Children's Books with Indigenous Representation from the Americas

Published on 4 November 2024 at 14:26

Native American Heritage Month, celebrated each November, honors the knowledge, traditions, languages, beliefs, and stories of Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and affiliated Island communities. Indigenous communities in the Americas have been fighting for generations to preserve their peoples and identities in the face of colonization, broken treaties, residential schools, and other injustices. Native American Heritage Month helps to raise awareness of the continued struggles that Indigenous communities face, support Native people reconnecting with their cultures and languages, and brings visibility to the continued presence of Native and First Nations peoples.

Learn more about Native American Heritage Month, Orange Shirt Day, Land Back, and other Indigenous-led movements at the links below. Or scroll down to find a collection of children's books with Indigenous representation organized by age (ages 0-7). Subsequent resources will cover books for middle grade and young adult readers. Where possible, I have included the Indigenous community represented (example: Seminole, Anishinaabe, etc.) in parentheses.

Please note: I have not read all these books for myself. I encourage you to use this resources as a "jumping-off point" and to conduct your own research when deciding which book is right for you.

Indigenous-Led Movements

Image Description: Tall, white bookshelves stocked with books that have colorful bindings.

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Children's Books with Indigenous Representation Organized by Age

Ages 0+

  • We All Play by Julie Flett (Cree)
  • Little You by Richard Van Camp (Dogrib (Tłı̨chǫ) Nation)
  • Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns by Richard Van Camp (Dogrib (Tłı̨chǫ) Nation)
  • In My Anaana's Amautik by Nadia Sammurtok (Inuit)
  • I Sang You Down from the Stars by Tasha Spillett
  • Today is Orange Shirt Day by Phyllis Webstad
  • When We Are Kind by Monique Gray Smith
  • May We Have Enough to Share by Richard Van Camp

Ages 1+

  • Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara Joosse (Inuit)
  • We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell (Cherokee)
  • The Star People: A Lakota Story by S.D. Nelson (Sioux)
  • Ten Little Rabbits by Virginia Grossman, Sylvia Long
  • Sweetest Kulu by Celina Kalluk (Inuit)

Ages 2+

  • Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard
  • First Laugh: Welcome, Baby! by Rose Ann Tahe (Diné )
  • Wild Berries by Julie Flett (Cree)
  • Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie
  • Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp (Mohawk/Six Nations)
  • With Our Orange Hearts by Phyllis Webstad

Ages 3+

  • Bowwow Powwow by Brenda J. Child (Anishinaabe)
  • Loaf the Cat Goes to the Powwow by Nicholas DeShaw (Anishinaabe)
  • Look, Grandma! Ni, Elisi! by Art Coulson (Cherokee)
  • Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun's Thanksgiving Story by Danielle Greendeer (Wampanoag)
  • Birdsong by Julie Flett (Cree)
  • We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom
  • Grandmother's Dreamcatcher by Becky Ray McCain (Chippewa)
  • Be a Good Ancestor by Leona Prince, Gabrielle Prince
  • Totem Tale: A Tall Story from Alaska by Deb Vanasse (Pacific Northwest)
  • The First Strawberries by Joseph Bruchac (Cherokee)
  • Biindigen! Amik Says Welcome by Nancy Cooper
  • Forever Our Home/kâkikê kîkinaw (bilingual edition) by Tonya Simpson (Cree)
  • My Heart Fills With Happiness / sâkaskinêw nitêh miywêyihtamowin ohci (bilingual edition) by Monique Gray Smith (Cree)
  • Still this Love Goes On by Buffy Sainte-Marie (Cree)
  • Awâsis and the World-Famous Bannock by Dallas Hunt (Wapsewsipi)
  • Hungry Johnny by Cheryl Minnema (Ojibwe)
  • Kisimi Taimaippaktut Angirrarijarani / Only in My Hometown by Angnakuluk Friesen (Inuit)
  • An Indigenous Celebration of Nature (series) by Kaitlin B. Curtice (Potowatomi)
  • Rainbow Crow by Nancy Van Laan (Lenape)
  • Itzel and the Ocelot by Rachel Katstaller (Central American)
  • Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale by Gerald McDermott (Pueblo)
  • We Belong to the Drum by Sandra Lamouche (Cree)
  • It's a Mitig! by Bridget George (Ojibwe)
  • The Powwow Coloring and Activity Book by Cassie Brown (Ojibwe)
  • The Raven and the Loon by Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley
  • It Bears Repreating by Tanya Tagaq (Inuit)
  • Let's Go! by Julie Flett (Cree/Metis)

Ages 4+

  • Being Home by Traci Sorell (Cherokee)
  • Finding My Dance by Ria Thundercloud (Ho-Chunk, Sandia Pueblo)
  • Forever Cousins by Laurel Goodluck
  • Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Creek/Chippewa/Anishinabe)
  • Powwow Day by Traci Sorell (Cherokee)
  • Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior by Carole Lindstrom (Anishinaabe)
  • Remember by Joy Harjo
  • My Powerful Hair by Carole Lindstrom
  • Berry Song by Michaela Goade (Tlingit)
  • Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest by Gerald McDermott (Pacific Coast)
  • Shaped by Her Hands: Potter Maria Martinez by Anna Harber Freeman, Barbara Gonzales (San Ildefonso Pueblo)
  • Sharice's Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman by Sharice Davids, Nancy K. Mays (Ho-Chunk)
  • Buffalo Wild! by Deidre Havrelock
  • Thunder and the Noise Storms by Jeffrey Ansloos, Shezza Ansloos (Cree)
  • How the Stars Fell into the Sky: A Navajo Legend by Jerrie Oughton (Navajo/Diné)
  • Explore Native American Cultures!: With 25 Great Projects by Anita Yasuda
  • Rock Your Mocs by Laurel Goodluck
  • Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back: A Native American Year of Moons by Joseph Bruchac, Jonathan London
  • Hiawatha and the Peacemaker by Robbie Robertson (Haudenosaunee)
  • The Sharing Circle: Stories about First Nations Culture by Theresa Meuse
  • Encounter by Brittany Luby (Stadacona)
  • A Letter for Bob by Kim Rogers
  • Kapaemahu by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson (Tahitian/Hawaiian)
  • Who Will Win? by Arihhonni David (Mohawk)
  • Spirit Rangers by JohnTom Knight (Chumash/Cowlitz)
  • Thanks to the Animals by Allen Sockabasin (Passamaquoddy)
  • What Your Ribbon Skirt Means to Me: Deb Haaland's Historic Inauguration by Alexis Bunten
  • Taíno Tales (series) by Vicky Weber (Taíno)
  • Trickster (series) by Gerald McDermott
  • Birth of the Chosen One: A First Nations Retelling of the Christmas Story by Terry M. Wildman
  • Peace Dancer by Roy Henry Vickers, Robert Budd (Tsimshian)
  • Daughter of the Light-Footed People: The Story of Indigenous Marathon Champion Lorena Ramírez by Belen Medina (Rarámuri)
  • Teachings of the Drum by Ren Louie (Nuu-chah-nulth)
  • I Love Salmon and Lampreys: A Native Story of Resilience by Brook M. Thompson (Yurok/Karuk)
  • The Hawk Shadow by Jan Bourdeau Waboose (Anishinaabe)
  • Coyote Steals the Blanket: A Ute Tale by Janet Stevens (Ute)
  • When the Stars Came Home by Brittany Luby
  • This Land by Ashley Fairbanks (Anishinaabe)
  • Jumping Mouse: A Native American Legend of Friendship and Sacrifice by Misty Schroe
  • Dragonfly's Tale by Kristina Rodanas (Zuni)

Ages 5+

  • Nibi's Water Song by Sunshine Tenasco (Anishinaabe)
  • The Rought-Face Girl by Rafe Martin (Algonquin)
  • A is for Aboriginal by Joseph MacLean (Haudenosaunee)
  • Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes by Wab Kinew
  • SkySisters by Jan Bourdeau Waboose (Nishnawbe Ojibway)
  • Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness into Light by Tim Tingle (Choctaw)
  • The Seeking Tree by Jodi Dee
  • Wisdom Weavers: Explore the Ojibwe Language and the Meaning of Dream Catchers by James Vukelich Laagegaabaw (Ojibwe)
  • Storyteller Skye: Teachings from My Ojibway Grandmother by Lindsay Christina King (Ojibway)
  • The First Woman Cherokee Chief: Wilma Pearl Mankiller by Patricia Morris Buckley (Cherokee)
  • Morning on the Lake by Jan Bourdeau Waboose
  • Buffalo Dreams by Kim Doner
  • The Little Hummingbird by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (Haida)
  • Kindred Spirits by Leslie Stall Widener (Chocktaw/Diné /Hopi)

Ages 6+

  • Native American Stories for Kids: 12 Traditional Stories from Indigenous Tribes Across North America by Tom Pecore Wesco
  • When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson (Cree)
  • Stolen Words by Melanie Florence (Cree)
  • When I was Eight by Christy Jordan-Fenton, Margaret Pokiak-Fenton (Inuit)
  • Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hidatsa Story by S.D. Nelson (Hidatsa)
  • Caribou Song (Songs of the North Wind) by Tomson Highway (Cree)
  • The People Shall Continue by Simon J. Ortiz
  • Not My Girl by Christy Jordan-Fenton, Margaret Pokiak-Fenton (Inuit)
  • Encounter by Jane Yolen (Taino)
  • Sk'ad'a Stories (series) by Sara Florence Davidson (Haida)
  • The Secret Pocket by Peggy Janicki
  • tâpwê êkwa mamâhtâwastotin/Tapwe and the Magic Hat by Buffy Sainte-Marie
  • When the Shadbush Blooms by Carla Messinger (Lenape)
  • Indian Shoes by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Cherokee/Seminole)
  • The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes by Duncan Tonatiuh (Aztec)
  • The Land Knows Me: A Nature Walk Exploring Indigenous Wisdom by Leigh Joseph (Squamish)
  • Fishing with Grandma by Susan Avingaq (Inuit)
  • The Sasquatch, the Fire and the Cedar Baskets by Joseph Dandurand (Kwantlen)
  • How Raven Stole the Sun by Maria Williams (Tlingit)
  • The Walrus and the Caribou by Maika Harper (Inuit)
  • Elisapee and Her Baby Seagull by Nancy Mike (Inuit)

Ages 7+

  • The First Blade of Sweetgrass by Suzanne Greenlaw (Wabanaki)
  • We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell (Cherokee)
  • Bertha Parker: The First Indigenous Woman Archeologist by Mari Bolte (Abenaki/Seneca)
  • KAYA: And the Guardians of the Sacred Water, a Native American Short Storybook for Kids by Aymen Bahloul
  • I Am Indigenous by Apolonia Nunez (Seminole)

Sources

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