Limited colors and simple shapes encourage young readers to see a flower, a lion, and a sun. Each two-page chapter brilliantly introduces a tale that calls on imagination and encourages reader participation.
Sun Flower Lion
Make getting ready for bed an adventure with familiar creatures as young children try to guess who (or what) they will find. With a lift of each sturdy flap, the hidden answers are found.
Sleep Tight Very Hungry Caterpillar
This rollicking barnyard show is filled with funny animals, a scarecrow host, and lots of lively language — just right for a joyous reading aloud. The repetition is sure to encourage participation as the silliness builds along with each rhyme.
The Farm That Mac Built
Familiar (and a few not so familiar) traditional rhymes are presented and illustrated in a simple, child-like style.
Pat-A-Cake: First Book of Nursery Rhymes
There’s more to this book than first meets the eye. Travel the world, meet various animals, name them, and count them. Then look closely at each image to see (intricately presented) the wildlife contained in each shape.
Paper Peek Animals
A mouse’s unexpected adventure begins with a sneeze (ACHOO) and buzzes on to a comfortable and quite unique place to sleep (ZZZ). This alphabetic journey is told primarily through vibrantly colored illustrations reminiscent of folk art punctuated by lively alliterative words and sounds.
Eek! A Noisy Journey from A to Z
Explore different professions and jobs from A to Z, or just look at the illustrations. Brief descriptions of each job’s primary focus accompany the colorful, accessible illustrations on sturdy pages.
ABC What Can I Be?
Opening in the summer of 1847, this story follows an Ojibwe family through four seasons; it focuses on young Omakayas, who turns “eight winters old” during the course of the novel. In nearly step-by-step details, the story describes how they build a summer home out of birchbark, gather with extended family to harvest rice in the autumn, treat an attack of smallpox during the winter, and make maple syrup in the spring to stock their own larder and to sell to others.
The Birchbark House
Isaac, a Choctaw boy, tells the story of his tribe’s removal from their Mississippi homeland, and how the exodus to the American West (on the Trail of Tears) led him to become a ghost — one able to help those left behind. His traveling companions include a tough-minded teenage girl, a shape-shifting panther boy, a lovable five-year-old ghost who only wants her mom and dad to be happy, and Isaac’s talking dog, Jumper. (Book 1 in a 3-part series)
How I Became A Ghost — A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story
Seamlessly integrating Lakota history and oral tradition, the author (of the Brulé Lakota tribe) takes readers along for a road trip with Jimmy and his maternal grandfather as they embark on a “vision journey,” visiting famous landmarks, monuments, and landscapes integral to the life of the great warrior and leader Crazy Horse. Jimmy, a young Lakota boy, struggles with fitting in on his reservation because he does not look like the other Lakota boys; he has light hair, blue eyes, and his father is of Scottish decent. Grandpa Nyles introduces Jimmy to another Lakota who had fair hair and light skin — the famous Crazy Horse. Over the course of their trip, Grandpa Nyles recounts history and stories about the life of the Lakota hero and the events that shaped him into a powerful leader, including famous battles and standoffs against the white settlers.
In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse
The story of a girl who uncovers her family’s secrets — and finds her own Native American identity. The author, a member of the Upper Skagit tribe, handles issues surrounding identity, loss of culture, adoption, and family separation with insight. The novel looks at historical truths about how Native Americans have been treated throughout U.S. history.
I Can Make This Promise
When Uncle and Windy Girl and Itchy Boy attend a powwow, Windy watches the dancers in their jingle dresses and listens to the singers. She eats tasty food and joins family and friends around the campfire. Later, Windy falls asleep under the stars. Now Uncle’s stories inspire other visions in her head: a bowwow powwow, where all the dancers are dogs. This playful story is accompanied by a companion retelling in Ojibwe.
Bowwow Powwow
When a young girl moves from the country to a small town, she feels lonely and out of place. But soon she meets an elderly woman next door, who shares her love of arts and crafts. Can the girl navigate the changing seasons and failing health of her new friend? Cree-Métis words (defined in a small glossary) add an intimate layer of identity to the child’s narration.
Birdsong
One night, a beautiful show of lights fills the sky. Niigaanii explains to his younger brother, Bineshiinh that the northern lights are the spirits of the relatives who have passed on, including their beloved grandmother Nooko. The boys imagine different relatives dancing, lighting up the sky with their graceful movements. There are so many stars and so many stories that the boys spend night after night making sense of patterns and wisdom in “the forever sky.”
The Forever Sky
Based on a true story, The Water Walker, shares the story of Josephine Mandamin, a woman who was inspired by a prophecy to protect water. The book tracks her activism around water protection and the group of Water Walkers that she formed who join her on her many walks across North America. This is a dual-language edition in English and Anishinaabemowin.
Nibi Emosaawdang / The Water Walker
Rich in folklore and local culture, this graphic novel aimed at emergent readers offers a window into the world of Arctic First Nations families and legends. The two protagonists have a typical sibling dynamic as younger brother Putuguq tags along and annoys his older sister Kublu. On the way to meet a friend near the ocean, the duo run into their grandfather. He warns them to steer clear of the shoreline, lest they become victims of the Qalupalik, a nightmarish, mermaidlike creature who captures those who wander too close to the water. A map orienting readers to Putuguq and Kublu’s snow-covered village showcases an array of homes on stilts, many with snowmobiles (and sled dogs) outside.
Putuguq and Kublu and the Qalupalik
A family, separated by duty and distance, waits for a loved one to return home in this lyrical picture book celebrating the bonds of a Cherokee family and the bravery of history-making women pilots. At the mountain’s base sits a cabin under an old hickory tree. And in that cabin lives a family — loving, weaving, cooking, and singing. The strength in their song sustains them as they wait for their loved one, a pilot, to return from war. The author’s note pays homage to the true history of Native American U.S. service members like WWII pilot Ola Mildred “Millie” Rexroat.
At the Mountain’s Base
To the Gitxsan people of northwestern British Columbia, the grizzly is an integral part of the natural landscape. They share the land and forests the Skeena River runs through, as well as the sockeye salmon within it. The Grizzly Mother explores how an ecosystem’s animals, people, and seasons are all intertwined.
The Grizzly Mother
Based on the true stories of the Native American Code Talkers this graphic novel features nine original stories by Native American artists and writers documenting the heroic tales of Code Talkers from World War I through Korea. The graphic novel also features a history of the Code Talkers and a lesson plan for teachers who wish to use the book to teach students about the struggle and accomplishments of these Native American heroes.
Tales of the Mighty Code Talkers
A girl and her grandfather contemplate circles, both physical and metaphorical, in this thought-provoking tale of family, community, and interconnection. Grandpa says circles are all around us. He points to the rainbow that rises high in the sky after a thundercloud has come. “Can you see? That’s only half of the circle. That rest of it is down below, in the earth.” They share and create family traditions in this exploration of the cycles of life and nature.
All Around Us
Provides the English and Cree words for colors, along with the pronunciation.
Black Bear Red Fox (Colours in Cree)
Bilingual in English and Cree, this story of the far north follows a family of four that has a spiritual connection to the caribou of the land. One brother, Joe, plays the accordion (a kitoochigan) and sings while the other, Cody, dances. On a magical day, all of nature aligns and ten thousand caribou come when the boys call. Though the stampede is strong, Cody and Joe emerge from the experience unharmed.
Caribou Song
From Sitting Bull’s childhood — killing his first buffalo at age ten — to being named war chief, to leading his people against the U.S. Army, and to his surrender, this book brings the story of the great chief to light. Sitting Bull was instrumental in the war against the invasive wasichus (White Man) and was at the forefront of the combat, including the Battles of Killdeer Mountain and the Little Bighorn. He and Crazy Horse were the last Lakota/Sioux to surrender their people to the U.S. government and resort to living on a reservation.
Sitting Bull: Lakota Warrior and Defender of His People
Jabari is definitely ready to jump off the diving board. He’s finished his swimming lessons and passed his swim test, and he’s a great jumper, so he’s not scared at all. “Looks easy,” says Jabari, watching the other kids take their turns. But when his dad squeezes his hand, Jabari squeezes back. This simple tale about overcoming your fears captures a moment between a patient and encouraging father and a determined little boy.