Jimmy struggles to adjust after the death of his father and moving from the pueblo to his Grandfather Whitefeather’s house. Strete’s characters are complex and his themes are multi-layered. Most notably, the story incorporates the U.S. government policies that recently led to the unauthorized sterilization of so many Native women. Without romanticizing, he touches on much of the sadness tied to the Indian way of life and explores the strength,
Continue Reading THE WORLD IN GRANDFATHER’S HANDS by Craig Kee Strete (Cherokee) (Clarion, 1995) »
Yunmi accompanies her grandmother to Korea, where her grandmother was born. Korea is exciting, and it’s wonderful for Yunmi to meet her relatives. But it isn’t home to her. What if Halmoni (grandmother) decides to stay? Ages 4-up.
Continue Reading YUNMI AND HALMONI’S TRIP by Sook Nyul Choi, illustrated by Karen Dugan (Houghton Mifflin, 1997) »
Jimmy struggles to adjust after the death of his father and moving from the pueblo to his Grandfather Whitefeather’s house. Strete’s characters are complex and his themes are multi-layered. Most notably, the story incorporates the U.S. government policies that recently led to the unauthorized sterilization of so many Native women. Without romanticizing, he touches on much of the sadness tied to the Indian way of life and explores the strength,
Continue Reading THE WORLD IN GRANDFATHER’S HANDS by Craig Kee Strete (Cherokee) (Clarion, 1995) »
In this story, the late Michael Dorris returned his attention to Rayona Taylor, the hero of two of his books for adults, A YELLOW RAFT IN BLUE RIVER (1987) and CLOUD CHAMBER (1997). THE WINDOW is set earlier than the other two and features Rayona at age 11, whose Native mother is preoccupied with her own problems, including drinking, and whose African American father eventually ships her to live with his mother,
Continue Reading THE WINDOW by Michael Dorris (Modoc) (Hyperion, 1997) »
Nuria knows that wishes can go wrong, but she decides to go ahead and match wits with the well. A first novel from a rising star in children’s fantasy; not to be missed. Ages 8-up.
Continue Reading WELL WISHED by Franny Billingsley (Atheneum, 1997) »
Dustin and Rosie take a walk with their Grandma Ann, a Cherokee medicine woman, and gain insight into the Great Mystery. Ages 5-up.
Continue Reading A WALK TO THE GREAT MYSTERY by Virginia A. Stroud (Cherokee-Creek) (Dial, 1995) »
For Maggie’s eighth birthday, she receives a pair of black patent shoes from her mother and a pair of moccasins from her Kokum (grandmother), who reminds her there are times and ways to wear each. Ages 3-up. Good for preschool.
Continue Reading TWO PAIRS OF SHOES by Esther Sanderson (of the Pas Reserve, living in Winnipeg), illustrated by David Beyer (Cree) (Pemmican, 1998) »
Delightful celebration of a child’s love for the two Mrs. Gibson’s in her life, her Japanese American mother and her African-American grandmother. Ages 3-up.
Continue Reading TWO MRS. GIBSONS by Toyomi Igus, pictures by Daryl Wells (Children’s Book Press, 1995) »
Militant vegan Frederika Murchison-Kowalski is back at the Peshtigo School. The bad news is that now Freddie has to live with her cousin, Hans-Peter, a diehard carnivore, and grandfather, who happens to own a butcher shop and sausage deli. Freddie and Hans-Peter are soon at odds with each other over bathroom sharing, dinner menus, and more. To complicate matters, Hans-Peter needs Freddie’s insider knowledge to get accepted into the Peshtigo School himself.
Continue Reading TOFU AND T. REX by Greg Leitich Smith (Little Brown, 2005) »
A grandmother in the village of Kate on Kupreanof Island, one of the traditional areas of the Tlingit people, tells stories of their culture to her granddaughter, Marissa, 11, from Seattle. Ages 5-up.
Continue Reading THE STORY OF THE MILKY WAY, A CHEROKEE TALE by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) and Gayle Ross (Cherokee) with paintings by Virginia A. Stroud (Cherokee-Creek) (Dial, 1995) »
