Firefly Season

FIREFLY SEASON, written by Cynthia Leitich Smith, illustrated by Kate Gardiner (Heartdrum, May, 13, 2025).

Written by the award-winning, bestselling author of Jingle Dancer, Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee), and filled with tender illustrations by Kate Gardiner (Nipmuck), this unforgettable, warmhearted picture book is for family and the friends who become family.

Piper feels grateful for visits with her relatives,

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On a Wing and a Tear

ON A WING AND A TEAR by Cynthia Leitich Smith, cover by Natasha Donovan (Heartdrum, Sept. 17, 2024). Ages 8 -12.

A living legend roosting in the backyard. An unmissable game. A hair-raising mystery. A road trip full of adventure and danger. And all the overlapping circles that connect us.

Melanie “Mel” Roberts is sensitive,

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Blue Stars: Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem

BLUE STARS: MISSION ONE: THE VICE PRINCIPAL PROBLEM, written by Kekla Magoon and Cynthia Leitich Smith, illustrated by Molly Murakami (Candlewick, 2024). Ages 8-up.

Two everyday superheroes set out to save the world–starting with their school–in an exciting new middle-grade graphic series from two award-winning authors and a debut illustrator.

When cousins Riley Halfmoon and Maya Dawn move to Urbanopolis to live with their activist grandma,

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Sisters of the Neversea

SISTERS OF THE NEVERSEA by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Heartdrum, June 2021). Ages 8-up. Also published by HarperCollins Canada and paperback edition published by Harper360 (June 2022), an imprint of HarperCollins UK.

The second star from the right will take them very far from home…

Lily and Wendy have been best friends since they became stepsisters.

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Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids

ANCESTOR APPROVED: INTERTRIBAL STORIES FOR KIDS, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Heartdrum, 2021). Ages 8-up. Also published by HarperCollins Canada.

A collection of intersecting stories and poems set at a powwow that bursts with hope, joy, resilience, the strength of community, and Native pride.

In a high school gym full of color and song, Native families from Nations within the borders of the U.S.

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Rain Is Not My Indian Name: Broken Star

Quick Questions

  1. When Rain and Galen come home, covered in mud, from the construction site, what does Mama call them?
  2. What does Rain usually have for breakfast on her birthday?
  3. Who tells Rain what has happened to Galen?
  4. How does Rain react to the news?

For Book Talks Or Your Journal
contrary feelings

The journal entry at the beginning of this chapter introduces us to Mama for the first time. 

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Jingle Dancer

JINGLE DANCER by Cynthia Leitich Smith, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu (HarperCollins, 2000)(Heartdrum, 2021). Ages 4-up. Also published by HarperCollins Canada.

Jenna, a contemporary Muscogee (Creek) girl in Oklahoma, wants to honor a family tradition by jingle dancing at the next powwow. But where will she find enough jingles for her dress?

A warm family story,

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Indian Shoes

INDIAN SHOES by Cynthia Leitich Smith, paperback cover art by Sharon Irla, interior art by MaryBeth Timothy (Heartdrum, 2020, 2021). Ages 7-up. Also published by HarperCollins Canada.

Hardcover edition features cover and interior art by Jim Madsen (HarperCollins, 2002).

What do Indian shoes look like, anyway?

Like beautiful beaded moccasins…or hightops with bright orange shoelaces?

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