Celebrate National Native American Heritage Month in your school or library! Keep reading to find more book recommendations, download resources for your classroom—including a teacher’s guide for Saints of the Household and an activity kit for Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior—and hear from H.E. Edgmon about their debut middle grade novel The Flicker!
This month’s Author Spotlight highlights Mitali Perkins, the author of Hope in the Valley, a middle-grade novel exploring grief, friendship, family, and growing up in a community facing a housing crisis. It’s also received five starred reviews this year!
Discover More about MITALI PERKINS and HOPE IN THE VALLEY
This month’s Author Spotlight highlights Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson, the author of Eagle Drums, a magical realistic middle grade debut about the origin story of the Iñupiaq Messenger Feast, a Native Alaskan tradition.
Discover More about Rainey Hopson and Eagle Drums
You’ve met the creators of the stunning picture book and 2021 Caldecott Medal Winner We Are Water Protectors, but now meet the designer who helped put it all together, Aram Kim! Below, Aram shares more about her role in the creation of this book and the process of how it was made!
Read more from Aram here →Join five young adult authors for a conversation about their debut or sophomore titles moderated by Candice Mack, President of the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association. Participating authors include Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Ace of Spades), Cory Anderson (What Beauty There Is), Angeline Boulley (Firekeeper’s Daughter), Cassandra Hartt (The Sea is Salt and So Am I), and Joan He (The Ones We’re Meant to Find).
An instant New York Times bestseller, Angeline Boulley’s debut novel, Firekeeper’s Daughter, is a groundbreaking YA thriller about a Native teen who must root out the corruption in her community, perfect for readers of Angie Thomas and Tommy Orange.
Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team.
Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug.
Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source. But the search for truth is more complicated than Daunis imagined, exposing secrets and old scars. At the same time, she grows concerned with an investigation that seems more focused on punishing the offenders than protecting the victims.
Now, as the deceptions—and deaths—keep growing, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go for her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.
Find Ojibwe language translations, correct spellings, and audio pronunciations for Firekeeper’s Daughter in this Anishinaabemowin resource center, created by Margaret Noodin, a professor at UW-Milwaukee.
★ “This novel will long stand in the hearts of both Native and non-Native audiences.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ “Though it both shocks and thrills, in the end, what leaves you breathless is Firekeeper’s Daughter’s blazing heart.” —BookPage, starred review
★ “Boulley, herself an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, writes from a place of love for her community and shares some key teachings from her culture, even mixing languages within the context of the story.” —Booklist, starred review
★ “This suspenseful upper-YA novel will keep readers wondering who Daunis can trust.” —Horn Book, starred review
Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors is a bold and lyrical picture book by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade. It issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm and corruption.
In the spirit of this stunning book, we want YOU to take the Protector’s Pledge this Earth Day!
Download the Kit Here →
Discover fiction and nonfiction books by Indigenous author and illustrators. Share these books with your young readers on Indigenous Peoples’ Day on October 12, during Native American Heritage Month in November, and all year long! Plus, request a digital ARC of Firekeeper’s Daughter, the groundbreaking new thriller (coming in March 2021) from debut author Angeline Boulley!
Discover #NativeVoices books here →
Meet the creators of the stunning picture book We Are Water Protectors, Carole Lindstrom and Michaela Goade! Carole and Michaela share more about their inspiration for this picture book, their most memorable teachers and librarians, their favorite childhood books, and more!
Read a Q&A with Carole and Michaela here →
Illustrator Juana Martinez-Neal spoke with TeachingBooks.Net about the creation process and backstory of Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story, written by Kevin Noble Maillard. Click here to listen to Juana’s interview!
