Children's Books by Indigenous Authors and Illustrators

Early Childhood

Check out these suggestions for birth through five!

Bo wants to find the perfect container to show off his traditional marbles for the Cherokee National Holiday in this exploration of volume and capacity.

A child becomes frustrated in their pursuit to create the perfect regalia for the upcoming ceremony, until their grandmother reminds them of the Pomo tradition of purposefully incorporating a small imperfection in every creation.

Join celebrated artist Julie Flett on a joyful romp with animals. From chasing, chirping birds, to swimming, squirting whales, this book for young readers reminds them how animals play just like them. This picture book, with gorgeous images and sweet simple text, is a marvelous celebration of the interconnectedness of all creatures, and includes some Cree phrases. It is based on the Cree teaching of wahkohtowin, interconnectedness and play, and includes as well the English and Cree names of the animals in the book, all of whom are from 'Turtle Island' (North America).

This picture book by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Tsimshian) and illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw) is a joyful and colorful introduction to the annual celebration of Rock Your Mocs Day, November 15, because moccasins and Native pride shouldn't be saved just for ceremonies and powwows but celebrated all year round!

This dual-language picture book for preschoolers, written in English and Plains Cree, celebrates and invites children to reflect on the little things in life that bring them joy.

This beautiful bedtime poem, written by acclaimed Inuit throat singer Celina Kalluk, describes the gifts given to a newborn baby by all the animals of the Arctic. Lyrically and tenderly told by a mother speaking to her own little "Kulu," an Inuktitut term of endearment often bestowed upon babies and young children, this visually stunning book is infused with the traditional Inuit values of love and respect for the land and its animal inhabitants.

Using illustrations that show the diversity in Native America and spare poetic text that emphasizes fry bread in terms of provenance, 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.

Sissy's younger brother, Chooch, isn't a baby anymore. They just celebrated his second birthday, after all. But no matter what Chooch does -- even if he's messing something up! Which is basically all the time! -- their parents say he's just "helping." Sissy feels that Chooch can get away with anything! When Elisi paints a mural, Chooch helps. When Edutsi makes grape dumplings, Chooch helps. When Oginalii gigs for crawdads, Chooch helps. When Sissy tries to make a clay pot, Chooch helps... "Hesdi!" Sissy yells. Quit it! And Chooch bursts into tears. What follows is a tender family moment that will resonate with anyone who has welcomed a new little one to the fold.

In this gentle picture-book lullaby, the sounds of the land soothe an Indigenous child to sleep on a stormy summer night on the Prairies.

Piper feels grateful for visits with her relatives, especially for the time spent with her cousins in Cherokee Nation and Muscogee Nation during summer vacations, fishing on misty mornings and playing on firefly-filled evenings. Piper's family lives a road trip away in Kansas City. So when a neighbor named Sumi moves in next door, Piper is excited to share her stories and seasons with a new friend. The two are inseparable--until Piper's family moves to another city. Their bond overcomes distance, and with time, Piper dreams up a plan to reunite with the people she loves most of all.

On powwow day, there's so much to see, count, and hear.

Otsaliheliga is a Cherokee word that is used to express gratitude. 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.

A Native American woman describes how she loved her child before it was born and, throughout her pregnancy, gathered a bundle of gifts to welcome the newborn.

A Navajo family welcomes a new baby into the family with love and ceremony, eagerly waiting for that first special laugh. Includes brief description of birth customs in different cultures.

Early Elementary

Ancient Night is a twist on two Nahuatl traditions: the rabbit which the Feathered Serpent placed on the moon, and Yaushu, the Lord Opossum who ruled the earth before humans came, and who stole fire from the gods to create the sun. Award-winning author David Bowles has written a poetic text - and carefully researched backmatter - to accompany David's lush illustrations and story.

When the world gets too loud and chaotic, a young boy's grandfather helps him listen with wonder instead. Kids laughing, sneakers squeaking, balls bouncing--for Thunder, the sounds of the school day often brew into overwhelming noise storms. But when Thunder's mosom asks him what he hears on an urban nature walk, Thunder starts to understand how sounds like bird wings flapping and rushing water can help him feel calm and connected. Gentle, inviting illustrations by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley emphasize Mosom's lessons about the healing power of the world around us.

Mohawk author Patricia Morris Buckley tells the story of the brave skywalkers--Native men who work as high steelworkers, building bridges and skyscrapers no matter the dangers.

Pia rushes over to the Indigenous community center after school. It's where she goes every day to play outside with friends and work on her homework. But today--March 18, 2021--is special: Auntie Autumn gathers all the children around their television to witness Secretary Deb Haaland in her ribbon skirt at the White House as she becomes the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary. Pia and the other kids behold her Native pride on an international stage. Together with their parents and Elders, the children explore the values woven into their own regalia, land, community, and traditions, making precious memories on this day they won't soon forget.

When a quick-footed bear and a quick-witted turtle race across a frozen lake, Turtle has a secret plan to win!

Before my family lived in this house, a different family did, and before them, another family, and another before them. And before that, the family who lived here lived not in a house, but a wigwam. Who lived where you are before you got there?

An extraordinary book that celebrates skateboarding, family, and community. Every day, a little boy watches kids pass by on skateboards, and dreams of joining them. One day, his mother brings a surprise: her old skateboard, just for him! Haw êkwa! Let's go! Together, they practice on the sidewalk, at the park, in Auntie's yard--everywhere. But when it comes time to try the skatepark, the skateboarders crash down like a waterfall. Can he find the confidence to join them?

As a young Tlingit girl collects wild berries over the seasons, she sings with her Grandmother as she learns to speak to the land and listen when the land speaks back.

A lyrical celebration of Indigenous and First Nations children, our cherished connection to the land, and our ancestral right to belong.

Wampanoag children listen as their grandmother tells them the story about how Weeâchumun (the wise Corn) asked local Native Americans to show the newcomers how to grow food to yield a good harvest--Keepunumuk--in 1621.

Picture book adaptation of the renowned poem that encourages young readers to reflect on family, nature, and their heritage. In simple and direct language, Harjo, a member of the Mvskoke Nation, urges readers to pay close attention to who they are, the world they were born into, and how all inhabitants on earth are connected. Michaela Goade, drawing from her Tlingit culture, has created vivid illustrations that make the words come alive in an engaging and accessible way.

After days of no buffalo sightings, Rose, a young Métis-Ojibwe girl, defies instructions to stay at camp, dons her father's wolf skin, and successfully tracks a herd of buffalo.

Drawing on Indigenous ancestral wisdom and inner strength, a child is able to master the dark side of his emotions.

Jo Jo Makoons Azure is a spirited seven-year-old who moves through the world a little differently than anyone else on her Ojibwe reservation. It always seems like her mom, her kokum (grandma), and her teacher have a lot to learn--about how good Jo Jo is at cleaning up, what makes a good rhyme, and what it means to be friendly. Even though Jo Jo loves her #1 best friend Mimi (who is a cat), she's worried that she needs to figure out how to make more friends. Because Fern, her best friend at school, may not want to be friends anymore...

This beautiful and gentle song celebrates the plants and animals of the Prairies and the Plains while honoring our spiritual connection to the land.

On a day filled with anticipation, a young Cherokee girl bids farewell to her familiar city life and documents the changing landscape through drawings as her family moves to their ancestral land and embraces their new home.

A boy shares his dream of wearing a traditional ribbon skirt to the community's round dance with his grandmother.

Phoenix loves to play with dolls and marvel at pretty fabrics. Most of all, he loves to dance--ballet, Pow Wow dancing, or just swirling and twirling around his house. Sometimes Phoenix gets picked on and he struggles with felling different, but his mom and brother are proud of him. With their help, Phoenix learns about Two Spirit/Niizh Manidoowag people in Anishinaabe culture and just how special he is.

Late Elementary and Middle School

Mia is still getting used to living with her mom and stepfather, and to the new role their Jewish identity plays in their home. Feeling out of place at home and at her Jewish day school, Mia finds herself thinking more and more about her Muscogee father, who lives with his new family in Oklahoma. Her mother doesn't want to talk about him, but Mia can't help but feel like she's missing a part of herself without him in her life. Soon, Mia makes a plan to use the gifts from her bat mitzvah to take a bus to Oklahoma--without telling her mom--to visit her dad and find the connection to her Muscogee side she knows is just as important as her Jewish side.

Indigenous people and people of color are disproportionately affected by climate change, yet often aren't heard in global conversations. In this book, British Bangladeshi environmentalist and campaigner for equal rights Dr. Mya-Rose Craig speaks to campaigners from around the world about what needs to be done. From wildlife conservation to clean water, air pollution to plastic waste, climate justice to climate strikes, the time has come to listen to a generation of young activists demanding urgent change for the world they will inherit.

Wesley's hopeful plans for Indigenous Peoples' Day (and asking her crush to the dance) go all wrong-until she finds herself surrounded by the love of her Indigenous family and community at the intertribal powwow.

Presents a collection of stories from nations and cultures across our two continents, the Sea-Ringed World, as the Aztecs called it, from the edge of Argentina all the way up to Alaska.

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 the Pueblo Laguna nation, Deb was one of the first two Native American women to be elected to Congress, where she represented New Mexico's 1st District. In 2021, when the Senate confirmed her as President Biden's secretary of the interior, she became the first Native American in history to become a cabinet secretary. She continues to break barriers and inspire future generations to dream of greater opportunities.

A middle grade survey nonfiction work celebrating North American Indigenous knowledge and Native contributions to contemporary STEM.

This summer, Tasembo just wants to chill. But that's not an option when it's a scorching day on the Reservation and the Ice Cream Man is a no-show. In an attempt to impress his crush by solving the mystery, Tasembo joins forces with his neighbor, Nuseka, and his dog, Billy Jack, to take on their first case as the Rez Dog Detectives. With twists around every corner, this case won't crack itself, but when you combine Nuseka's brains, Billy Jack's loyalty, and Tasembo's... persistence, justice will be served. Cold, that is.

When cousins Riley Halfmoon and Maya Dawn move to Urbanopolis to live with their activist grandma, they get off to a rocky start. Outgoing Riley misses her Muscogee cousins but is sure that she and Maya will be instant BFFs. Meanwhile, introvert Maya misses her parents, on active duty in Japan, and just wants some space to herself. At school, Maya joins Robotics Club and Riley bonds with fellow gymnasts. Just when they start to feel at home, their school culture is threatened by an influential foe in disguise. Joining student council feels like a way to help, so both cousins toss their hats in the ring for sixth-grade class president. But when they realize what they're up against--money, power, and lies--they quickly shift from competition to cooperation, joining forces as superheroes. Riley is savvy with people; Maya is a whiz with gadgets. In no time, this dazzling duo is off to save the day! Relatable and rich in themes of family, community, and compromise, the Blue Stars series will entertain and empower, inspiring readers to be the stars they are.

Ten-year-old Anang wants to make a ribbon skirt, a piece of clothing typically worn by women in the Anishinaabe tradition, for an upcoming powwow. Anang is two-spirit and nonbinary and doesn't know what others will think of them wearing a ribbon skirt, but they're determined to follow their heart's desire. Anang sets off to gather the materials needed to make the skirt and turns to those around them -- their family, their human and turtle friends, the crows, and even the lake itself -- for help. And maybe they'll even find a new confidence within themself along the way.

Twelve-year-old Wren fights to find her missing Cherokee mother, while also navigating a chilling town mystery, a new friendship, and a family in need of healing.

Morgan and Eli, two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They each feel disconnected, from their culture and each other, and struggle to fit in at school and at their new home -- until they find a secret place, walled off in an unfinished attic bedroom. A portal opens to another reality, Askí, bringing them onto frozen, barren grounds, where they meet Ochek (Fisher). The only hunter supporting his starving community, Misewa, Ochek welcomes the human children, teaching them traditional ways to survive. But as the need for food becomes desperate, they embark on a dangerous mission. Accompanied by Arik, a sassy Squirrel they catch stealing from the trapline, they try to save Misewa before the icy grip of winter freezes everything -- including them.

A group of Native American kids from different tribes presents twelve historical and contemporary time periods, struggles, and victories to their classmates, each ending with a powerful refrain: We are still here!

When Nathan goes to visit his grandma, Nali, at her mobile summer home on the Navajo reservation, he knows he's in for a pretty uneventful summer, with no electricity or cell service. Still, he loves spending time with Nali and with his uncle Jet, though it's clear when Jet arrives that he brings his problems with him. One night, while lost in the nearby desert, Nathan finds someone extraordinary: a Holy Being from the Navajo Creation Story--a Water Monster--in need of help. Now Nathan must summon all his courage to save his new friend. With the help of other Navajo Holy Beings, Nathan is determined to save the Water Monster, and to support Uncle Jet in healing from his own pain.