Mvto for your interest in Native books for young readers! Please be sure to prioritize books by Native/First Nations authors and illustrators as well as recently published titles.
The selection of children’s and young adult books with Native characters and themes has improved dramatically since I was a kid. We have a lot more to pick from than the largely inaccurate biographies of Sacagewea and Amonute (Pocahontas),
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This bibliography is drawn from books published between 1995 and 2020. While some award-winners and bestsellers are included, part of the goal is to feature underappreciated gems. For more recent titles, visit Cynsations.
ALLISON by Allen Say (Houghton Mifflin, 1997). When she tries on her kimono, Allison realizes that she looks more like Mei Mei,
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This bibliography is drawn from books published between 1995 and 2020. While some award-winners and bestsellers are included, part of the goal is to feature underappreciated gems. For more recent titles, visit Cynsations.
BECOMING NAOMI LEON by Pam Munoz Ryan (Scholastic, 2004). Naomi Soledad Leon Outlaw has had a lot to contend with in her young life,
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Introduction
Interracial and intercultural families have existed since the dawn of humanity, well before “race” was invented as a concept. Yet it wasn’t until 1967, the year I was born, that laws against mixed-race marriages were struck down by the United States Supreme Court.
The need for related reflections in children’s-YA literature persists and grows with each passing generation.
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The conversation around character-and-topic representation has been buzzing since Nancy Larrick’s article, “The All-White World of Children’s Books,” was published on Sept. 11, 1965 in The Saturday Review.
The conversation has evolved beyond inclusion of race and culture to include other underrepresented voices and identity elements related to body type, faith, mental and physical disabilities,
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HIPPOLYTA AND THE CURSE OF THE AMAZONS by Jane Yolen and Robert J. Harris (HarperCollins, 2002).The second wonderful novel in Yolen and Harris’ YOUNG HEROES series offers a thoroughly teenage future Amazon queen. Very high appeal, especially to the vast numbers of readers enamored of Greek myths. Exciting and historically rich. See also the companion novel: ODYSSEUS IN THE SERPENT MAZE (HarperCollins,
SIXTEEN COWS by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by Kurt Cyrus (Harcourt, 2002). A first-rate, down-home, heel kickin’ and rockin’ romance between Cowboy Gene and Cowgirl Sue (aided in great measure by their sixteen cows). Refrains of “moo!” guarantee a satisfyin’ read-aloud for storytime crowds and bedtime stories. Ages 4-up. This interview was conducted via email in 2002. Visit Lisa Wheeler.
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EARTHSCAPES: LANDFORMS SCULPTED BY WATER, WIND AND ICE by Jerry Wermund (Rockon, 2003). Features poems and color photographs that lead the reader to visit frozen mountains, wander seashores, roam streams and rivers, and venture into parched deserts. This interview was conducted via email in 2003.
What was your initial inspiration for creating this book?
Writing geology for children is a quest inspired by several circumstances.
Continue Reading Behind the Story: Jerry Wermund on EARTHSCAPES »