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Serving Native American/First Nation Youth Populations in Libraries
Children's Books By and About Native Americans:
An Annotated Bibliography
The following resources were compiled by Patricia Steelman of the ALSC committee on Library Service to Special Population Children and Their Caregivers for the program, "Serving Native American/First Nation Youth Populations in Libraries," presented on June 21, 2003, during the 2003 ALA Annual Conference.
Some notable titles added to the children's collection at the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, for kindergarten through grade 8, added during the last five years. For starting a collection, I recommend consulting Dr. Lotsee Patterson's Core List of Native American Printed Materials available at http://www.fbcc.edu/Library/Nabib/juvenile.htm
Native American Children's Literature in the Classroom: An Annotated Bibliography by Joan Berman can be found at http://library.humboldt.edu/~berman/naclit.htm.
Also check the following site for Books to Avoid, a list with critical reviews supporting their position, located at http://www.oyate.org/books-to-avoid/index.html.
Fiction and Picture Books
Ackerman, Ned. Spirit Horse. New York: Scholastic Press, 1998.
When a Siksika boy living on the Plains during the 1770s becomes separated from a raiding party, he discovers the legendary spirit horse which he attempts to track down and tame.
Bruchac, Joseph. Crazy Horse's Vision. New York: Lee & Low, 2000.
A story based on the life of the dedicated young Lakota boy who grew up to be one of the bravest defenders of his people.
Bruchac, Joseph. Sacajawea: The Story of Bird Woman and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. San Diego, CA: Silver Whistle, 2000.
Sacajawea, a Shoshoni Indian interpreter, peacemaker, and guide, and William Clark alternate in describing their experiences on the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Northwest (1804-1806).
Erdrich, Louise. The Birchbark House. New York: HyperionBooks for Children, 1999.
In 1847 during Omakayas's seventh spring, she helps her Ojibwa family build a summer home on an island in Lake Superior. That winter there is a smallpox outbreak.
Hausman, Gerald. The Coyote Bead. Charlotesville, VA: Hampton Roads Pub. 1000.
In 1864, a Navajo shaman and his grandson seek powerful, mythical beads that can save their people from great evils, including The Long Walk forced on them by United States soldiers, and the trickster Coyote.
Hill, Kirkpatrick. The Year of Miss Agnes. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2000.
Ten-year-old Athapascan Indian Frederika relates the story of a special teacher who comes to her Alaskan one-room schoolhouse in 1948. Miss Agnes teaches Fred's twelve-year-old deaf sister, Bokko, sign language for the first time.
Martin, Rafe. The Rough-Face Girl. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1992.
In this Algonquin Indian version of the Cinderella story, the Rough-Face Girl and her two beautiful but heartless sisters compete for the affections of the Invisible Being.
Mikaelsen, Ben. Touching Spirit Bear. New York: HarperCollins, 2001.
To avoid prison after viciously attacking a classmate, fifteen-year-old Cole agrees to an alternative sentence based on the Native American Circle Justice. He is sent to a remote Alaskan Island where an encounter with a huge white Spirit Bear changes his life.
Shaw, Janet. Meet Kaya: An American Girl. Middleton, WI: Pleasant, 2002.
First in a series of six books about Kaya and her Nez Perce family set in the Pacific Northwest in 1764. Her adventures include being kidnapped with her blind sister, Speaking Rain. Presents historical notes in each book.
Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Indian Shoes. New York: HarperCollins, 2002.
Ray Halfmoon, a Seminole-Cherokee boy, lives in Chicago with his grandfather, who grew up in Oklahoma. Together they find creative and amusing solutions to the challenges that come their way.
Van Laan, Nancy. Shingebiss: An Ojibwe Legend. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
Shingebiss the duck bravely challenges the Winter Maker and manages to find enough food to survive a long, harsh winter.
Nonfiction
Bierhorst, John. The Deekatoo: Native American Stories about Little People. New York: William Morrow and Co., 1998.
Twenty-two stories about the little people whose strength and wisdom transcend their size. The title piece, told by the Tillamook, shows how a little man helps a woman regain her husband.
Kallen, Stuart A. Native American Chiefs and Warriors. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, 1999.
Discusses the lives of five influential Native American chiefs: King Philip, a Wampanoag from the 1600s; Chief Pontiac, an Ottawa born in the 1720s: Geronimo, an Apache born in 1829; Crazy Horse, an Oglala Sioux born in 1841; and Wilma Mankiller, a Cherokee born in 1945.
Lassieur, Allison. Before the Storm: American Indians before the Europeans. New York: Facts on File, 1998.
An account of the people living in North America before 1492 based on archaeologic and ethnographic evidence. Describes what is known of the villages, foods, and societies by geographic area.
Lelooska, Chief. Echoes of the Elders: The Stories and Paintings of Chief Lelooska. New York: DK in association with Callaway Editions, 1997.
Five folktales from the oral tradition of the Kwakiutl, a Native American tribe on the northwest coast. The stories tell about natural creatures like owls, loons, ravens, seagulls, fish, and mosquitoes, and also about mythical creatures like Timber Giant, the devourer of children.
Norman, Howard. The Girl Who Dreamed Only Geese: and Other Tales of the Far North. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1997.
Ten stories from the Inuit oral tradition that include portrayals of tundra wildlife-puffins, a wolverine, a seagull, a narwhal, and geese.
Philip, Neil. A Braid of Lives: Native American Childhood. New York: Clarion Books, 2000.
Autobiographical accounts recorded mostly during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Many focus on developing adult skills such as a boy's first kill in hunting and a girl's success in growing food.
Riordan, James. The Songs My Paddle Sings: Native American Legends. London: Pavilion, 1998.
Twenty brief legends-creation myths, pourquoi tales, cautionary stories, and hero tales-collected from various North American nations.
Sonneborn, Liz. The New York Public Library Amazing Native American History: A Book of Answers for Kids. New York: Wiley, 1999.
Questions and answers on the history and culture of various Native American tribes. Brief responses to such queries as "Where did the first Indians come from?" "Did Indians celebrate Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims?" "How were totem poles made?" and "What is a powwow?"
Wood, Nancy. Sacred Fire. New York: Doubleday, 1998.
A collection of poems and paintings celebrating the beliefs and ancestral wisdom of the Pueblo Indians of the American Southwest.
Yamane, Linda. Weaving a California Tradition: A Native American Basket maker. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 1997.
Follows an eleven-year-old Western Mono Indian, as she and her relatives gather and prepare natural materials needed for basket weaving, make the baskets, and attend the California Indian Basket weavers Association's annual gathering.
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