Tag: indigenous

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Reads: Picture Books to Share with Kids
Children's Book Recommendations

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Reads: Picture Books to Share with Kids

The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Reads: Picture Books to Share with Kids book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. The Retired School Librarian is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. These titles may be found in my Amazon Storefront under Indigenous People’s Day Picture Books- https://amzn.to/4q9DDZo .)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

James with is mother and grandmother standing in front of a memorial of toys, teddy bears, little shoes, and candles. Book cover to Little Shoes

Little Shoes 

by David A. Robertson (Author), Maya McKibbin (Illustrator)

Summary: James takes a walk with his kōkom, which he learns is called a march. Several other people joined as they stopped in front of a large pile of things for children, including teddy bears, little shoes, and flowers. His kōkom explains to him that it is a memorial about all of the children who did not return from residential school.

Comments: This is a gentle telling of residential schools and some of the history of this tragic time. It is age-appropriate with the questions and answers James asks his mother and kōkom.

The illustrations were created digitally and incorporate many blues and constellations that James wakes up to, full of questions about the world around him–present and past.

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Book cover to For a Girl Becoming with an indigenous woman holding her newborn baby girl wrapped in a green cloth. Mountains in the background.

For a Girl Becoming 

by Joy Harjo (Author), Adriana M. Garcia (Illustrator)

Summary: A love letter upon the birth of a girl, continuing as she grows, reminding her to remember and honor her connections to family, nature, and ancestors.

Comments: This is based on the poem of the same name, which can be found in the back pages.

Many full two-page spread illustrations. The illustrations were created with acrylics on paper. Absolutely stunning.

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Book cover for The Echo People. An older indigenous man pointing to the river gorge before them. A boy and girl are standing beside him.

The Echo People 

by SD Youngwolf (Author), Shonto Begay (Illustrator)

Summary: Two young cousins, Aiyanna and Little Wolf, go with their grandfather, a chief, to meet the Echo People who live in the river gorge.

Comments: What a great read aloud for children to learn the moral of how if we give love and kindness to the world, it will be returned to us, and in opposition, if we give meanness and hate, it will return to us.

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

A girl looking up at the sky with the sun shining and a bird flying above. Flowers are around her on both sides

Of the Sun: A Poem for the Land’s First Peoples 

by Xelena González (Author, Narrator), Emily Kewageshig (Illustrator)

Summary: An illustrated poem written for indigenous children of the Americas, reminding them of their connection to the land and to be proud of their heritage.

Comments: The illustrations were created with digital methods, enhancing Anishinaabe-styled artwork.

The back pages feature a map and additional information, including details about the Land Back Movement.

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

The sun is setting over the water with bright yellow, orange, and red while there is a black shadow of a tree and someone with an easel painting

Mother Earth: My Favourite Artist 

by Carol Rose GoldenEagle (Author), Hawlii Pichette (Illustrator)

Summary: A young female artist finds and admires the beauty she sees in nature and tries to capture that in her own paintings.

Comments: This book helps readers to recognize the everyday art around us in Nature.

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

a grandmother and granddaughter who is holding a big pot with ingredients and ancestors in the background

Our Ancestors’ Kitchen 

by Willie Poll (Author), Shaikara David (Illustrator)

Summary: A young girl learns from her grandmother how to make her grandpa’s favorite recipe. With each ingredient, we learn about its origin, from how it was planted, harvested, or caught, and appreciate the value of Nature and its connection to the family’s culture.

Comments: The book highlights the significance of food and its connection to culture. I appreciate how it discusses each ingredient, making it more relatable.

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

A boy closing his eyes with his hair pulled back

Brave 

by Weshoyot Alvitre (Author, Illustrator)

Summary: A young indigenous boy admires his father’s long hair and that of dancers at a powwow. Although he is teased at school, he wants to have long braids. His father tells him about the history of how his hair and that of other indigenous people was cut as he combs his son’s hair. He explains how they had to be brave and strong. The boy decides he wants to be like his ancestors and grow his hair long, too.

Comments: This would be a wonderful classroom read-aloud. It gently explores the significance of having one’s hair cut against one’s will.

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

A girl and a dog in the forest looking at a butterfly.

Bud Finds Her Gift 

by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Author), Naoko Stoop (Illustrator)

Summary: Bud sees others around her doing important things and wants to find something important to do herself. She goes to her grandmother, who takes her on a walk to a tree where she teaches her granddaughter to observe and appreciate Nature around them. “Everyone, from the day of their birth, has given a gift to share with the Earth.” Bud begins to realize what her gift is to give.

Comments: I appreciate the book’s message, which encourages young readers to discover the gift they were given to share.

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

A steelworking is walking across a beam high up in the sky

To Walk the Sky: How Iroquois Steelworkers Helped Build Towering Cities 

by Patricia Morris Buckley (Author), E. B Lewis (Illustrator)

Summary: In this narrative nonfiction picture book, we learn about the history of how many indigenous steelworkers contributed to the construction of numerous skyscrapers and bridges across North America. We learn about the history of the first skywalkers, all the way to those who are still helping to build today, despite the danger.

Comments: The illustrations were created with watercolor.

The back pages include more details and a glossary.

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

A girl and her black cat in the grass

My Friend May 

by Julie Flett (Author)

Summary: Margaux has a cat named May living with her. The cat does not return for dinner one day. Everyone looks for the cat but cannot find her. Margaux helps her auntie, Nitôsis, move to the city. Will they ever find May?

Comments: There are Cree words sprinkled throughout with a glossary and pronunciation key in the back.

The illustrations were created in pastels and pencils and composited digitally.

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

The selected children’s books are chosen by a certified, retired elementary school librarian who passionately reads and recommends picture books to teachers, school librarians, parents, grandparents, and other book enthusiasts.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

Children’s Picture Book Recommendations–Week of December 10, 2023
Children's Book Recommendations

Children’s Picture Book Recommendations–Week of December 10, 2023

The Retired School Librarian1 Comment

Children’s Picture Book Recommendations–Week of December 3, 2023 are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, she may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you.)

A young girl is holding wrapped gifts while standing in front of an inner city scene of apartment buildings that have laundry hanging outside of them. Her family and community members are standing behind her. Book cover of Rivka's Presents

Rivka’s Presents 

by Laurie Wallmark (Author), Adelina Lirius (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Rivka, a Jewish girl who lived in the Lower East Side of New York City during the flu pandemic of 1918, thought she was going to school but had to delay her first day for several months. Rivka’s father was sick with influenza and had to stay in bed. Her mother had to go to work. Rivka cared for her father and tended to her little sister, Miriam.

The young girl trades working for various stores in the area in exchange for the storeowners’ teaching her how to write and read. She eventually gets to go to school with the help of her community.

Comments: Historical fiction picture books like these should be read to children to help them better understand how lucky they are to go to school and have opportunities so many did not have in earlier times or even today.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

And ice truck being pulled by a black horse is standing in front of inner city apartment buildings from the turn of the century that have white laundry hanging outside of the windows.

An orangutan with her baby and there are green grass behind them; book cover of The Emerald Forest

The Emerald Forest 

by Catherine Ward (Author), Karin Littlewood (Author)

Brief summary: Orangutan lives with her children on a rainforest island called Sumatra in Indonesia until a deforesting machine comes and rips out the tree she is in. She and her family are relocated to Bukit Tigapuluh National Park(Thirty Hills).

Comments: I was tearing up when I read this heartfelt picture book; beautifully illustrated. It would be a good story to share with students with an endangered species, environment, or deforestation unit of study.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

And orangutan is hanging from the very top of a machine that de-roots trees from the rainforest

For more information about Thirty Hills.

A gray fox is sitting on a log in a force that is silver. There is a beautiful full moon behind the fox. Book cover of Gray Fox in the Moonlight

Gray Fox in the Moonlight 

by Isaac Peterson (Author and illustrator)

Brief summary: Gray Fox walks in the fall woods during a full moon, seeing her reflection in the river before returning to the den.

Comments: The cover of this book is designed beautifully with raised imprints and specks of silver. Although the title is in cursive, the text inside is in block letters.

The gray illustrations were created by the author and his daughter.

This is a short and gentle book, excellent for bedtime.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

There is a fox standing beside a river in a winter forest with the full moon.

A Letter for Bob 

by Kim Rogers (Author), Jonathan Nelson (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Katie, a young girl, writes a letter to their car, Bob, as they have traded him in for a bigger one to match their growing family. She thanks Bob and shares the family’s wonderful(and not-so-wonderful) memories in the car, such as attending the Wichita Annual Dance, the Indian Hills Powwow, their vacations, sports events, and everyday occurrences.

Comments: The story was a mixture of humorous and sentimental memories.

Everyone can relate to this picture book’s story as cars(and other family-owned objects) can seem like family members.

The back sections include Author’s Note, Glossary, and Current Tribal Locations.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

There is a family in a parking lot ready to trade in their old car Bob for a new car.

A young girl is looking at some potted plants with Sprouts coming out of them with a frosted window behind her.

Wintergarden 

by Janet Fox (Author), Jasu Hu (Illustrator)

Brief summary: In the winter, a girl helps her mother grow a garden on the window sill in little pots. The child cares for and tends the plants, harvesting some for their Thanksgiving meal.

When the weather warms up, she looks forward to picking out seeds to grow more plants.

Comments: Directions for how to grow your own wintergarden are at the back of the book.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Children’s book titles are carefully handpicked by a certified elementary school librarian who, although retired, still enjoys reading children’s books, especially picture books, and recommending them to busy teachers, school librarians, parents, grandparents, and other book lovers.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris reads before recommending are checked out from the public library, except for those much-appreciated complimentary copies sent to her for an honest review. Those are noted. 

New Children’s Book Recs–Week of November 12, 2023
Children's Book Recommendations

New Children’s Book Recs–Week of November 12, 2023

The Retired School Librarian1 Comment

New Children’s Book Recommendations–Week of November 12, 2023 are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, she may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you.)

Cover of the Book: Braeden wearing a green jacket holding a box of small paper bags with a homeless man and his dog in the background

Just One Pebble: One Boy’s Quest to End Hunger 

by Dianna Wilson Sirkovsky (Author), Sara Casilda (Illustrator)

Brief summary:  Braeden sees a homeless man on the side of the road as he and his mother drive to the store. Once he gets home, Braeden still thinks about the man and what his life must be like living on the streets. He makes a bag of snacks and things the person may need before asking his mom to take him back to the man.

Braeden puts together more bags and goes to a soup kitchen. When passing them out, he discovers a boy his age is there. Braeden is becoming increasingly aware of those less fortunate than himself, including children his age.

On Monday, his principal allows him to speak to everyone about his Brae’s Brown Bags(3B) to help those who need food, inspiring others to help.

Comments: This book is based on a true story about Braden Mannering, who raises awareness about how others can help those with food insecurity.

The back sections are   About Braeden, One Simple Bag, and A Word From Braeden. 

Teachers could read this book to students during their next food-drive to demonstrate how children can make a difference.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

*I received a complimentary digital copy of this children’s book from the author to give an honest review.

Braeden Mannering’s website is https://braesbrownbags.org/

A beautiful Nokomis girl with long hair with the forest and river and yellow sun in the background. A bird, fish, butterfly and feather are on the cover of the book.

My Powerful Hair 

by Carole Lindstrom (Author), Steph Littlebird (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A young girl tells how she can’t wait for her hair to grow long. She explains how her ancestors grew long hair, as hair is their memories and source of strength. The girl shares the milestones of her life and how her hair grows parallel to those special events.

Comments: Readers learn why the young girl’s mother has always had short hair and what it means to have hair cut short in her Indigenous culture.

This book’s back pages explain the belief that hair holds strength and power and includes an Author’s note.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A woman with long hair with animals shown within it

The cover of the book is an illustration of each zodiac object around the words Night Lights with a blue starry night background

Night Lights 

by Jeannie K. Johnson (Author)

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Juju Press
  • Year: 2023
  • Grades: 3-6
  • Paperback short stories ‏ : ‎ 94 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1088075509

Brief summary: Young readers will read Zodiac-inspired fables that are new and modern interpretations of twelve constellations, paired together in six short stories: the Ram and the Fish, the Water Bearer and the Goat, the Archer and the Scorpion, the Scales and the Maiden, the Lion and the Crab, and the Twins and the Bull.

Comments: These fables are variants of the Roman/Greek constellation stories. They are original and inspired by the Zodiac.

Each chapter begins with a colorful illustration and ends with the constellation pairing.

This could be a read-aloud to young and older students.

A creative writing idea is reading aloud one of the stories and having students create their own modern fable of one of the constellations.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

*I received a complimentary digital copy of this children’s book from the author to give an honest review.

Book Cover: Snowing in a hollow with winter trees on either side with Hubert, the little mouse wearing a red jacket and gray scarf holding a book looking up with a scared look.

The Voice in the Hollow 

by Will Hillenbrand (Author)

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Holiday House
  • Year: 2023
  • Grades: PreK-3
  • Hardcover ‏ picture book: ‎ 40 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0823436810

Brief summary: A blizzard causes the library to close early. Hubert must walk home in the storm, deciding a shortcut through the Hollow would get him home quicker. Although it looked spooky and the wind picked up, the mouse entered the Hollow. He was met by a fox who took his hand, and they made a dangerous trek across the snow-covered landscape. He safely returns home to his parents and siblings to share his adventure.

Comments: The illustrations expressed and captured the snowfall and coldness of the blizzard with a beautiful double gatefold at the story’s climax.

This would be a perfect fit snow story for young readers on a gray wintery day. 

Teachers teaching winter units should definitely include this picture book.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A girl wearing a blue bicycle helmet riding a red bike on the sidewalk with yellow and orange leaves on the ground. The sky and road is gray.

Nothing Ever Happens on a Gray Day 

by Grant Snider (Author

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chronicle Books
  • Year: 2023
  • Grades: PreK-3
  • Hardcover ‏ picture book: ‎ 44 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1797210890

Brief summary: As Fall slowly turns towards Winter, a girl rides her bike through her gray neighborhood, crunching through the fallen leaves to the playground, where she goes on a Nature walk into the woods nearby, seeing more and more colors as she explores.

Comments: This is a quiet story of a girl’s solitude and exploring the world around her area. In its conclusion, we can see how her gray day becomes full of colors.

The front end papers feature gray/blue fallen leaves, and the back end papers feature bright yellow/orange leaves visually representing the picture book’s changing mood and color scheme throughout the story.

This is a perfect read-aloud for young ones.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Children’s book titles are carefully handpicked by a certified elementary school librarian who, although retired, still enjoys reading children’s books, especially picture books, and recommending them to busy teachers, school librarians, parents, grandparents, and other book lovers.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris reads before recommending are checked out from the public library, except for those much-appreciated complimentary copies sent to her for an honest review. Those are noted.