SJPL Picks: Native American Heritage Month for Grades K-4Like this list

39 items

• I Love Salmon and Lampreys

  a Native Story of Resilience

  Thompson, Brook M.,

  Add I Love Salmon and Lampreys to your for later shelf

  Grade K. For young readers, an inspiring story about a river, a successful Native-led movement for environmental justice, and the making of a scientist.

• Firefly Season

  Smith, Cynthia Leitich,

  Add Firefly Season to your for later shelf

  Grades 1-2. A Muscogee girl named Piper is grateful for family and summers spent in Cherokee Nation and Muscogee Nation, and when Sumi moves next door, Piper’s excited to share stories, and when Piper’s family moves away, she dreams up a plan to…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• For a Girl Becoming

  Harjo, Joy,

  Add For a Girl Becoming to your for later shelf

  Grades K-2. A baby girl is welcomed to the breathing world by generations of her family and set on the magnificent journey of becoming. As she grows, she is reminded of her connections to the natural world; to her family, her ancestors, her…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Brave

  Alvitre, Weshoyot,

  Add Brave to your for later shelf

  Grades K-3. A young Native American boy demonstrates bravery by proudly wearing his long hair in a braid to honor his ancestors' traditions.

• Coming Home

  a Hopi Resistance Story = Tutuqaykingaqw Nima : Hopisino Pahan Tutqayiwuy Ep Yorhomti

  Honyouti, Mavasta, 1979-

  Add Coming Home to your for later shelf

  Grades K-2. Mavasta Honyouti learned wood carving from his kwa’a, who shared stories of being forced into a residential boarding school, where he was punished for his Hopi heritage. Despite this, his grandfather never forgot his roots and eventually…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Stealing Little Moon

  the Legacy of the American Indian Boarding Schools

  Jones, Dan C., 1951-

  Add Stealing Little Moon to your for later shelf

  Grades 2+. Chronicling his family's time at Chilocco -- a boarding school specifically created to strip Indigenous children of their culture and teach them the ways of white society, the author reveals the lasting legacy of the boarding school era…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Heartbeat Drum

  the Story of Carol Powder, Cree Drummer and Activist

  Havrelock, Deidre,

  Add The Heartbeat Drum to your for later shelf

  Grades 1-2. This jubilant celebration of preserving Indigenous traditions, finding your voice and speaking out presents a powerful biography of a Cree activist and musician to recount how she, despite disapproval, formed her own drumming group…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• I Am Osage

  How Clarence Tinker Became the First Native American Major General

  Rogers, Kim,

  Add I Am Osage to your for later shelf

  Grades 1-2. A biographical picture book about Clarence Tinker, a member of the Osage Nation, who endured abuse growing up at the hands of a boarding school and went on to serve in the United States Air Force in World War II.

• Rock Your Mocs

  Goodluck, Laurel,

  Add Rock Your Mocs to your for later shelf

  Grades 1-2. In this happy, vibrant tribute to Rock Your Mocs Day, observed yearly on November 15, author Laurel Goodluck (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Tsimshian) and artist Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw) celebrate the joy and power of wearing moccasins--and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior

  Lindstrom, Carole, 1964-

  Add Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior to your for later shelf

  Grades K-3. Indigenous women have always worked tirelessly to protect our water—keeping it pure and clean for the generations to come. Yet there was a time when their voices and teachings were nearly drowned out, leaving entire communities and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Deb Haaland

  Goodluck, Laurel,

  Add Deb Haaland to your for later shelf

  Grades 3+. As a child of two military parents, Deb Haaland moved around a lot when she was young before finally settling in Albuquerque to be near family. But she persisted, studying hard and eventually earning a law degree. An enrolled member of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Storyteller

  Hobson, Brandon,

  Add The Storyteller to your for later shelf

  Grades 3+. Ziggy's mother disappeared ten years ago, one of the many Native women who have mysteriously gone missing, and Ziggy believes a secret cave may hold the key--so with his sister, Moon, and friends Alice and Corso, he sets out to find the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Just Like Grandma

  Rogers, Kim,

  Add Just Like Grandma to your for later shelf

  Grades K-3. In this lyrical picture book by Kim Rogers (Wichita), with illustrations by Boston Globe-Horn Book Honoree Julie Flett (Cree-Métis), Becca watches her grandma create, play, and dance--and she knows that she wants to be just like…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Wilma Mankiller

  Sorell, Traci,

  Add Wilma Mankiller to your for later shelf

  Grades 2-3. The descendant of Cherokee ancestors who had been forced to walk the Trail of Tears, Wilma Mankiller experienced her own forced removal from the land she grew up on as a child. As she got older and learned more about the injustices her…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ancestor Approved

  Intertribal Stories for Kids

  Smith, Cynthia Leitich (EDT)/ Rogers, Kim/ Smith, Monique Gray/ Tingle, Tim/ Robertson, David A.

  Add Ancestor Approved to your for later shelf

  Grades 3+. In a high school gym full of color and song, people dance, sell beadwork and books, and celebrate friendship and heritage. Young protagonists will meet relatives from faraway, mysterious strangers, and sometimes one another (plus one…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Finding My Dance

  Thundercloud, Ria,

  Add Finding My Dance to your for later shelf

  Grades 3-4. In her debut picture book, professional Indigenous dancer Ria Thundercloud tells the true story of her path to dance and how it helped her take pride in her Native American heritage. At four years old, Ria Thundercloud was brought into…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Forever Cousins

  Goodluck, Laurel,

  Add Forever Cousins to your for later shelf

  Grades K-3. Highlighting the ongoing impact of the 1950s Indian Relocation Act on Native families, this Native American story follows best-friend cousins as they discover that even though they are far apart, they will always be close.

• Keepunumuk

  Weeâchumun's Thanksgiving Story

  Greendeer, Danielle,

  Add Keepunumuk to your for later shelf

  Grades K-3. Told in a Native tradition, this Wampanoag story of Weechumun (corn) and the first Thanksgiving shows how the Native people, who already lived on the land where the pilgrims settled, helped them survive their first winter.

• Josie Dances

  Lajimodiere, Denise K.,

  Add Josie Dances to your for later shelf

  Grades K-2. As she prepares for her first powwow, an Ojibwa girl practices her dance steps, gets help from her family, and is inspired by the soaring flight of Migizi, the eagle.

• Living Ghosts & Mischievous Monsters

  Chilling American Indian Stories

  Jones, Dan C., 1951-

  Add Living Ghosts & Mischievous Monsters to your for later shelf

  Grades 4+. Thirty-two short stories chosen from the tradition of ghost stories from American Indian cultures across North America, featuring witches, walking dolls, hungry skeletons, skinwakers, and other supernatural beings.