Tag Archive | Native Americans

H is spooky HARVEST HOUSE, a stalker nearby, and young Native women in danger! by Cynthia Leitich Smith (YA fiction) #AtoZ

Apr9
Book cover of Harvest House, by Cynthia Leitich Smith; shows a native teen boy walking away from a haunted house, surrounded by crows; upside down image of dark-haired young woman walking through dead trees with flying crows.

She was killed at the crossroads.
He still stalks young Native women,
so her spirit lingers there and attacks!

School budget cuts mean no fall play, and Hughie is bereft. Guess the indigenous teen will have time to volunteer at the haunted house fundraiser with new pal Sam after all.

Ick – the Harvest House organizer makes the legend of a Native girl killed at the Kansas crossroads into a racist trope and asks Hughie (Muscogee) and Sam (Hispanic) to dress up as murderous savages.

Sam’s sister works at the crossroads’ Grub Pub, is stalked by a guy one night, and then saved by the intervention of …a wolf!

Hughie helps student reporter Cricket connect with local elders and area history as the teens begin researching the mystery of the crossroads.

Progress on Harvest House maze (no Indian burial ground, please), seeking info on past encounters with the crossroads stalker, trying to ask Marie on a real date – Hughie’s life is suddenly complicated and not just a little dangerous.

Why do so many weird things happen at this particular crossroads?
Will Hughie’s spring play script with non-White characters be accepted?
Will the crossroads ever be safe for young dark-haired women?

Each chapter counts down the days until Halloween, interspersed with mysterious asides from Celeste who commands animals and birds to protect young women alone at night at the crossroads.

Find the story of Hughie’s big sister Louise during their family’s first year in Kansas in Hearts Unbroken, recommended at https://booksyalove.com/?p=10216.

Do you know a local legend that’s grounded in facts?
**kmm

Book info: Harvest House / Cynthia Leitich Smith. Candlewick Press, 2023 (paperback 2024). [author site https://cynthialeitichsmith.com/ya-books/ya_index/] [publisher site https://www.candlewick.com/9781536218602/harvest-house/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

E is EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT INDIANS BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK (Young Readers Edition), by Anton Treuer (YA nonfiction) #AtoZ

Apr5
book cover of Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask (Young Readers Edition), by Anton Treuer; shows intricate Native American beadwork design including cattails, vines and different flowers

“When did Natives really get to North America?”
“How many tribal languages are spoken in the Americas?”
“Why is there such a fuss about nonnative people wearing Indian costumes for Halloween?”

If you’ve wondered about questions like these, but didn’t know where to get reliable information, this book is for you!

Dr. Treuer (tribally enrolled Ojibwe https://www.mnhs.org/fortsnelling/learn/native-americans/ojibwe-people) clearly and unflinchingly answers 200 questions about terminology, history, religion, culture, and identity, powwow, tribal languages, politics, economics, education, and social activism related to Native peoples of North America.

Some are fact-based like “What is a sweat lodge?” and “When did the U.S. government stop making treaties with Indians and why?”

Other answers express a range of responses, such as “What general terms are most appropriate for talking about North America’s first people?” and “Why are Indians so often imagined rather than understood?”

Adapted by the author from his widely-acclaimed title for adults, this book concludes with questions and answers on Perspective: Coming to Terms and Future Directions, the author’s Conclusion: Finding Ways to Make a Difference, and recommended reading for each section.

Search online for Anton Treuer to find his many videos about Native culture, Objiwe language, and more. See the publisher’s site https://www.levinequerido.com/anton-treuer for this book’s teaching guides, too.

Whatever you ever wanted to know about Indians/Native Americans/First Peoples, this book is an excellent place to start – and you’ll find answers to questions that you didn’t realize that you needed to ask.
**kmm

Book info: Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask (Young Readers Edition) / Anton Treuer. Levine Querido, 2024. [author site https://antontreuer.com/] [publisher site https://www.levinequerido.com/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-indians] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

PAUL BUNYAN! Invention of an American Legend?! by Noah Van Sciver (Graphic Novel review)

Sep12
book cover of Paul Bunyan: the Invention of an American Legend / by Noah Van Sciver, with Marlena Myles, Lee Francis IV, Deondre Smiles. Toon Graphics

Babe the Blue Ox!
Paul Bunyan, the mighty lumberjack!
Made up by an advertising guy??

We’ve all heard the legend of enormously tall Paul Bunyan who conquered the northern woods and his gigantic companion Babe the Blue Ox, but… they were just part of an advertising campaign, not true folk-heroes!

America’s huge appetite for timber removed complete forests as settlers moved westward, overrunning the traditional lands of Native Americans while destroying cultures and ecosystems.

In 1914, the advertising department of Red River Lumber Company began promoting the “legend of Paul Bunyan” to gloss over their clear-cutting of old-growth woodlands, as they abandoned Minnesota and headed for the untouched forests of the West Coast.

Lumberjacks had always exaggerated stories of strong men at work like Saginaw Joe and Paul Bon Jean, but this newly-invented Paul Bunyan fellow beat them all!

From how his floating cradle created the huge tides in the Bay of Fundy to making the Finger Lakes when his hand hit the ground in New York to felling a tree with one axe stroke, Paul’s story was bigger and better than any other.

And heroic Paul worked for…Red River Lumber Company, at least in their pamphlets. He and Babe could clear and haul away 100 acres of big trees in one day and created the Mississippi River when their water wagon sprang a leak! No one in Minnesota believed those tall tales because they knew what the greedy lumber companies had actually done.

But the stories were in newspapers, then kids’ books and finally animation, obscuring the truth about why the mighty forests were reduced to small patches of woodland and how indigenous peoples were taken away from those valuable forestlands to reservations.

This fascinating graphic novel includes introduction and postscript by Native American scholars, as well as the Tree-Dwelling Little People story and a richly illustrated map of the Dakota homelands where Bunyan’s adventures were set.

Which American legend would you like to know more about?
**kmm

Book info: Paul Bunyan: the Invention of an American Legend / by Noah Van Sciver, with Marlena Myles, Lee Francis IV, Deondre Smiles. Toon Graphics, 2023. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

In the sky, in the air, I AM SMOKE, by Henry Herz and Mercè López (Picturebook review)

Jul12
book cover of I Am Smoke, by Henry Herz; illustrated by Mercè López. Tilbury House Publishers | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Rising from flames,
Controlled or untamed –
we see and smell smoke.

This picturebook ably shows the many ways that people use smoke: to preserve foods, to banish pests, in religious ceremonies, for healing.

Interestingly, smoke narrates its own story, saying “I lack a mouth, but I can speak” as it reminds us that smoke signals were used in China as well as by Native Americans of the Plains and Southwest.

Smoke explains that it is part of a cycle – it adds its water vapor to rain, its carbon dioxide nourishes leaves that can transform smoke into wood, which someday may again become smoke.

For the earth-toned artwork, the artist held paper over smoky candles, then added details with watercolors and digital enhancements – another way to use smoke!

Fascinating back notes tell more about each page-spread’s short, lyrical text.

What is your happiest memory of smoke?
**kmm

Book info: I Am Smoke / Henry Herz; illustrated by Merce Lopez. Tilbury House Publishers, 2021. [author site] [illustrator site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Lady Liberty is A LIGHT FOR ALL! by Margarita Engle & Raul Colon (Picturebook recommendation)

Jul4
book cover of Light For All, by Margarita Engle; illustrated by Raul Colon. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Light, hope, freedom!

The Statue of Liberty‘s welcoming presence weaves throughout this uplifting and reflective picturebook.

Children’s hopes, dreams, and memories of their birth-lands fill these pages showing the many reasons that people come to the United States.

The text also acknowledges the Native Americans who lived here first and the Africans forcibly brought here in slavery, as well as recent immigrants’ struggles to be accepted by those whose families also arrived as immigrants in past generations.

By the author of many novels in verse that carry forward the voices of non-dominant cultures, several recommended on BooksYALove here.

The illustrator uses varied color palettes to portray disaster and turmoil, community and reunion, friendship and hope.

Also available in Spanish : Luz Para Todos.

Have you visited the Statue of Liberty?
**kmm

Book info: Light For All / Margarita Engle; illustrated by Raul Colon. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2021. [author site] [illustrator interview] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

M is for Hayao Miyzaki masterwork: SHUNA’S JOURNEY west to save his people, translated by Alex Dudok de Wit (Graphic Novel review) #A2Z

Apr15
book cover of Shuna's Journey, by Hayao Miyazaki; translated by Alex Dudok de Wit. Published by First Second Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Shuna’s people are ever-hungry as no crops can thrive in their cold desert land.

When a traveler tells of a strong golden grain that grows far away, the young prince is determined to bring its seeds back to their mountain valley.

Riding west on his yakul, Shuna traverses strange landscapes, fights those who would capture him, despairs at the fortress slave market.

He rescues two sisters at great peril, and the trio travels west without stopping until they reach the cliffs of World’s Edge.

Can Thea and her little sister safely reach their home in the north?
Can Shuna reach the God-lands past these dreadful cliffs and find the golden grain?
Will Thea and Shuna ever meet again?

Just before co-founding Studio Ghibli in 1985, Miyazaki created this stunning illustrated story based on a Tibetan folktale about a prince’s epic pilgrimage to bring barley to his people.

Four decades after its publication in Japan, the classic graphic novel (read back to front) is available to English readers for the first time. Visit the publisher’s page here to look at its gorgeous artwork.

When the going gets tough, how do you respond?
**kmm

Book info: Shuna’s Journey / Hayao Miyazaki; translated by Alex Dudok de Wit. First Second Books/Roaring Brook Press, original 1983, English translation 2022. [translator interview] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Always leave THE FIRST BLADE OF SWEETGRASS, Grandmother says, by Suzanne Greenlaw, Gabriel Frey, Nancy Baker (Picturebook review)

Nov29
book cover of The First Blade of Sweetgrass: a Native American Story / Suzanne Greenlaw & Gabriel Frey; illustrated by Nancy Baker. Published by Tilbury House Publishers | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Musquon’s first trip to the salt marsh with Grandmother to gather sweetgrass!

But in an ocean of grasses, how will the young girl know which kind to pick?

Grandmother patiently shows her the emerald green grass with a purple bottom and reminds Musquon that her ancestors are here with them, where so many have carefully picked sweetgrass for basketmaking and spiritual medicine.

Musquon breathes the salty air, remembering that Grandmother learned as a small girl in this same marsh to pass over the first blade of sweetgrass she finds: “If we never pick the first blade, we will never pick the last one.”

Soon she will learn how to braid sweetgrass and help Grandmother make baskets as the Wakenabi people have done for countless generations.

The authors note the cultural significance of sweetgrass for First Nations’ peoples in their home state of Maine and beyond, as well as a glossary of Passamaquoddy-Maliseet words used in the story including Musquon (“blue sky”) who shares a name with one of their daughters. Watch an interview with the authors here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7weayTgxwgk

What gifts of the natural world are important to you?

**kmm

Book info: The First Blade of Sweetgrass: a Native American Story / Suzanne Greenlaw & Gabriel Frey; illustrated by Nancy Baker. Tilbury House Publishers, 2021. [author & illustrator interview] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

At the powwow, hear ANCESTOR APPROVED: INTERTRIBAL STORIES FOR KIDS, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith (YA book review)

Nov16
book cover of Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids / Cynthia Leitich Smith, editor. Published by Heartdrum/Harper Collins | recommended on BooksYALove.com
Cover art by Nicole Neidhardt

“A powwow is
where our hearts beat as one
to the thump of the drum,
together
so strong
where we belong.”

  • Kim Rogers (pg. 3)

The great Dance for Mother Earth Powwow draws Native American families and friends from all over North America to visit, dance in competitions, sell their wares, and celebrate being together in Michigan.

Smell the frybread cooking, eat the best corn soup, admire the silver bracelets and intricate beadwork, hear the drums – it’s time for the Grand Entry of all the dancers!

Can Jess convince her grandpa to dance in the Veterans’ Dance or will they go back to Oklahoma sad again this year?

Back in New Mexico, Alan and Kevin definitely don’t get along, but at the Powwow the sixth graders need to help each other locate down a certain girl and a certain silver bracelet.

Oh, beaded regalia has gone missing at this powwow too? Shana asks Tokala to help find her floral-beaded Anishinaabe moccasins before the Jingle Dance begins!

Marino’s t-shirt business could use some clever advertising – good thing that “everybody’s dog” Ozzie hitched a ride all the way from the Pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh to the powwow!

This collection of intertwined stories brings us viewpoints from 16 Native authors from different places and tribes, as Elders, young people, and one very cool rez dog experience Powwow, some for the first time, others returning for their favorite weekend of the year together.

Enjoy these stories and poems during Native American Heritage Month and all year long!

What Native American dances have you seen?
**kmm

Book info: Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids / Cynthia Leitich Smith, editor. Heartdrum/Harper Collins, 2021. [editor site] [publisher site] Personal copy; cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Z is for ZERO O’CLOCK in Covid-19’s early days, by C. J. Farley (YA book review) #A2Z

Apr30
book cover of Zero O'Clock, by C. J. Farley. Published by Black Sheep/ Akashic | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Mysterious plague,
not fiction, not science fiction,
how will it end?

Geth’s hometown, New Rochelle, New York, is ground-zero for the Covid-19 pandemic in USA, as the entire world hits the pause button in March 2020.

The sixteen year old and her best friends are unhappier to miss next weekend’s Broadway show than about school being closed for two weeks (more teleteaching, more homework… ugh). Diego is the star quarterback, so that’s his ticket to college. Tovah is tiny and mighty and a math genius; Geth is sure that they’ll both be accepted to Columbia soon.

Two weeks’ closure keeps stretching out, stores in ‘the containment zone’ are running out of essentials, and the neighborhood foxes are scavenging boldly as trash pickup is delayed and delayed again. After each face-touch, the Black teen washes her hands for safety (her OCD compulsions are getting companions now).

Worrying about her mom working at the hospital, the Native American teen who’ll be isolating with them in their little house (Mom’s boyfriend’s stepson?), whether prom will be cancelled – Geth gets more stressed by the day, clinging to her friends’ text messages and BTS songs as a lifeline.

Neighbors dying of Covid at home, friends hospitalized on ventilators, the President saying there’s nothing to be concerned about… .

Why are they still reading The Plague for English class?
Who’s trying to sabotage Diego’s football scholarship?
What advice would her late father have?

Three months, a million emotions, thousands upon thousands of deaths – then 8 minutes 32 seconds of video that sparked a movement.

How do you look back on the early days of the pandemic?
**kmm

Book info: Zero O’Clock / C. J. Farley. Black Sheep/ Akashic, 2021. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

R is for RURAL VOICES: 15 Authors Challenge Assumptions About Small-Town America (YA book review)

Apr21
book cover of Rural Voices: 15 Authors Challenge Assumptions About Small-Town America. Published by Candlewick Press | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Everyone drives a truck and wears muddy boots,
talks slow and walks even slower –
today’s teens outside big cities go way beyond those tired old ideas.

An aspiring rodeo queen in Utah draws strength from her Puerto Rican roots.

A Michigan queer girl’s 4-H showmanship in swine competition might draw her crush closer.

Forced up a tree by an angry bull, best friends finally talk about whether Alina’s stories identify with her home state or strive to distance her from West Virginia.

This collection of viewpoints and vistas includes stories by David Bowles, Joseph Bruchac, Veeda Bybee, Nora Shalaway Carpenter, Shae Carys, S. A. Cosby, Rob Costello, Randy DuBurke, David Macinnis Gill, Nasugraq Rainey Hopson, Estelle Laure, Yamile Saied Méndez, Ashley Hope Pérez, Tirzah Price, and Monica Roe.

I live outside a very small town where FFA and AP classes are on the same schedule, and young people can pursue big dreams with or without moving to the big city.

What rural voices have you heard lately?
**kmm

Book Info: Rural Voices: 15 Authors Challenge Assumptions About Small-Town America / Nora Shalway Carpenter, ed. Candlewick Press, 2020. [editor interview] [publisher site]