First Nations Children’s Literature
A selection of books by First Nation authors and illustrators for children of all ages to read or listen to.
Fiction
Fiction
Indian Shoes
Child fiction book. Together with Grampa, Ray Halfmoon, a Seminole-Cherokee boy, finds creative and amusing solutions to life's challenges. Age: 7-11.
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Fiction
Lana’s Lakota Moons
Child fiction book. Cousins Lori and Lana, Lakota Indians who have a close but competitive relationship, learn about their heritage and culture throughout the year, and when a Laotian-Hmong girl comes to their school, they make friends with her and "adopt" her as one of their own. Age: 8+
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Fiction
How I Became a Ghost : A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story
Child fiction. A Choctaw boy tells the story of his tribe's removal from the only land its people had ever known, and how their journey to Oklahoma led him to become a ghost--one with the ability to help those he left behind. Age: 9-12.
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Fiction
When a Ghost Talks, Listen : A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story
Child fiction book. "Ten-year-old Isaac, now a ghost, continues with his people as they walk the Choctaw Trail of Tears headed to Indian Territory in what will one day become Oklahoma. There have been surprises aplenty on their trek, but now Isaac and his three Choctaw comrades learn they can time travel--making for an unexpected adventure. The foursome heads back in time to Washington, D.C., to bear witness for Choctaw Chief Pushmataha who has come to the nation's capital at the invitation of Andrew Jackson."-- Provided by publisher. Age: 9+
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Nonfiction
Nonfiction
Chester Nez and the Unbreakable code : a Navajo Code Talker’s Story
Child nonfiction. “As a boy, Chester Nez was taught his native language and culture were useless, but he was later called on to use his Navajo language to help create an unbreakable military code during WWII"-- Provided by publisher. Age: 8-11.
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Nonfiction
Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back : A Native American Year of Moons
Child nonfiction book. “Celebrates the seasons of the year through poems from the legends of such Native American tribes as the Cherokee, Cree, and Sioux.“ —from Follett. Age: 5-10.
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Nonfiction
Turtle's Race with Beaver : A Traditional Seneca Story
Child nonfiction book. When Beaver challenges Turtle to a swimming race for ownership of the pond, Turtle outsmarts Beaver, and Beaver learns to share. Age: 3-8.
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Nonfiction
Unstoppable : How Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Defeated the Army
Child nonfiction. In the autumn of 1912, the football team from Carlisle Indian Industrial School took the field at the U.S. Military Academy, home to the bigger, stronger, and better-equipped West Points Cadets. Sportswriters billed the game as a sort of rematch, pitting against each other the descendants of U.S. soldiers and American Indians who fought on the battlefield only 20 years earlier. But for lightning-fast Jim Thorpe and the other Carlisle players, that day's game was about skill, strategy, and determination. Known for unusual formations and innovative plays, the Carlisle squad was out to prove just one thing -- that it was the best football team in all the land. Age: 8-11.
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Nonfiction
MIssion to Space
Child nonfiction book. Go on a Mission to Space with Chickasaw astronaut John Herrington, as he shares his flight on the space shuttle Endeavour and his thirteen-day mission to the international Space Station. Learn what it takes to train for space flight, see the tasks he completed in space, and join him on his spacewalk 220 miles above the earth. Age: 5-9.
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Nonfiction
The Grizzly Mother
Child nonfiction book and e-book. “To the Gitxsan people of Northwestern British Columbia, the grizzly is an integral part of the natural landscape. Together, they share the land and forests that the Skeena River runs through, as well as the sockeye salmon within it. Follow mother bear as she teaches her cubs what they need to survive on their own.“— Provided by publisher. Age: 8-11.
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Nonfiction
The Sockeye Mother
Child nonfiction book. "To the Gitxsan people of Northwestern British Columbia, the sockeye salmon is more than just a source of food. Over its life cycle, it nourishes the very land and forests that the Skeena River runs through and where the Gitxsan make their home. The Sockeye Mother explores how the animals, water, soil, and seasons are all intertwined."--Provided by the publisher. Age: 10-14.
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Nonfiction
Fatty Legs : A True Story
Child nonfiction book. This book chronicles the unbreakable spirit of an Inuit girl while attending an Arctic residential school. Age: 8-11.
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Nonfiction
When I Was Eight.
Child nonfiction book. An adaptation of the memoir “Fatty Legs” for the young. Margaret Pokiak-Fenton tells the story of her experience as an eight-year-old Inuit girl in a church-run school in Aklavik, Canada, where her strong will made her the target of a mean-spirited nun. Age: 5-8.
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Nonfiction
Black Elk's Vision : A Lakota Story
Child nonfiction book. A simple biography of Lakota-Oglala medicine man Black Elk, from his childhood vision which shaped his life through his battles with the whites and his travels with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
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Nonfiction
Buffalo Bird Girl : A Hidatsa Story
Child nonfiction book. Traces the childhood, friendships and dangers experienced by Buffalo Bird Woman, a Hidatsa Indian born in 1839, whose community along the Missouri River in the Dakotas transitioned from hunting to agriculture. Age: 8-11.
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Nonfiction
Nipehon = I Wait
Child nonfiction book. Text in Cree and English. It's summer and a young girl and her mom wait as Grandmother prepares for the outing. Then she leads the way to the field of flowers where they can finally start to pick the wild yarrow. Age: 3-8.
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Nonfiction
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People
Child nonfiction book, and e-book. "Going beyond the story of America as a country "discovered" by a few brave men in the "New World," Indigenous human rights advocate Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz reveals the roles that settler colonialism and policies of American Indian genocide played in forming our national identity. The original academic text is fully adapted by renowned curriculum experts Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza, for middle-grade and young adult readers to include discussion topics, archival images, original maps, recommendations for further reading, and other materials to encourage students, teachers, and general readers to think critically about their own place in history."-- Provided by publisher. Age: 12+
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Nonfiction
Rock & Roll Highway : The Robbie Robertson Story
Child nonfiction book. An illustrated depiction of Robbie Robertson's early years traces his first guitar lessons at the age of nine through his rise to becoming a central member of The Band and one of "Rolling Stone" magazine's top one hundred guitarists. Age: 8-11.
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Nonfiction
We Are Grateful = Otsaliheliga
Child nonfiction book, Wonderbook (print and audiobook together), e-book, e-book with audio, and e-audiobook. Text includes English and Cherokee. Journey through the year with a Cherokee family and their tribal nation as they express thanks for celebrations big and small. A look at modern Native American life as told by a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Age: 5-8.
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Nonfiction
Saltypie : A Choctaw Journey from Darkness into Light
Child nonfiction book. Stories of the author's Choctaw Indian family, centering particularly on his blind grandmother. Age: 8-11.
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Nonfiction
Peace Dancer
Child nonfiction book. "The children of the Tsimshian village of Kitkatla love to play at being hunters, eager for their turn to join the grown-ups. But when they capture and mistreat a crow, the Chief of the Heavens, angered at their disrespect, brings down a powerful storm. The rain floods the Earth and villagers have no choice but to abandon their homes and flee to their canoes. As the seas rise, the villagers tie themselves to the top of Anchor Mountain, where they pray for days on end and promise to teach their children to value all life. The storm stops and the waters recede. From that point on, the villagers appoint a chief to perform the Peace Dance at every potlatch and, with it, pass on the story of the flood and the importance of respect."-- Provided by publisher. Age: 6-8
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Nonfiction
Turtle Island : The Story of North America's First People
Child nonfiction book. Unlike most books that chronicle the history of Native peoples beginning with the arrival of Europeans in 1492, this book goes back to the Ice Age to give young readers a glimpse of what life was like pre-contact. Age: 8-12.
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Audiobooks
Audiobooks
Thunder Boy Jr.
Child picture book and e-audiobook. "Thunder Boy Jr. wants a normal name...one that's all his own. Dad is known as Big Thunder, but Little Thunder doesn't want to share a name"-- Provided by publisher. Age: 5-8.
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Audiobooks
Crazy Horse’s Vision
Child audiobook on cd. A story based on the life of the dedicated young Lakota boy who grew up to be one of the bravest defenders of his people. Age: 5-11.
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Audiobooks
The Winter People
Child fiction book, and e-audiobook. As the French and Indian War rages in October of 1759, Saxso, a fourteen-year-old Abenaki boy, pursues the English rangers who have attacked his village and taken his mother and sisters hostage. Age: 10+
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Audiobooks
I Can Make This Promise
Child fiction book, e-book and e-audiobook. “When twelve-year-old Edie finds letters and photographs in her attic that change everything she thought she knew about her Native American mother's adoption, she realizes she has a lot to learn about her family's history and her own identity"-- Provided by publisher. Age: 8-12.
Where to Find:
Audiobooks
The Birchbark House
Child fiction book, audiobook on cd, and e-audiobook. The first book in The Birchbark House series. Omakayas, a seven-year-old Native American girl of the Ojibwa tribe, lives through the joys of summer and the perils of winter on an island in Lake Superior in 1847. Age: 8-12.
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Audiobooks
Counting Coup : Becoming a Crow Chief on the Reservation and Beyond
E-audiobook. Meet Joseph Medicine Crow, a man raised in two worlds: according to the Crow Indian traditions and according to White man's rules. Age: 8-11.
Where to Find:
Audiobooks
Hiawatha and the Peacemaker
Child picture book, e-book and e-audiobook. Hiawatha, a Mohawk, is plotting revenge for the murder of his wife and daughters by the evil Onondaga Chief, Tadodaho, when he meets the Great Peacemaker, who enlists his help in bringing the nations together to share his vision of a new way of life marked by peace, love, and unity rather than war, hate, and fear. Includes historical notes. Age: 8-10.
Where to Find:
Audiobooks
We Are Grateful = Otsaliheliga
Child nonfiction book, Wonderbook (print and audiobook together), e-book, e-book with audio, and e-audiobook. Text includes English and Cherokee. Journey through the year with a Cherokee family and their tribal nation as they express thanks for celebrations big and small. A look at modern Native American life as told by a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Age: 5-8.
Where to Find:
eBooks
eBooks
Pushing up the sky : Seven Native American Plays for Children
E-book. Uses drama to tell seven different stories from Native American traditions including the Abenaki, Ojibway, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Snohomish, Tlingit, and Zuni. Age: 7-11.
Where to Find:
eBooks
The Journal of Jesse Smoke : A Cherokee Boy
Child fiction book, and e-book. Part of the “My Name is America” series. Alternate title: On This Long Journey. Jesse Smoke, a sixteen-year-old Cherokee, begins a journal in 1837 to record stories of his people and their difficulties as they face removal along the Trail of Tears. Includes a historical note giving details of the removal. Age: 9+
Where to Find:
eBooks
Wabi: A Hero’s Tale
Child fiction book, and e-book. After falling in love with an Abenaki Indian woman, a white great horned owl named Wabi transforms into a human being and has several trials and adventures while learning to adapt to his new life. Age: 10+
Where to Find:
eBooks
I Can Make This Promise
Child fiction book, e-book and e-audiobook. “When twelve-year-old Edie finds letters and photographs in her attic that change everything she thought she knew about her Native American mother's adoption, she realizes she has a lot to learn about her family's history and her own identity"-- Provided by publisher. Age: 8-12.
Where to Find:
eBooks
Birdsong
Child picture book and e-book. 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 nature and art. As the seasons change, can the girl navigate the failing health of her new friend? Age: 5-8.
Where to Find:
eBooks
My Heart Fills with Happiness
Board book and e-book. Happiness. Age: Birth-6.
Where to Find:
eBooks
The Grizzly Mother
Child nonfiction book and e-book. “To the Gitxsan people of Northwestern British Columbia, the grizzly is an integral part of the natural landscape. Together, they share the land and forests that the Skeena River runs through, as well as the sockeye salmon within it. Follow mother bear as she teaches her cubs what they need to survive on their own.“— Provided by publisher. Age: 8-11.
Where to Find:
eBooks
Fry Bread : A Native American Family Story
Child picture book, e-book and DVD. This volume tells the story of a post-colonial food that is a shared tradition for Native American families all across the North American continent. Includes a recipe and an extensive author note that delves into the social ways, foodways, and politics of America's 573 recognized tribes. Age 3-6.
Where to Find:
eBooks
In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse
Child fiction book and e-book. Teased for his fair coloring, eleven-year-old Jimmy McClean travels with his maternal grandfather, Nyles High Eagle, to learn about his Lakota heritage while visiting places significant in the life of Crazy Horse, the nineteenth-century Lakota leader and warrior. Age: 10-13.
Where to Find:
eBooks
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People
Child nonfiction book, and e-book. "Going beyond the story of America as a country "discovered" by a few brave men in the "New World," Indigenous human rights advocate Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz reveals the roles that settler colonialism and policies of American Indian genocide played in forming our national identity. The original academic text is fully adapted by renowned curriculum experts Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza, for middle-grade and young adult readers to include discussion topics, archival images, original maps, recommendations for further reading, and other materials to encourage students, teachers, and general readers to think critically about their own place in history."-- Provided by publisher. Age: 12+
Where to Find: