Tuesday, November 05, 2013

SLJ's 2013 Focus On "Resources and Kid Lit about American Indians"

School Library Journal has a "Focus On" series in its Collection Development category. Each "Focus On" is devoted to a single topic. This month, I'm the author of the Focus On column. For it, I provided an annotated list of over 30 children's and young adult books and apps. Most are by Native authors of the U.S. or Canada. The column this month is Resources and Kid Lit about American Indians.





I love the book cover layouts SLJ's staff put together to go with the column. I love them so much, that I am reproducing them here. I would love to see these books on display in every library in the country! As I look at each cover, I remember vividly where I was when I read each one. That's because these books are outstanding. 

I'll take a moment, too, to thank members of the American Indian Library Association for their help in locating apps. I couldn't include all of them, but plan to write about those that I list below, and some that I learned about too late to include for the article. 

I'll also take a moment to point you to my previous Focus On column for SLJ. Published in 2008, it was the prompt for me to come up with my "Top Ten" lists (see top right column of AICL for links to those Top Ten lists). I'll be adding the books in the 2013 Focus On column to the Top Ten lists, too. 



Thanks, SLJ, for providing me with an opportunity to put these terrific books in front of a wide audience!

Please take time to go directly to the article and read the annotations. They're brief, but I've written--or will write about--each one of them on AICL. Here's the list. For previous/future posts on them, look for them in the 'label's section (far right column towards the bottom) or simply type the book title (in quotation marks) in the search bar (top left corner right).

BOARD BOOKS
Baby's First Laugh, by Beverly Blacksheep
Boozhoo, Come Play with Me, by Deanna Himango
Cradle Me, by Debby Slier
Little You, by Richard Van Camp
Good Morning World, by Paul Windsor

ELEMENTARY
Whale Snow, by Debby Dahl Edwardson
Chickadee, by Louise Erdrich
Kunu's Basket: A Story from Indian Island, by Lee DeCora Francis
Chikasha Stories, Volume One: Shared Spirit, by Glenda Galvan
Fatty Legs: A True Story, by Christy & Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
Greet the Dawn: The Lakota Way, by S. D. Nelson
Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hidatsa Story, by S. D. Nelson
The Christmas Coat: Memories of my Sioux Childhood, by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve
Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness Into Light, by Tim Tingle
Kamik: An Inuit Puppy Story, by Donald Uluadluak

MIDDLE SCHOOL
Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection, edited by Matt Dembicki
My Name is Not Easy, by Debby Dahl Edwardson
If I Ever Get Out of Here, by Eric Gansworth
Triple Threat, by Jacqueline Guest
Under the Mesquite, by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Walking on Earth, Touching the Sky: Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School, edited by Timothy P. McLaughlin
Native Writers: Voices of Power, by Kim Sigafus and Lyle Ernst
Super Indian: Volume One, by Arigon Starr
How I Became a Ghost, by Tim Tingle

HIGH SCHOOL
Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years, edited by Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson
Killer of Enemies, by Joseph Bruchac Update on Sep 30 2023: I (Debbie Reese) no longer recommend Bruchac's work. For details see Is Joseph Bruchac truly Abenaki?
The Round House, by Louise Erdrich
House of Purple Cedar, by Tim Tingle
Code Talker Stories, by Laura Tohe
The Moon of Letting Go: And Other Stories, by Richard Van Camp
Robopocalypse, by Daniel H. Wilson

APPS
Anompa: Chickasaw Language Basic, Chickasaw Nation
Bramble Berry Tales--The Story of Kalkalilh: Book One, Rival Schools Media Design
Navajo Toddler, Isreal Shortman
Ojibway, Ogoki Learning Systems

WEBSITES
Chickasaw Kids, Chickasaw Nation
Infinity of Nations Culture Quest, National Museum of the American Indian


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