In this book, the supernatural is everywhere, and children of the Ojibwe First Nation learn the stories of their culture by living them — on a raft, catching a bird, or meeting a mysterious girl in the forest.
Adventure on Thunder Island
In this coming-of-age story, the children of the longhouse are 11-year-old Ohkwa’ri and Itsi:tsia. Twin brother and sister, they live in a Mohawk town in the traditional homelands of what is now eastern New York State in 1491. Reflecting the balance between male and female roles in Iroquois society, the book’s chapters alternate between the events and perspectives of Ohkwa’ri and Itsi:tsia, who very definitely see things differently. Bruchac seamlessly incorporates an impressive amount of information about pre-contact Mohawk culture, society, and beliefs, and tells a good story as well. — Oyate
Children of the Longhouse
In Native cultures, the night is a crucial part of the Great Circle and balance in the universe. In the tradition of the best-selling Keepers of the Earth and Keepers of the Animals, this collection offers unique ideas about understanding the natural world by looking at it through a nocturnal lens. Resources and activities include legends and myths, puppet shows, stargazing guides, campfire topics, and traditional dances.
Keepers of the Night: Native American Stories and Nocturnal Activities for Children
Sophisticated listeners will appreciate the dramatic readings of Greek myths.
Greek Myths
Monkey is quick-witted and so ably outsmarts dull crocodile in this simply told, lushly illustrated tale drawn from traditional tales told long ago in India.
Monkey: A Trickster from India
Young Chirchir is anxious to help her family at the various jobs but learns to share her special talent. Folk art and lyrical language enhance this tale set in rural Kenya.
Chirchir Is Singing
Aspen Colorado Kim Chee Lee finds a cure for her writer’s block in a unique pottery class. Child-like illustrations and text are presented in calendar-like orientation.
Polka Dot Penguin Pottery
A cat befriends a monk and brings good fortune to his rundown temple in this handsomely illustrated retelling narrated by Tama, the feline hero.
I Am Tama, Lucky Cat: A Japanese Legend
The narrator describes her family’s immigration from Cuba to New York City based on her own family’s story and illustrated by her husband for a striking memoir.
Good-bye, Havana! Hola, New York!
An orphaned burro named Roo and Rena, a runt pup, grew to be friends and allies who guard sheep on a Nevada ranch. Their story is told in photograph and clear text.
The Guardian Team: On the Job with Rena & Roo
Dodsworth and his companion, a duck, visit Rome, Italy, where Duck takes money from the Trevi Fountain. Dodsworth must figure out how to replace what isn’t his.
Dodsworth in Rome
Vivid retellings and luminous illustrations reinvigorate Greek myths.
Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters
Follow three long ago adventurers who traveled around the world by bike, by herself, and on a sloop. The graphic novel format brings their adventures to life.
Around the World: Three Remarkable Journeys
Alicia, a member of the Ácoma Pueblo in New Mexico, learns the art of pottery from her parents in this photo essay from George Ancona. Follow Alicia throughout the entire process of making pottery, from shale collecting in the canyon to the formation and decoration of pots.
Earth Daughter: Alicia of Acoma Pueblo
From Maliseet hunters following moose tracks in the snow in January to a Lakota elder’s winter tales during a cold December evening, this lyrical tribute to American tribal nations cuts across the seasons…Bruchac’s prefatory note introduces the traditions and cycles comprising many Native American lives, and an appended section explains each illustration. Also included are a map locating the various tribal nations and a chart listing the name of each month as it is known by each of three American tribal nations. — Booklist
Seasons of the Circle: A Native American Year
When they arrive at school, Shi-shi-etko reminds Shinchi, her six-year-old brother, that they can only use their English names and that they can’t speak to each other. For Shinchi, life becomes an endless cycle of church mass, school, and work, punctuated by skimpy meals. He finds solace at the river, clutching a tiny cedar canoe, a gift from his father, and dreaming of the day when the salmon return to the river — a sign that it’s almost time to return home.
Shin-chi’s Canoe
Shi-shi-etko has just four days until she will have to leave her family and everything she knows to attend one of Canada’s Indian residential schools. She spends her last precious days at home treasuring and appreciating the beauty of her world — the dancing sunlight, the tall grass, each shiny rock, the tadpoles in the creek, her grandfather’s paddle song. LaFave’s richly hued illustrations complement Campbell’s gently moving and poetic account of a child who finds solace around her, even though she is on the verge of great loss.
Shi-shi-etko
This comic book is the first volume in a series set in 18th-century colonized North America and based on traditional teachings of the Anishinabek. We follow the story of two mischievous Ojibwe brothers as they play pranks and have amazing adventures using a traditional Ojibwe medicine that transforms them into animals for a short time. The authors include members of the Salteaux and Henvey Inlet First Nations. Additional volumes are available through the Rabbit and Bear Paws website (opens in a new window).
Adventures of Rabbit and Bear Paws: The Sugar Bush
An important credo of Native life states that you can learn while you play and play while you learn. Readers can pore over intriguing stories and play these fun-filled games as they learn how global thought and beliefs can transcend their own lives. Sample themes, stories, and games include the Ball Players in the Sky (Passamaquoddy); Gluskabe Brings the Summer (Abenaki); and Nanabush and the Ducks (Anishinabe).
Native American Games and Stories
Bruchac adapts seven traditional tales from various tribes into plays for children. Each play is introduced with a brief tribal background, a list of characters, suggestions for props and scenery, and recommended costumes. Representing tribes from Bruchac’s own Abenaki to the Cherokee, Tlingit, and Zuni, the plays are mostly pourquoi tales, explaining how mosquitos came into the world or why stars are visible at night.
Pushing up the Sky: Seven Native American Plays for Children
For thousands of years, massive herds of buffalo roamed across much of North America, but by the 1870s, fewer than fifteen hundred animals remained. With reverent care, Walking Coyote and his family endeavored to bring back the buffalo herds, one magnificent creature at a time. Here is the inspiring story of the first efforts to save the buffalo, an animal sacred to Native Americans and a powerful symbol of the American West.
Buffalo Song
Product Description: Joseph Bruchac tells the compelling story of how a young boy named Curly seeks a vision in the hope of saving his people — and grows into the brave and fierce warrior Crazy Horse. Sioux artist S. D. Nelson’s paintings, in the traditional ledger style of the Plains Indians, evokes the drama and the tragedy of this important American figure.
Crazy Horse’s Vision
Dorothy became a librarian to share her love of books and reading. How she started a library service first on a bookmobile and later inspired a building — touching many lives in her North Caroline town — is based a real person that the author knew. Gentle language and soft illustration present Miss Dorothy’s story and the impact of one individual.
Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile
The author recalls childhood visits to Orani, her father’s island homeland, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea where old and young alike enjoy Sardinia’s beauty and activities.