Our Stories:
Native Americans in Books for Children

Picture Stories

• Doesn’t Fall Off His Horse by Virginia A. Stroud (Cherokee). Dial, 1994.
  (jPS STRO) Ages 5-9
  An old Kiowa warrior tells his great-granddaughter a story of daring from his youth on the Oklahoma plains.
• Dreamcatcher by Audrey Osofsky. Illustrated by Ed Young. Orchard, 1992.
  (jPS OSOF) Ages 6-10
  A quiet story about how the Ojibwa people weave dream catchers to keep away bad dreams.
• Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee Creek). Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu. Morrow, 2000.
  (jPS SMIT) Ages 4-8
  A Muscogee girl is determined to dance like her grandmother at the next powwow.
• Morning on the Lake by Jan Bourdeau Waboose (Ojibway). Illustrated by Karen Reczuch. Kids Can Press, 1997.
  (jPS WABO) Ages 4-9
  An Anishinabe boy learns respect for the ways of nature during a day spent with his grandfather.
• Muskrat Will Be Swimming by Cheryl Savageau (Abenaki). Illustrated by Robert Hynes. Northland, 1996.
  (jPS SAVA) Ages 6-10
  Grandpa uses a Seneca creation story to help a contemporary Native American girl overcome her classmates’ taunting.
• The Range Eternal by Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibway). Illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. Hyperion, 2002.
  (jPS ERDR) Ages 5-8
  A young mother fondly remembers the old woodstove that warmed her family in South Dakota where she grew up.
• Red Bird by Barbara Mitchell. Illustrated by Todd L.W. Doney. Lothrop, 1996.
  (jPS MITC) Ages 5-9
  A city girl dances at the Nanticoke Indian powwow held annually at a farm in Delaware.
• The Seasons and Someone by Virginia L. Kroll. Illustrated by Tatsuro Kiuchi. Harcourt, 1994.
  (jPS KROL) Ages 5-9
  A poetic account of a year in the life of a young Eskimo (Inuit) girl and her love of summer berries.
• The Star People: A Lakota Story by S.D. Nelson (Standing Rock Sioux). Abrams, 2003.
  (jPS NELS) Ages 6-9
  Sister Girl and her younger brother are lost after a prairie fire, but led back home by the spirit of their deceased grandmother.
  Also: Gift Horse: A Lakota Story.
• What’s the Most Beautiful Thing You Know About Horses? by Richard Van Camp (Dogrib). Illustrated by George Littlechild (Plains Cree). Children’s Book Press, 1998.
  (jPS VANC) Ages 5-10
  A Dogrib boy wonders about an animal he has never seen in his Northwest Territories Canadian home. Also: A Man Called Raven
• Where Did You Get Your Moccasins? by Bernelda Wheeler (Cree/Salteaux). Illustrated by Herman Bekkering. Peguis, 1992.
  (jPS WHEE) Ages 3-7
  At school, an urban boy explains how his grandmother hand made his beaded moccasins following traditional methods.

Legends & Folklore

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• Baby Rattlesnake by Te Ata (Chickasaw). Adapted by Lynn Moroney. Illustrated by Mira Reisberg. Children’s Book Press, 1989.
  (j398.2452 ATA) Ages 3-7
  An elder tells the tale of how a little rattlesnake learns to use its rattle wisely.
• Coyote Fights the Sun: A Shasta Indian Tale by Mary J. Carpelan (Shasta/Cahuilla). Heyday, 2002.
  (j398.2089 CARP) Ages 5-8
  A distraught father blames the sun for his own mistake in thinking that spring had arrived.
• Fire Race: A Karuk Coyote Tale by Johathan London, with Larry Pinola (Pomo/Miwok). Illustrated by Sylvia Long. Chronicle, 1993.
  (j398.2 LOND) Ages 4-9
  Coyote steals fire from the Yellow Jacket sisters in this action-packed legend from the northwest of California.
• The Girl Who Married the Moon: Tales from Native North America by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) & Gayle Ross (Cherokee). Illustrated by S. S. Burrus (Cherokee). Bridgewater, 1994.
  (j398.2089 BRUC) Ages 9-13
  A collection of 16 lesser known tales that give fresh focus to girls and young women in traditional cultures.
  Also: Between Earth and Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places; The Story of the Milky Way; and other titles.
• The People With Five Fingers: A Native Californian Creation Tale by John Bierhorst. Illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker. Marshall Cavendish, 2000.
  (j398.2089 BIER) Ages 6-10
  Helped by all the other animals, Coyote plants the seeds that become the many peoples of the land.
  Also: The Deetkatoo: Native American Stories About Little People; Doctor Coyote: A Native American Aesop’s Fables; and other titles.
• Storm Maker’s Tipi by Paul Goble. Atheneum, 2001.
  (j398.2089 GOBL) Ages 6-11
  A Great Plains survival story that explains the origin of the Blackfoot tipi. Included are directions for making a model. Also: Buffalo Woman; Crow Chief; The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses; Her Seven Brothers; and other titles.
• Two Bear Cubs: A Miwok Legend from California’s Yosemite Valley by Robert D. San Souci. Illustrated by Daniel San Souci. Yosemite Association, 1997.
  (j398.2097 SANS) Ages 5-9
  The lowly Measuring Worm rescues two bear cubs from a Yosemite mountain top.

Fiction

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• Alice Yazzie’s Year by Ramona Maher. Illustrated by Shonto Begay (Navajo). Tricycle, 2003.
  (jF MAHE) Ages 8-10
  A poetic month by month account of the events and feelings of an 11-year-old Navajo girl who lives on a reservation.
• Bears Make Rock Soup And Other Stories by Lise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Plains Ojibway). Illustrated by Lisa Fifield (Oneida). Children’s Book Press, 2002.
  (jF ERDR) Ages 7-10
  Fourteen short stories inspired by the paintings show Native Americans and animals living in harmony and helping each other.
• The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibway). Hyperion, 1999.
  (jF ERDR) Ages 9+
  The tender story of a seven-year-old Ojibwa girl, the sole survivor of a smallpox epidemic in 1847, on an island in Lake Superior. Sequel: The Game of Silence.
• Crazy Horse’s Vision by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki). Illustrated by S.D. Nelson (Standing Rock Sioux). Lee & Low, 2000.
  (jF BRUC) Ages 8-12
  A story from the childhood of Crazy Horse, a visionary and a warrior.
  Also: The Heart of a Chief; The Journal of Jesse Smoke; Skeleton Man; and other titles.
• The Good Rainbow Road by Simon J. Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo). Illustrated by Michael Lacapa (Apache/Hopi/Tewa). University of Arizona Press, 2004.
  (jF ORTI) Ages 8+
  Two brothers undertake a perilous journey to save their village from drought. Told in Keres and English with a Spanish translation.
• Home to Medicine Mountain by Chiori Santiago. Illustrated by Judith Lowry (Mountain Maidu/Hamawi Pit-River). Children’s Book Press, 1998.
  (jF SANT) Ages 8-10
  Two brothers hop trains to travel hundreds of miles across California on their own, leaving their boarding school to spend the summer at home.
• Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. Houghton Mifflin, 1960.
  (jF ODEL) Ages 10+
  Based on historical fact, this classic novel tells how an Indian girl of the Ghalas-at community survives for 18 years alone on an island off the Southern California coast. Sequel: Zia.
• Minuk: Ashes in the Pathway by Kirkpatrick Hill. Pleasant Company, 2002.
  (jF HILL) Ages 10-13
  In 1890, a girl encounters American missionaries who question her Yup’ik way of life. In the Girls of Many Lands series.
• Morning Girl by Michael Dorris (Modoc). Hyperion, 1992.
  (jF DORR) Ages 10+
  The story of a Taino brother and sister living on a Bahamian island right before the arrival of Columbus. Also: Guests; Sees Behind Trees; The Window.
• Rain Is Not My Indian Name by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee Creek). HarperCollins, 2001.
  (jF SMIT) Ages 10+
  A teenager of mixed heritage becomes a photographer and explores her own Native American roots. Also: Indian Shoes.
• The Talking Earth by Jean Craighead George. Harper, 1983.
  (jF GEOR) Ages 10-13
  A Seminole girl ventures into the Everglades alone to explore her people’s legends and beliefs. Also: Julie of the Wolves and its sequels.
• Truth is a Bright Star: A Hopi Adventure by Joan Price. Tricycle, 2001.
  (jF PRIC) Ages 10-12
  A Hopi boy is sold to a fur trapper by Spanish soldiers in 1832, and a friendship grows between the two with time and travel.

Poetry & Songs

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• Dancing Teepees: Poems of American Indian Youth edited by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve (Lakota). Illustrated by Stephen Gammell. Holiday House, 1989.
  (j897 DANC) Ages 9+
  Poems from the oral tradition selected from throughout North America. Also: First Americans series.
• Navajo: Visions and Voices Across the Mesa by Shonto Begay (Navajo). Scholastic, 1995.
  (j811.54 BEGA) Ages 9+
  Poems, short prose pieces, and beautiful paintings about his people by a noted author and artist.
• Rising Voices: Writings of Young Native Americans by Arlene Hirschfelder & Beverly R. Singer (Tewa/Navajo). Scribner, 1992.
  (j810.8 RISI) Ages 11+
  More than 60 inspiring poems and essays from across the North American continent.
• Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back: A Native American Year of Moons by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) & Jonathan London. Illustrated by Thomas Locker. Philomel, 1992.
  (j897 BRUC) Ages 9+
  Seasons of the year are described through poems and legends of many tribes. See also: j811.54 BRUC.
  Also: Pushing up the Sky: Seven Native American Plays for Children.
• Touching the Distance: Native American Riddle Poems by Brian Swann. Illustrated by Maria Rendon. Browndeer, 1998.
  (j811.54 SWAN) Ages 7-10
  A thought-provoking collection of riddles with answers provided in the illustrations.

Nonfiction

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• 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving by Catherine O’Neill Grace & Margaret M. Bruchac (Abenaki). Illustrated by Sisse Brimberg & Cotton Coulson. National Geographic, 2001.
  (j394.2649 GRAC) Ages 8-11
  The first Thanksgiving through a Native American lens, as reenacted at Plimoth Plantation.
• Atlas of the North American Indian by Carl Waldman. Revised edition. Illustrated by Molly Braun. Facts on File, 2000.
  (j970.0049 WALD 2000) Ages 10+
  A useful resource with maps, illustrations, multiple appendices, and a detailed index. See also: adult call number 790.0049 W146a. Reference in many libraries.
• California Native American Tribes by Mary Null Boulé. Illustrated by Daniel Liddell. Merryant, 1992-2000.
  (j979.4004 BOUL) Ages 9+
  An extensive resource of 27 volumes, each providing in-depth information on a different California tribe.
• Children of Native America Today by Yvonne Wakim Dennis (Cherokee) & Arlene Hirschfelder. Charlesbridge, 2003
  (j306.0899 DENN) Ages 8-12
  Young people from 25 different tribes are photographed in everyday pursuits from grooming an Appaloosa horse (Nez Perce) to playing stickball (Choctaw).
• Clambake: A Wampanoag Tradition by Russell M. Peters (Mashpee Wampanoag). Photos by John Madama. Lerner, 1992.
  (j970.3 PETE) Ages 9+
  Peters writes of a time-honored tribal custom. In the We Are Still Here series.
• North American Indian by David Hamilton Murdoch. Photos by Lynton Gardiner. DK, 2005.
  (j970.0049 MURD) Ages 8-12
  A visual introduction revised to include a glossary, places to visit, websites and so on. In the Eyewitness Books series.
• The People Shall Continue by Simon Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo). Illustrated by Sharol Graves (Shawnee). Children’s Book Press, 1988.
  (j970.1 ORTI 1988) Ages 9+
  A sobering pictorial history of genocide and survival.
• Pueblo Storyteller by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith. Photos by Lawrence Migdale. Holiday House, 1991. (j970.3 HOYT) Ages 8+
  Colorful photographs of Cochiti Pueblo in New Mexico and the making of storyteller figures, pottery, and drums. Also: Apache Rodeo; Buffalo Days; Cherokee Summer; Lacrosse; Potlatch; Totem Pole.
• Traditional Native American Arts and Activities by Arlette N. Braman. Illustrated by Bill Helin (Tsimshian/Tlingit). Wiley, 2000.
  (j745.0879 BRAM) Ages 9+
  Do-able projects from across North America, including how to make Lenape grape dumplings and Tlingit button blankets.
• We Rode the Wind: Recollections of Native American Life edited by Jane B. Katz. Runestone, 1995.
  (j978.0049 WE 1995) Ages 10+
  An overview of Plains Indian life from the biographical writings of major 19th century tribal figures.
• Weaving a California Tradition: A Native American Basketmaker by Linda Yamane (Rumsien Ohlone). Photos by Dugan Aguilar (Maidu/Pit River/Walker River Paiute). Lerner, 1996.
  (j746.412 YAMA) Ages 9+
  A Western Mono girl learns a traditional craft from her elders in this colorful photo essay. In the We Are Still Here series. Also: The Snake That Lived in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Biography

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• As Long As the Rivers Flow by Paula Gunn Allen (Laguna Pueblo/Sioux) & Patricia Clark Smith (Micmac). Scholastic, 1996.
  (j970.0049 ALLE) Ages 9+
  Brief biographies of nine Native Americans from Weetamoo (Pocasset) to Michael Maranjo (Santa Clara Pueblo).
• Extraordinary American Indians by Susan Avery & Linda Skinner. Childrens Press, 1992.
  (j970.2 AVER) Ages 9+
  Biographical sketches of individual Native Americans covering the last 200 years.
• The Life and Death of Crazy Horse by Russell Freedman. Drawings by Amos Bad Heart Bull (Oglala Sioux). Holiday House, 1996.
  (jB CRAZ) Ages 10+
  A biography of the great 19th century Teton Lakota warrior and leader. Also: Indian Chiefs; An Indian Winter.
• Native American Doctor: The Story of Susan LaFlesche Picotte by Jeri Ferris. Carolrhoda, 1991.
  (jB PICO) Ages 9+
  The story of an Omaha girl who grew up to study medicine and serve her people.
• Rattlesnake Mesa: Stories From a Native American Childhood by EdNah New Rider Weber (Pawnee). Photos by Richela Renkun. Lee & Low, 2004.
  (jB WEBE) Ages 10+
  An elder tells of her childhood years on the Crown Point Navajo Reservation and the realities of life at the Phoenix Indian (boarding) School.
• Sacagawea by Lise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Plains Ojibway). Illustrated by Julie Buffalohead (Ponca). Carolrhoda, 2003.
  (jB SACA) Ages 7-11
  The life of the young Shoshone woman who served as a guide and interpreter to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806.
• Sequoyah: The Cherokee Man Who Gave His People Writing by James Rumford. Translated by Anna Sixkiller Huckaby (Cherokee). Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
  (jB SEQU) Ages 5-9
  Written in both English and Cherokee, this biography tells about the remarkable man who crafted the Cherokee alphabet
• Wilma Mankiller by Linda Lowery Keep. Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. Carolrhoda, 1996.
  (jB MANK) Ages 7-10
  The life of the first woman chief of the Cherokee Nation, also an active spokesperson for Native Americans.

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