Staff Picks
Read All About It: Indigenous & Native People in Middle Grade & Teen Novels
- Saturday, October 03, 2020
Collection
Discover the stories, cultures, traditions and history of indigenous and native people of the Americas in these compelling novels for middle grade and teen readers.
Looking for even more good books? Check out our personalized recommendations or call us at 803-799-9084. Find more resources on race, equity, and inclusion, here.
Ancestor Approved
Intertribal Stories for Kids
Published in 2021
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.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian
Published in 2012
In his first book for young adults, bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian
Published in 2007
Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.
No Place Like Home
Published in 2023
A middle-grade novel by James Bird about homelessness and hope. When home is a car, life is unpredictable. School, friends, and three meals a day aren't guaranteed. Not every town has a shelter where a family can sleep for a night or two, and places with parking lots don't welcome overnight stays. Opin, his brother Emjay, and their mother are trying to get to Los Angeles, where they hope an uncle and a new life are waiting. Emjay has taken to disappearing for days, slowing down the family's progress and adding to their worry. Then Opin finds a stray dog who needs him as much as he needs her, and his longing for a stable home intensifies, as his brother's reckless ways hit a new high. Opin makes a new friend in the shelter, but shelters don't allow dogs... Will anything other than a real home ever be enough?
No Place Like Home
Published in 2023
Opin, his brother Emjay, and their mother live in a car and are trying to get to Los Angeles where they hope an uncle and a new life are waiting, but even after finding a stray dog, Opin's longing for a stable home intensifies as his brother's reckless ways hit a new high.
Warrior Girl Unearthed
Published in 2023
#1 New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper's Daughter Angeline Boulley takes us back to Sugar Island in this high-stakes thriller about the power of discovering your stolen history. Perry Firekeeper-Birch has always known who she is - the laidback twin, the troublemaker, the best fisher on Sugar Island. Her aspirations won't ever take her far from home, and she wouldn't have it any other way. But as the rising number of missing Indigenous women starts circling closer to home, as her family becomes embroiled in a high-profile murder investigation, and as greedy grave robbers seek to profit off of what belongs to her Anishinaabe tribe, Perry begins to question everything. In order to reclaim this inheritance for her people, Perry has no choice but to take matters into her own hands. She can only count on her friends and allies, including her overachieving twin and a charming new boy in town with unwavering morals. Old rivalries, sister secrets, and botched heists cannot - will not - stop her from uncovering the mystery before the ancestors and missing women are lost forever. Sometimes, the truth shouldn't stay buried.
Warrior Girl Unearthed
Published in 2023
"LeBlanc's captivating voice draws readers in, expressing every mundane, sweet, heartbreaking, and life-threatening moment." — School Library Journal "Isabella Star LaBlanc brings an authentic-sounding narration to this powerful audiobook. " — AudioFile From the New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper's Daughter comes a thrilling YA mystery about a Native teen who must find a way to bring an ancestor home to her tribe. Perry Firekeeper-Birch was ready for her Summer of Slack but instead, after a fender bender that was entirely not her fault, she's stuck working to pay back her Auntie Daunis for repairs to the Jeep. Thankfully she has the other outcasts of the summer program, Team Misfit Toys, and even her twin sister Pauline. Together they ace obstacle courses, plan vigils for missing women in the community, and make sure summer doesn't feel so lost after all. But when she attends a meeting at a local university, Perry learns about the "Warrior Girl", an ancestor whose bones and knife are stored in the museum archives, and everything changes. Perry has to return Warrior Girl to her tribe. Determined to help, she learns all she can about NAGPRA, the federal law that allows tribes to request the return of ancestral remains and sacred items. The university has been using legal loopholes to hold onto Warrior Girl and twelve other Anishinaabe ancestors' remains, and Perry and the Misfits won't let it go on any longer. Using all of their skills and resources, the Misfits realize a heist is the only way to bring back the stolen artifacts and remains for good. But there is more to this repatriation than meets the eye as more women disappear and Pauline's perfectionism takes a turn for the worse. As secrets and mysteries unfurl, Perry and the Misfits must fight to find a way to make things right – for the ancestors and for their community. A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.
Firekeeper's Daughter
Published in 2021
Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.
Warrior Girl Unearthed
Published in 2023
With the rising number of missing Indigenous women, her family's involvement in a murder investigation, and grave robbers profiting off her Anishinaabe tribe, Perry takes matters into her own hands to solve the mystery and reclaim her people's inheritance.
The Rise of the Halfling King
Published in 2021
A magical boy from Mayan mythology faces impossible tasks and a ruthless king to save the people of Mexico.
Two Tribes
Published in 2023
In her poignant debut graphic novel inspired by her own life, Emily Bowen Cohen embraces the complexity, meaning, and deep love that comes from being part of two vibrant tribes. Mia is still getting used to living with her mom and stepfather, and to the new role their Jewish identity plays in their home. Feeling out of place at home and at her Jewish day school, Mia finds herself thinking more and more about her Muscogee father, who lives with his new family in Oklahoma. Her mother doesn't want to talk about him, but Mia can't help but feel like she's missing a part of herself without him in her life. Soon, Mia makes a plan to use the gifts from her bat mitzvah to take a bus to Oklahoma—without telling her mom—to visit her dad and find the connection to her Muscogee side she knows is just as important as her Jewish side. This graphic novel by Muscogee-Jewish writer and artist Emily Bowen Cohen is perfect for fans of American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. It is published by Heartdrum, an imprint that centers stories about contemporary Indigenous young people.
We Still Belong
Published in 2023
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 the love of her Indigenous family and community at an intertribal powwow. Wesley is proud of the poem she wrote for Indigenous Peoples' Day—but the reaction from a teacher makes her wonder if expressing herself is important enough. And due to the specific tribal laws of her family's Nation, Wesley is unable to enroll in the Upper Skagit tribe and is left feeling "not Native enough." Through the course of the novel, with the help of her family and friends, she comes to embrace her own place within the Native community. Christine Day's debut, I Can Make This Promise, was an American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award Honor Book, was named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus, School Library Journal, the Chicago Public Library, and NPR, and was also picked as a Charlotte Huck Honor Book. Her sophomore novel, The Sea in Winter, was an American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award Honor Book, as well as named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus and School Library Journal. We Still Belong is an accessible, enjoyable, and important novel from an author who always delivers.
We Still Belong
Published in 2023
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 the love of her Indigenous family and community at an intertribal powwow. Wesley is proud of the poem she wrote for Indigenous Peoples' Day—but the reaction from a teacher makes her wonder if expressing herself is important enough. And due to the specific tribal laws of her family's Nation, Wesley is unable to enroll in the Upper Skagit tribe and is left feeling "not Native enough." Through the course of the novel, with the help of her family and friends, she comes to embrace her own place within the Native community. Christine Day's debut, I Can Make This Promise, was an American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award Honor Book, was named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus, School Library Journal, the Chicago Public Library, and NPR, and was also picked as a Charlotte Huck Honor Book. Her sophomore novel, The Sea in Winter, was an American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award Honor Book, as well as named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus and School Library Journal. We Still Belong is an accessible, enjoyable, and important novel from an author who always delivers.
I Can Make This Promise
Published in 2019
"When twelve-year-old Edie finds letters and photographs in her attic that change everything she thought she knew about her Native American mother's adoption, she realizes she has a lot to learn about her family's history and her own identity"-- Provided by publisher.
The Sea in Winter
Published in 2021
After an injury sidelines her dreams of becoming a ballet star, Maisie is not excited for her blended family's midwinter road trip along the coast, near the Makah community where her mother grew up.
We Still Belong
Published in 2023
"Wesley's hopeful plans for Indigenous Peoples' Day (and asking her crush to the dance) go all wrong-until she finds herself surrounded by the love of her Indigenous family and community at the intertribal powwow"-- Provided by publisher.
Funeral Songs for Dying Girls
Published in 2023
"Funeral Songs For Dying Girls is a young adult novel about an Indigenous girl who lives on the grounds of a cemetery with her widowed father."-- Provided by publisher.
Hunting by Stars
Published in 2021
French has been captured by the Recruiters, confined to one of the infamous residential schools, where the government extracts the marrow of Indigenous people in order to steal the ability to dream, and where the captured are programmed to betray others of their kind, something which he discovers has been done to his brother; meanwhile the other survivors, his found family, are hunting for him, determined to rescue him--and French has to decide just how much, and whom, he is willing to sacrifice to survive and be reunited with Rose and the others.
The Marrow Thieves
Published in 2017
"In a future world ravaged by global warming, people have lost the ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America's indigenous population - and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world. But getting the marrow - and dreams - means death for the unwilling donors. Driven to flight, a 15-year-old and his companions struggle for survival, attempt to reunite with loved ones, and take refuge from the "recruiters" who seek them out to bring them to the marrow-stealing 'factories.'"-- Provided by publisher.
The Birchbark House
Published in 2002
Omakayas, a seven-year-old Native American girl of the Ojibwa tribe, lives through the joys of summer and the perils of winter on an island in Lake Superior in 1847.
Chickadee
Published in 2012
In 1866, Omakayas's son Chickadee is kidnapped by two ne'er-do-well brothers from his own tribe and must make a daring escape, forge unlikely friendships, and set out on an exciting and dangerous journey to get back home.
The Porcupine Year
Published in 2008
In 1852, forced by the United States government to leave their beloved Island of the Golden Breasted Woodpecker, fourteen-year-old Omokayas and her Ojibwe family travel in search of a new home.
Makoons
Published in 2016
Named for the Ojibwe word for little bear, Makoons and his twin, Chickadee, have traveled with their family to the Great Plains of 1860s Dakota Territory. There they must learn to become buffalo hunters and once again help their people make a home in a new land. But Makoons has had a vision that foretells great challenges -- challenges that his family may not be able to overcome. (Based on the author's own family history.)
The Summer of Bitter and Sweet
Published in 2022
"Lou has enough confusion in front of her this summer. She'll be working in her family's ice-cream shack with...her former best friend, King, who is back in their Canadian prairie town after disappearing three years ago...But when she gets a letter from her biological father...Lou immediately knows that she cannot meet him...While King's friendship makes Lou feel safer...when her family's business comes under threat, she soon realizes that she can't ignore her father forever"-- Provided by publisher.
Those Pink Mountain Nights
Published in 2023
Maybe her new job crafting pizzas will give her the high-energy outlet she desperately wants.When the weekend at Pink Mountain Pizza takes several unexpected turns, all three teens will have to acknowledge the various ways they've been hurt-and how much they need each other to hold it all together. In her remarkable second novel following her Governor General's Award-winning debut, The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, Jen Ferguson writes about the hurt of a life stuck in past tense, the hum of connections that cannot be severed, and one week in a small, snowy town that changes everything.Overachievement isn't a bad word-for Berlin, it's the goal. She's securing excellent grades, planning her future, and working a part-time job at Pink Mountain Pizza, a legendary local business. Who says she needs a best friend by her side?Dropping out of high school wasn't smart-but it was necessary for Cameron. Since his cousin Kiki's disappearance, it's hard enough to find the funny side of life, especially when the whole town has forgotten Kiki. To them, she's just another missing Native girl.People at school label Jessie a tease, a rich girl-and honestly, she's both. But Jessie knows she contains multitudes. Maybe her new job crafting pizzas will give her the high-energy outlet she desperately wants.When the weekend at Pink Mountain Pizza takes several unexpected turns, all three teens will have to acknowledge the various ways they've been hurt-and how much they need each other to hold it all together.Jen Ferguson burst onto the YA scene with her first novel, which was a William C. Morris Award Finalist and a Stonewall Award Honor Book, and this second novel fulfills her promise as one of the most thoughtful and exciting YA writers today.
Jasmine Toguchi, Peace-maker
Published in 2023
Eight-year-old Jasmine travels to Hiroshima to visit her grandmother and cousin. Includes author's note and instructions on how to make an origami dove.
If I Ever Get Out of Here
Published in 2013
"A heart-healing, mocs-on-the-ground story of music, family and friendship." ? Cynthia Leitich Smith, author of TANTALIZE and RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME Lewis "Shoe" Blake is used to the joys and difficulties of life on the Tuscarora Indian reservation in 1975: the joking, the Fireball games, the snow blowing through his roof. What he's not used to is white people being nice to him ? people like George Haddonfield, whose family recently moved to town with the Air Force. As the boys connect through their mutual passion for music, especially the Beatles, Lewis has to lie more and more to hide the reality of his family's poverty from George. He also has to deal with the vicious Evan Reininger, who makes Lewis the special target of his wrath. But when everyone else is on Evan's side, how can he be defeated? And if George finds out the truth about Lewis's home ? will he still be his friend? Acclaimed adult author Eric Gansworth makes his YA debut with this wry and powerful novel about friendship, memory, and the joy of rock 'n' roll.
If I Ever Get out of Here
A Novel with Paintings
Published in 2013
Seventh-grader Lewis "Shoe" Blake from the Tuscarora Reservation has a new friend, George Haddonfield from the local Air Force base, but in 1975 upstate New York there is a lot of tension and hatred between Native Americans and whites--and Lewis is not sure that he can rely on friendship.
My Good Man
Published in 2022
When a mysterious assault lands the brother of his mother's late boyfriend in the hospital, Brian, a twenty-something Indigenous reporter, must pick up the threads of a life he's abandoned, returning to the Tuscarora reservation to discover the truth.
Rez Ball
Published in 2023
This compelling debut novel by new talent Byron Graves tells the relatable, high-stakes story of a young athlete determined to play like the hero his Ojibwe community needs him to be. These days, Tre Brun is happiest when he is playing basketball on the Red Lake Reservation high school team—even though he can't help but be constantly gut-punched with memories of his big brother, Jaxon, who died in an accident. When Jaxon's former teammates on the varsity team offer to take Tre under their wing, he sees this as his shot to represent his Ojibwe rez all the way to their first state championship. This is the first step toward his dream of playing in the NBA, no matter how much the odds are stacked against him. But stepping into his brother's shoes as a star player means that Tre can't mess up. Not on the court, not at school, and not with his new friend, gamer Khiana, who he is definitely not falling in love with. After decades of rez teams almost making it, Tre needs to take his team to state. Because if he can live up to Jaxon's dreams, their story isn't over yet. This book is published by Heartdrum, an imprint that publishes high-quality, contemporary stories about Indigenous young people in the United States and Canada. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
Rez Ball
Published in 2023
This compelling debut novel by new talent Byron Graves tells the relatable, high-stakes story of a young athlete determined to play like the hero his Ojibwe community needs him to be. These days, Tre Brun is happiest when he is playing basketball on the Red Lake Reservation high school team—even though he can't help but be constantly gut-punched with memories of his big brother, Jaxon, who died in an accident. When Jaxon's former teammates on the varsity team offer to take Tre under their wing, he sees this as his shot to represent his Ojibwe rez all the way to their first state championship. This is the first step toward his dream of playing in the NBA, no matter how much the odds are stacked against him. But stepping into his brother's shoes as a star player means that Tre can't mess up. Not on the court, not at school, and not with his new friend, gamer Khiana, who he is definitely not falling in love with. After decades of rez teams almost making it, Tre needs to take his team to state. Because if he can live up to Jaxon's dreams, their story isn't over yet. This book is published by Heartdrum, an imprint that publishes high-quality, contemporary stories about Indigenous young people in the United States and Canada.
Rez Ball
Published in 2023
"These days, Tre Brun is happiest when he is playing basketball on the Red Lake Reservation high school team--even though he can’t help but be constantly gut-punched with memories of his big brother, Jaxon, who died in an accident. When Jaxon's former teammates on the varsity team offer to take Tre under their wing, he sees this as his shot to represent his Ojibwe rez all the way to their first state championship. This is the first step toward his dream of playing in the NBA, no matter how much the odds are stacked against him. But stepping into his brother’s shoes as a star player means that Tre can’t mess up. Not on the court, not at school, and not with his new friend, gamer Khiana, who he is definitely not falling in love with. After decades of rez teams almost making it, Tre needs to take his team to state. Because if he can live up to Jaxon's dreams, their story isn’t over yet"--Dust jacket flap.
The Storyteller
Published in 2023
Ziggy's mother disappeared ten years ago, one of the many Native women who have mysteriously gone missing, and Ziggy believes a secret cave may hold the key--so with his sister, Moon, and friends Alice and Corso, he sets out to find the cave and solve the mystery of his family's origins.
Hopeless in Hope
Published in 2023
We live in a hopeless old house on an almost-deserted dead-end street in a middle-of-nowhere town named Hope. This is the oldest part of Hope; eventually it will all be torn down and rebuilt into perfect homes for perfect people. Until then, we live here: imperfect people on an imperfect street that everyone forgets about.For Eva Brown, life feels lonely and small. Her mother, Shirley, drinks and yells all the time. She's the target of the popular mean girl, and her only friend doesn't want to talk to her anymore. All of it would be unbearable if it weren't for her cat, Toofie, her beloved nohkum, and her writing, which no one will ever see.When Nohkum is hospitalized, Shirley struggles to keep things together for Eva and her younger brother, Marcus. After Marcus is found wandering the neighbourhood alone, he is sent to live with a foster family, and Eva finds herself in a group home.Furious at her mother, Eva struggles to adjust-and being reunited with her family seems less and less likely. During a visit to the hospital, Nohkum gives Eva Shirley's diary. Will the truths it holds help Eva understand her mother?Heartbreaking and humorous, Hopeless in Hope is a compelling story of family and forgiveness.
The Star That Always Stays
Published in 2022
When fourteen-year-old Norvia moves from Beaver Island to Boyne City in 1914, she has to contend with a new school, a first crush, and a blended family, but she also must keep secret her parents' divorce and her Ojibwe heritage. Includes author's note.
Living Ghosts and Mischievous Monsters
Chilling American Indian Stories
Published in 2021
Thirty-two short stories chosen from the tradition of ghost stories from American Indian cultures across North America, featuring witches, walking dolls, hungry skeletons, skinwalkers, and other supernatural beings.
The Everlasting Road
Published in 2023
"Losing herself in the Floraverse after the death of her brother, young Indigenous girl Bugz finds the boundaries between the virtual and real worlds blurring when she creates a Waawaate bot in honor of her brother that grows in powers beyond her control"-- Provided by publisher.
Walking in Two Worlds
Published in 2021
When Bugz, who is caught between the worlds of life on the Rez and the virtual world, meets Feng, they form an instant bond as outsiders and gamers and must both grapple with the impact of family challenges and community trauma.
Borders
Published in 2022
A boy and his mother refuse to identify themselves as American or Canadian at the border and become caught in the limbo between nations when they claim their citizenship as Blackfoot.
Rabbit Chase
Published in 2022
"Anishinaabe culture and storytelling meet Alice in Wonderland in this coming-of-age graphic novel that explores Indigenous and gender issues through a fresh yet familiar looking glass. Aimée, a non-binary Anishinaabe middle-schooler, is on a class trip to offer gifts to Paayehnsag, the water spirits known to protect the land. While stories are told about the water spirits and the threat of the land being taken over for development, Aimée zones out, distracting themselves from the bullying and isolation they've experienced since expressing their non-binary identity. When Aimée accidentally wanders off, they are transported to an alternate dimension populated by traditional Anishinaabe figures in a story inspired by Alice in Wonderland. To gain the way back home, Aimée is called on to help Trickster by hunting down dark water spirits with guidance from Paayehnsag. On their journey, Aimée faces off with the land-grabbing Queen and her robotic guards and fights the dark water spirits against increasingly stacked odds. Illustrated by KC Oster with a modern take on their own Ojibwe style and cultural representation, Rabbit Chase is a story of self-discovery, community, and finding one's place in the world."-- Provided by publisher.
She Holds Up the Stars
Published in 2022
"A young Indigenous girl searching for a sense of home finds strength and courage in her gifts, her deepening connection to the land, and her own cultural awakening in this moving coming-of-age story. The last thing that twelve-year-old Misko wants to do is to move away from the city to spend time on the rez with her grandmother. She feels strangely compelled to go to the place where her dreams have been tugging at her to come home. Maybe she can finally find out what happened to her mother, who mysteriously disappeared when she was four years old. Misko discovers her unique ability to connect to a spirited horse named Mishtadim who is being violently broken in by the rancher next door and his son, Thomas. Although Misko and Thomas challenge one another, their friendship is forged through the taming of the wild horse. In the process, she realizes the true meaning of belonging and that you can never truly leave home. She Holds Up the Stars is a powerful story of reconciliation and the interwoven threads that connect us to family, to the land, and to our own sense of self."-- Provided by publisher.
Elatsoe
Published in 2020
"Imagine an America very similar to our own. It's got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream. There are some differences. This America has been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day. Seventeen-year-old Elatsoe ("Ellie" for short) lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect façade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family" -- Publisher's description.
A Snake Falls to Earth
Published in 2021
Fifteen-year-olds Nina and Oli come from different words--she is a Lipan Apache living in Texas and he is a cottonmouth from the Reflecting World--but their lives intersect when Oli journeys to Earth to find a cure for his ailing friend and they end up helping each other save their families.
In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse
Published in 2015
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 Horse, one of the most important figures in Lakota and American history. Drawing references and inspiration from the oral stories of the Lakota tradition, celebrated author Joseph Marshall III juxtaposes the contemporary story of Jimmy with an insider's perspective on the life of Tasunke Witko, better known as Crazy Horse (c. 1840?1877). The book follows the heroic deeds of the Lakota leader who took up arms against the US federal government to fight against encroachments on the territories and way of life of the Lakota people, including leading a war party to victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Along with Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse was the last of the Lakota to surrender his people to the US army. Through his grandfather's tales about the famous warrior, Jimmy learns more about his Lakota heritage and, ultimately, himself.
In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse
Published in 2015
Teased for his fair coloring, eleven-year-old Jimmy McClean travels with his maternal grandfather, Nyles High Eagle, to learn about his Lakota heritage while visiting places significant in the life of Crazy Horse, the nineteenth-century Lakota leader and warrior, in a tale that weaves the past with the present. Includes historical note and glossary.
Indian No More
Published in 2019
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.
Apple in the Middle
Published in 2018
"Apple Starkington turned her back on her Native American heritage the moment she was called a racial slur for someone of white and Indian descent, not that she really even knew how to be an Indian in the first place. Too bad the white world doesn't accept her either. And so begins her quirky habits to gain acceptance. Apple's name, chosen by her Indian mother on her deathbed, has a double meaning: treasured apple of my eye, but also the negative connotation a person who is red, or Indian, on the outside, but white on the inside. After her wealthy father gives her the boot one summer, Apple reluctantly agrees to visit her Native American relatives on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in northern North Dakota for the first time. Apple learns to deal with the culture shock of Indian customs and the Native Michif language, while she tries to find a connection to her dead mother. She also has to deal with a vengeful Indian man who loved her mother in high school but now hates Apple because her mom married a white man. Bouncing in the middle of two cultures, Apple meets her Indian relatives, shatters Indian stereotypes, and learns what it means to find her place in a world divided by color." -- (Source of summary not specified).
Fancy Pants
Published in 2022
"Filled with lots of glitter, raised pinkies, and humorous misunderstandings, this second book in the Jo Jo Makoons series--written by Dawn Quigley and illustrated by Tara Audibert--is filled with the joy of a young Ojibwe girl discovering her very own special shine from the inside out. First grader Jo Jo Makoons knows how to do a lot of things, like how to play jump rope, how to hide her peas in her milk, and how to be helpful in her classroom. But there's one thing Jo Jo doesn't know how to do: be fancy. She has a lot to learn before her Aunt Annie's wedding! Favorite purple unicorn notebook in hand, Jo Jo starts exploring her Ojibwe community to find ways to be fancy."-- Provided by publisher
Race to the Sun
Published in 2020
Best-selling author Rick Riordan welcomes indigenous fantasy writer Rebecca Roanhorse to his imprint with this thrilling adventure about a Navajo girl who discovers she's a monsterslayer. Lately, seventh grader Nizhoni Begay has been able to detect monsters, like that man in the fancy suit who was in the bleachers at her basketball game. Turns out he's Mr. Charles, her dad's new boss at the oil and gas company, and he's alarmingly interested in Nizhoni and her brother, Mac, their Navajo heritage, and the legend of the Hero Twins. When Dad disappears the next day, leaving behind a message that says "Run!", the siblings and Nizhoni's best friend, Davery, are thrust into a rescue mission, which can only be done with the help of Navajo gods, all disguised as quirky "rez" personalities. After a series of dangerous?and mind-bending?trials, Nizhoni, Mac, and Davery finally reach the sun god, who outfits them with the weapons they need to take down Mr. Charles and the ancient monsters he has unleashed. But it will take more than weapons for Nizhoni to become the hero she was destined to be. . . .
Race to the Sun
Published in 2020
Lately, seventh grader Nizhoni Begay has been able to detect monsters, like that man in the fancy suit who was in the bleachers at her basketball game. Turns out he's Mr. Charles, her dad's new boss at the oil and gas company, and he's 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. When Dad disappears the next day, leaving behind a message that says "Run!", the siblings and Nizhoni's best friend, Davery, are thrust into a rescue mission that can only be accomplished with the help of Din? Holy People, all disguised as quirky characters. Their aid will come at a price: the kids must pass a series of trials in which it seems like nature itself is out to kill them. If Nizhoni, Mac, and Davery can reach the House of the Sun, they will be outfitted with what they need to defeat the ancient monsters Mr. Charles has unleashed. But it will take more than weapons for Nizhoni to become the hero she was destined to be . . . Timeless themes such as the importance of family and respect for the land resonate in this funny, fast-paced, and exciting quest adventure set in the American Southwest.
Race to the Sun
Published in 2020
Guided by her Navajo ancestors, seventh-grader Nizhoni Begay discovers she is descended from a holy woman and destined to become a monsterslayer, starting with the evil businessman who kidnapped her father. Includes glossary of Navajo terms.
The Barren Grounds
Published in 2020
"Morgan and Eli, two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They each feel disconnected, from their culture and each other, and struggle to fit in at school and at their new home -- until they find a secret place, walled off in an unfinished attic bedroom. A portal opens to another reality, Askí, bringing them onto frozen, barren grounds, where they meet Ochek (Fisher). The only hunter supporting his starving community, Misewa, Ochek welcomes the human children, teaching them traditional ways to survive. But as the need for food becomes desperate, they embark on a dangerous mission. Accompanied by Arik, a sassy Squirrel they catch stealing from the trapline, they try to save Misewa before the icy grip of winter freezes everything--including them".--Page [2] of cover.
Strangers
Published in 2017
When Cole Harper returns to Wounded Sky First Nation, he finds his community in chaos: a series of murders, a mysterious illness ravaging the population and reemerging questions about Cole's role in the tragedy that drove him away ten years ago.
Hiawatha and the Peacemaker
Published in 2015
Hiawatha, a Mohawk, is plotting revenge for the murder of his wife and daughters by the evil Onondaga Chief, Tadodaho, when he meets the Great Peacemaker, who enlists his help in bringing the nations together to share his vision of a new way of life marked by peace, love, and unity rather than war, hate, and fear. Includes historical notes.
Man Made Monsters
Published in 2022
Haunting illustrations are woven throughout these horror stories that follow one extended Cherokee family across the centuries and well into the future as they encounter predators of all kinds in each time period.
Harvest House
Published in 2023
"Deftly leading readers to the literary crossroads of contemporary realism and haunting mystery, Cynthia Leitich Smith revisits the world of her American Indian Youth Literature Award winner Hearts Unbroken. Halloween is near, and Hughie Wolfe is volunteering at a new rural attraction: Harvest House. He's excited to take part in the fun, spooky show--until he learns that an actor playing the vengeful spirit of an "Indian maiden," a ghost inspired by local legend, will headline. Folklore aside, unusual things have been happening at night at the crossroads near Harvest House. A creepy man is stalking teenage girls and young women, particularly Indigenous women; dogs are fretful and on edge; and wild animals are behaving strangely. While Hughie weighs how and when to speak up about the bigoted legend, he and his friends begin to investigate the crossroads and whether it might be haunted after all. As Moon rises on All Hallow's Eve, will they be able to protect themselves and their community? Gripping and evocative, Harvest House showcases a versatile storyteller at her spooky, unsettling best."-- Publisher marketing.
Rain is Not My Indian Name
Published in 2021
Cassidy Rain Berghoff didn't know that the very night she decided to get a life would be the night that Galen would lose his. It's been six months since her best friend died, and up until now Rain has succeeded in shutting herself off from the world. But when controversy arises around her aunt Georgia's Indian Camp in their mostly white Midwestern community, Rain decides to face the outside world again -- at least through the lens of her camera. Hired by her town newspaper to photograph the campers, Rain soon finds that she has to decide how involved she wants to become in Indian Camp. Does she want to keep a professional distance from the intertribal community she belongs to? And just how willing is she to connect with the campers after her great loss?
Sisters of the Neversea
Published in 2021
In this magical, modern twist on Peter Pan, stepsisters Lily and Wendy are spirited away to Neverland by a mysterious boy and must find a way back to the family they love.
Dawn Raid
Published in 2021
After the police raid their house, Lenny starts talking about protests and injustices against Pacific Islanders by the government, which inspires the whole family to become involved in the movement.
Weird Rules to Follow
Published in 2022
It's the 1980's. Mia and her best friend, Lara, have known eah other since kindergarten. But even thought they both live in the same cul-de-sac in the coastal fishing town of Prince Rupert, Mia's life is very different from her non-Indigenous, middle class neighbor. Lara lives with her mom, dad and little brother in a big house with two cars in the driveway. Mia lives in a shabby wartime house that is full of relatives-- her churchgoing grandmother, binge-drinking mother and a rotating number or aunts, uncles and cousins. Their differences never matter to the two friend, but Mia begins to notice how people treat her differently just because she is Indigenous. Teachers, shopkeepers, even Lara's parents-- they all seem to have decided who Mia is without getting to know her first.
How I Became a Ghost
A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story
Published in 2013
A Choctaw boy tells the story of his tribe's removal from the only land its people had ever known, and how their journey to Oklahoma led him to become a ghost--one with the ability to help those he left behind.
Saints of the Household
Published in 2023
When brothers Max and Jay help a classmate in trouble, they struggle with the consequences of their violent actions and worry they may be more like their abusive father than they thought, so the brothers turn to their Bribri roots to find their way forward.
Mascot
Published in 2023
"Six eighth graders outside Washington, DC, navigate through conflict and division focused on their school district's Native American mascot"--Provided by publisher.
Healer of the Water Monster
Published in 2021
"Nathan, a young Navajo boy from Phoenix, Arizona, goes on an epic hero's journey."--Kirkusreviews.com