antagonist is a white mine manager; when he talks to the kids and their family members we see the same entitled hostility and disrespect Indigenous people encounter in real life today when they stand against exploitation and destruction of their resources.

The kids use the internet as well as knowledge of their community and their natural surroundings to solve the mystery, and they don't get in the way of law enforcement (their uncle) or need to be rescued. There's a nice all-for-one-and-one-for-all feeling about their relationships. For example, when they're about to go get information from someone in a restaurant, Atim says he's hungry. Chickadee asks, "Do we have any money?" and Otter pulls some from his pocket. They count it ... triumph! They can split an order of fries and a pop, and that's fine with everyone.

 Details add to the sense of place, as in Hutchinson's description of that restaurant:
The jukebox was playing "Love Hurts" by Nazareth. Scarred and scuffed blue-and-once-white tiles covered the floor. Sun streamed in from windows that overlooked the gas pumps, the parking lot, and the trucks buzzing north up the highway.... Half the restaurant was occupied by First Nations people hunkered over cups of coffee. A few tables held non-local miners and highway travelers. Laughter was coming from most tables and jokes were being shared between a few. The quiet tables held smiling Elders. 
The author's ability to show the reader a scene or a relationship is likely one reason The Case of Windy Lake won the Second Story Press Indigenous Writing Award.

Anyone looking in this book for a dysfunctional fictional rez community will have to look elsewhere. The people of Windy Lake have their troubles, but ties within families and between neighbors are solid and caring. And the resolution of the mystery is ... affirming, and that's all I'll say about it. You'll just have to read it to find out more. Then we can wait together for the next Mighty Muskrats book.

EDITED 10/3/19 with good news from two commenters. Val (10/2/19) notes that you can read the first chapter of The Case of Windy Lake on the Second Story Press Web site! And Cheriee Weichel reports that the sequel, titled The Case of the Missing Auntie, will be available in March 2020.

Edited 10/18/19 to add a link to CBC coverage of The Mighty Muskrats!

--Jean Mendoza

Friday, September 13, 2019

Update on Personal News on AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

I don't think that AICL has ever gone six weeks without a post! The last post was on Monday, August 5th and frankly, I was surprised and a bit annoyed that six weeks went by without a new post.

Here's why that happened.

Back on Tuesday, May 28 of 2019 I wrote a post called Personal News: An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People. Since then, the book came out and Jean and I have been to several places to talk about it.

On August 9th, I was in California at the Indian Education for All conference hosted by the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center. I gave the keynote lecture there and signed books. It was the first book signing I've ever done. Doing that signing at a Native education gathering held on the lands of the Pala Band of Mission Indians made it memorable in a way that nothing else could. One of the people I met who added to it being so memorable is Mary Levi. I was wearing a traditional belt that day. Mary noticed and mentioned it because it is something that pueblo people recognize. As we talked, Mary told me that her mom met me a few years ago. I remember her mom, vividly, because we were talking about books illustrated by one of their family members, Fred Kabotie! Here's me and Mary:



On August 25, Jean and I were together in Chicago at 57th Street Books for the official book launch. The event was memorable for many reasons. Our families were there, we sat together and signed books, and Elisa Gall gifted us cookies with the image of the book cover on them:


On social media, some people thought they were decks of cards. Which, of course, gives us ideas on what a deck of cards about the book might include!

Previous to the launch day, Jean and I had been talking about the need to create a companion website for the book. A day after the launch, I pulled it together (using blogger). The first blog post is a photo essay of the launch.

The following week, we were at the Urbana Free Library in Urbana, Illinois. Then I was in Washington DC where I did the keynote for a Teach-In at the National Museum of the American Indian. From there I went to the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs where I met with librarians about collection development and gave two talks to students in teacher education courses. Meanwhile, Jean was at Third Place Books last night, and has another event coming up near there, next week.



So... we've been busy! That's why there's been six weeks... SIX WEEKS!... with no posts to AICL. But we are definitely reading and drafting posts about old and new books, because that's what we do. Read, think, write.

Oh! Before I hit "publish" on this post, I will add that An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People is selling quite well! It is in its 7th printing. I think about 15,000 copies have been sold. Several times, we've gotten emails from people who said they can't get a copy because it is sold out at their store or on back order with an online bookstore. In my last email from Beacon (the publisher), I learned that more books are now available. I hope you'll buy one for our home, school, or university library! Here's a photo of the 7th printing (the lowest number in that string of numbers in a book tells you what printing the copy you're holding is part of).

No photo description available.


I hope you'll buy one for our home, school, or university library!

Thursday, June 06, 2019

Recommended! I CAN MAKE THIS PROMISE by Christine Day

I've read and most definitely recommend I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day. A review is forthcoming. Here's the description:
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 curious she might be about her Native American heritage, Edie is sure her family doesn’t have any answers.
Until the day when she and her friends discover a box hidden in the attic—a box full of letters signed “Love, Edith,” and photos of a woman who looks just like her.
Suddenly, Edie has a flurry of new questions about this woman who shares her name. Could she belong to the Native family that Edie never knew about? But if her mom and dad have kept this secret from her all her life, how can she trust them to tell her the truth now?

The cover art by Michaela Goade is stunning!

Day and Goade are Native. The book comes out on October 1st. Order it today!


RECOMMENDED!
AICL is pleased to recommend
I Can Make This Promise



Saturday, March 09, 2019

Recommended! AJIJAAK/CRANE by Cecilia Rose LaPointe; illustrations by Dolly Peltier; translation by Margaret Noodin

In 2018, Ajijaak/Crane was published by Waub Ajijaak Press, in Manistee, Michigan. Written by Cecilia Rose LaPointe, illustrated by Dolly Peltier, and translated into Anishinaabe by Margaret Noodin, it is one I am pleased to recommend.


The story opens with Crane standing beside a marsh. Crane flies over the land and sees a mole, a red squirrel, a chipmunk, a robin, a crow, a painted turtle, and a dragonfly. They are digging, collecting and harvesting things.

One day, Crane flies to the nearby creek, but there are no salmon in it because a factory polluted the water. All the creatures work together to say Noogishkadaa chi-anokiiwigamig! (Stop the factory!). Soon, the factory closes and the creek begins to heal.

If you do environmental units in your classroom or library Ajijaak is a book you'll want to add to your classroom library! The story, the art, and the language work together--much like the creatures did--to get important messages across about the need for everybody to speak up about pollution and its effect on life.

I especially like that you can listen to the story, in Ojibwe, at Ojibwe.net. Head over and give a listen! And order a copy of the book from the publisher.

Saturday, February 09, 2019

Highly Recommended: FIGHTER IN VELVET GLOVES: ALASKA CIVIL RIGHTS HERO ELIZABETH PERATROVICH by Annie Boochever with Roy Peratrovich Jr.



"You're an Indian, aren't you?
Roy answered, "Yes, I am."
"Your wife too?"
"Yes."
"Well, I'd like to help you, but other people around here don't want me to rent to Indians."

When most people think of civil rights, their thoughts turn to the 1960s. They may remember photographs of Martin Luther King and others who spoke, marched, or participated in sit-ins. Some people, however, have a different memory of people fighting for civil rights. Their memories are of the 1940s when Native Alaskans fought for their rights.

Encounters like the one at the top of this post are in Fighter in Velvet Gloves: Alaska Civil Rights Hero Elizabeth Peratrovich.

Cover art by Apayo Moore
https://www.apayuq.com/ 


Due out on February 16, 2019 from the University of Alaska Press, it is definitely going to be one that I recommend over and over for its history of the civil rights work in Alaska, its use of Tlingit words throughout, and of course, because it is about a Native woman. Photos throughout are exceptional.

The first sentence in the first chapter is of Peratrovich's birth:
On July 4, 1911, in the Southeast Alaska community of Gánti Yaakw Séedi (Petersburg), Edith Tagcook Paul from Deishú (Haines) gave birth to the baby girl who would grow up to be Elizabeth Jean Peratrovich. 
That choice--to put the English words in parenthesis--is seen throughout the book. Here's the third sentence of the first chapter:
Over thousands of years they developed cultures and a way of life especially suited to their Haa Aanî, or homeland. 

Peratrovich was fluent in both, English and Tlingit. Her Tlingit name was Kaaxgal.aat. In 1912 a group of Native people from Southeast Alaska gathered in Sitka and formed the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) and two years later, the Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANS). Elizabeth's father was a founder of the ANB, which is now recognized as the oldest Indigenous civil rights organization in the world. The organizations worked to improve educational opportunities, employment, social services, health services, and housing.

Societal discrimination in Alaska was as blatant as it was in the U.S. There were signs like "No Natives Allowed" on businesses. There were signs that said "White Trade Only." There were assurances that customers wouldn't have to come in contact with people who weren't white. This photo is in the book:

Historic sign, Front Street, Juneau, circa 1943.
Alaska State Library. Winter and Pond Collection. ASL-PCA-1050.

Some chapters include examples of societal racism. In one, you'll learn about schools where only white children could attend. In another, you'll learn that during World War II, almost 9,000 Alaska Native people were forced to leave their homes because the US Army thought that destroying their villages would make it harder for the Japanese to invade that part of Alaska. You'll learn that Native Alaskan men were in the armed services--but prejudicial ideas about Native women led the army to issue an order prohibiting soldiers from associating with Alaska Native women, even if the woman was part of the soldier's family! The chapter on voting has a page called "The Toilet Paper Defense" that is stunning.

There's other parts of the book that are intimate, personal looks at Elizabeth Peratrovich. She was adopted and did not know her birth mother. But that woman knew Elizabeth and, it seems, wanted to be near her. I won't say more about that, but it is a sad point in the story.

I highly recommend Fighter in Velvet Gloves. Some readers will be uncomfortable to read about the racism directed at Alaska Native people. Accounts like these mess with the idea that this country is exceptional, that it is (or was) "great." These accounts have received very little attention in children's or young adult literature--but they're very important. Change is possible, but only when problems are identified and made visible.

I'll end with some words in Chapter 14, titled "Carefully Chosen Words." It is about her speech on the day the Alaska legislature was debating the anti-discrimination bill that would be signed long before the US Civil Rights Act was passed. That day, she wore velvet gloves.
Elizabeth took a deep breath. She felt she was ready, but would her words have any effect? She looked at Lori and thought about what kind of life her daughter would have with those ugly signs plastered around town. She thought of the birth mother she never knew, and of her dear adoptive mother, and prickled at the racism they surely must have suffered. She thought of her adoptive father, Andrew, and about how kind he was and how powerful his sermons were. Words were the tools that had served her all her life, and she and Roy Sr. had spent hours thinking about just the right ones for this occasion. Now was the time. 



Wednesday, December 19, 2018

FIRST LAUGH: WELCOME, BABY! by Rose Ann Tahe

This year, Charlesbridge published First Laugh: Welcome, Baby!

When I learned that Jonathan Nelson (illustrator of the way-cool The Wool of Jonesy) was doing the illustrations for this book, I was excited. When I got the book and saw that Nancy Bo Flood was listed as a co-author, I groaned. More on that later. For now, let's look at the art and what Nelson tells us with his art. Here's the cover:

Image result for "nelson jonathan" "first laugh"


So much to love, there, in his art! We see two adults clearly loving the child in their arms. We see a modern day house. Regular readers of AICL know that I think stories of Native people set in the present day are crucial to help non-Native people know that (and I hate saying this every single time I write or speak it) we are here, part of the present day.

When you open the book and look at the title page, you see that baby, lying in a baby bouncer, playing with a mobile... of sheep! On a blanket with sheep! See? So perfect!



From there we see babies in different places, surrounded by family members who are trying to make the baby laugh. Then, a baby smiles and laughs!



And then there's a gathering to celebrate that baby's first laugh. Take a look at it! So much joy and details to note, like the satellite dish on the house and the electric pole.



Did you know that there's a lot of writing about photographers and post card makers removing such things from photos because they wanted the Native people and places being depicted to look "authentic." Infuriating, for sure that they made decisions that if we had clocks or sewing machines or electricity or glass in our windows, we weren't "real."


Published in 1999
As I study Nelson's painting of all those folks gathered there, I am remembering Luci Tapahonso and Anthony Chee Emerson's Songs of Shiprock Fair, published in 1999 by Kiva Publishing.

I like it a lot, too, for the same reasons I like what I see in First Laugh: Welcome Baby! Set in the present day, family, crowds.

Both books provide Navajo children with mirrors of their lives and tribally specific experiences.



~~~~

Now let's look at the authors.

In the back matter, the first author's note is listed as "Author's Note from the Late Rose Ann Tahe." In first person, she tells us her English name and her Navajo name. Then, she introduces herself in the traditional way, telling us that she was born into her mother's clan, and her father's clan, and what her maternal grandparents' clan is, and her paternal ones, too. That note ends with "This is who I am and where I am from."

It is followed by an author's note from Nancy Bo Flood who tells us that "Just weeks after Rose and I completed the manuscript for this book, she contracted a sudden illness that took her life." So, Flood asked Tahe's family what they wanted to do. They agreed, Flood writes, that "their mother's wish was to have this book become real."

And so--we have First Laugh: Welcome Baby! with Flood listed as the second author. On the strength of Nelson's illustrations, I am recommending First Laugh. I think his work is terrific and I want to see more of it.  

Rather than put the concerns--including appropriation--with Nancy Bo Flood here, I'll be doing a stand-alone post (12/22/18: see William Flood and Nancy Bo Flood: A History). I'll be back to add the title and link to it, soon.

Do take time to visit Nelson's website, and of course, get a copy of The Wool of Jonesy. 

I adore that book and was delighted to see a 3D version of Jonesy at Returning the Gift last year.

He's awesome!


Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Highly Recommended! Awâsis and the World Famous Bannock, by Dallas Hunt and Amanda Strong

I settled in to do some reading last night. I reached for Dallas Hunt's Awâsis and the World Famous Bannock. Amanda Strong's illustrations drew me in as I turned the pages, following Awâsis as she sets out to take her her grandma's world-famous bannock to a relative. 




Image result for awasis and the world famous bannock


Illustrated by Amanda Strong (you absolutely must watch her stop animation videos!) and published in 2018 by Highwater Press, I'm pleased as can be to recommend it. Here's the description:
During an unfortunate mishap, young Awâsis loses Kôhkum’s freshly baked world-famous bannock. Not knowing what to do, Awâsis seeks out a variety of other-than-human relatives willing to help. What adventures are in store for Awâsis?
Like I said, I was reading along, enjoying the story. Awâsis talks to several animals on her way. Instead of the English words for them, Hunt gives us the Cree ones. When I got to her conversation with Ayîkis (frog) I smiled to see her words in bold and capital letters because Ayîkis is far away and Awâsis has to shout.  

Then, I got to the page where she comes to Ôhô (Owl), who is drifting off to sleep. Awâsis speaks softly. The font is smaller. I like that, too. Ôhô wakes up and looks at Awâsis... and then I read this sentence and sat right up!
They swiveled their head back and forth and hooted.
They?! THEY?! (Yeah, I am using bold and capital letters to convey my delight...) Here's that page:




Right away I started writing to friends in children's literature to ask if they've seen a gender neutral pronoun before in a children's picture book. The answer so far? No. This might be the first time a writer has put a gender neutral pronoun in a children's picture book. 

The one exception I've come across so far is a nonfiction picture book, They, He, She, Me: Free to Be! by Maya Christina Gonzales and Matthew Smith Gonzales, published in 2017. Are there others? If you know of one, let me know.

For now, I'm going to shout about this book to friends and colleagues in children's literature. Published in 2018 by Highwater Press, Awâsis and the World Famous Bannock by Dallas Hunt and Amanda Strong is highly recommended! 

And make sure you check out the recipe and pronunciation guide at the end of the book... and the video, too! 



Last bit of info: Hunt is a member of Wapisewsipi (Swan River First Nation) in Treaty 8 territory in Northern Alberta, and Strong is Michif out of the unceded Coast Salish territory also known as Vancouver, British Columbia. That's from the book flap. 

__________
Below, I will list other picture books that colleagues recommend. If the book is by a Native writer, I'll note that writer's nation. 

Gonzales, Maya, (2014). Call Me Tree/Llamame arbol. Children's Book Press.

Thom, Kai Cheng and Kai Yun Ching, (2017). From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea. Arsenal Pulp Press.