Lee & Low
In 1991, Lee & Low Books began with a simple mission: to publish beautiful books about everyone, for everyone. Today, they are the largest and most trusted multicultural children’s book publisher in the United States and a leader in the movement for greater representation in publishing. Their list includes leveled books for beginning readers, picture books, early chapter books, middle grade, and young adult books, and a wide selection of bilingual and Spanish language titles. You can find a guide to Indigenous Peoples & Native American titles on their website.
Indian No More
ISBN
9781620148396
Publisher & Publication Year
Authors
Charlene Willing Mcmanis (Umpqua tribal heritage and enrolled in the Confederated) & Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation)
Summary
When the federal government enacts a law that says Regina Petit’s tribe no longer exists, Regina becomes “Indian no more” overnight–even though she lives with her tribe and practices tribal customs, and even though her ancestors were Indian for countless generations. Now that they’ve been forced from their homeland, Regina’s father signs the family up for the federal Indian Relocation Program and moves them to Los Angeles. For the first time in her life, Regina comes face to face with the viciousness of racism, personally and toward her new friends.
Notable Achievements
American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner; ALSC Notable Children’s Books; Editors’ Choice Books for Youth – Booklist; Amelia Bloomer Book List – American Library Association (ALA); Best Books of the Year – American Indians in Children’s Literature; Notable Books for a Global Society – International Literacy Association (ILA); Global Read Aloud Choice; Best of the Best Books Chicago Public Library; Young Reader’s Choice Award Nominee – Pacific Northwest Library Association; MISelf in Books Recommended – Michigan Association of School Librarians; Maud Hart Lovelace Award Nominee – Minnesota Youth Reading Award; Oregon Reader’s Choice Award Nominee
Trade Reviews
★ School Library Journal: “Readers will be moved as they become invested in Regina’s predicament.”
Publishers Weekly: “Ten-year-old Regina Petit’s family moves to Los Angeles after their Umpqua tribe, along with all Oregon tribes, is terminated. […] A personalized look at a significant moment in U.S. history, the book closes with extensive back matter, including McManis’s author’s note and family photos.”
Kirkus: “McManis and Sorell produce a poignant family story of the impact termination had on the thousands of Native Americans who left reservations in order to survive.”
★ Booklist: “While Regina struggles to make sense of her Indianness in L.A. throughout the book, her grandmother, Chich, grounds her in Umpqua folklore and history, helping her to understand the strength and resilience of her people and that that strength cannot be dictated by land.”
The Horn Book: Subscription needed
Educator Guide
An extensive Teacher’s Guide provides historical facts, vocabulary, synopsis of the book, pre-reading questions, post-reading discussion starters, activities that are curated specifically for Indian No More.
The People Shall Continue: 40th Anniversary Special Edition
ISBN
9780063160385
Publisher & Publication Year
Lee & Low, October 2017 (originally published 1977)
Author
Simon Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo)
Illustrator
Sharol Graves (Absentee Shawnee)
Summary
Told in the rhythms of traditional oral narrative, this telling of the history of the Native/Indigenous peoples of North America recounts their story from Creation to the invasion and usurpation of Native lands. Originally a poem, the story covers many races, indigenous, black, Latinx, white, and inspires a sense of collective responsibility to towards each other.
Notable Achievements
CCBC Choices – Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC)
Trade Reviews
Publishers Weekly: “Derives its power from direct, forceful statements and the repetition of phrases and rhythms that assume a quiet insistence. The accompanying illustrations are similarly unembroidered yet dignified; they contain simply drawn figures and shapes, strong, vivid colors and a minimum of pattern and detail.”
Kirkus: “Ortiz describes the coming of white people and their relentless pressure to force Indians into white customs and onto reservations. An effective presentation of the dignity of Native Americans and their history, this should make all children better aware of the legitimate pride Indians take in their heritage and ideals.”
Educator Guide
An extensive Teacher’s Guide provides historical facts, vocabulary, synopsis of the book, pre-reading questions, post-reading discussion starters, activities that are curated specifically for The People Shall Continue: 40th Anniversary Special Edition.
Rattlesnake Mesa: Stories from a Native American Childhood
ISBN
9781600608742
Publisher & Publication Year
Author
Ednah New Rider Weber (Skidi band of the Pawnee Nation)
Photographer
Richela Renkun
Summary
After her beloved Grandmother dies, EdNah, a seven-year-old Pawnee girl, goes to live with a father she hardly knows on a Navajo reservation miles away. Just as EdNah starts to feel at home in her new surroundings, she is sent away to a strict government-run Indian school. With her world turned upside down once again, EdNah must learn to rely on herself and her newfound community of friends.
Notable Achievements
Notable Books for a Global Society – International Literacy Association (ILA); Best Children’s Books of the Year – Bank Street College of Education; CCBC Choices – Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC); Southwest Books of the Year – Pima County Public Library
Trade Reviews
Booklist: “The black and white photographs are arresting images. . . readers will enjoy the intimate view of a Native American childhood of the time, and they will easily connect with Weber’s universal memories, especially those of her strong friendships, and the empowering, subversive humor […] at the expense of adults.”
The Horn Book: “In spite of obvious hardships, Weber describes her school experiences with warmth and affection; her clear memory of things that amuse or frighten eight-year-olds and her love for the Southwestern landscape make this an unusually compelling memoir. Striking full-page black-and-white photographs illustrate each chapter and add to the book’s appeal.”
Where Wonder Grows
ISBN
9781947627468
Publisher & Publication Year
Author
Xelena González
Illustrator
Adriana M. Garcia
Summary
When Grandma walks to her special garden, her granddaughters know to follow her there. Grandma invites the girls to explore her collection of treasures–magical rocks, crystals, seashells, and meteorites–to see what wonders they reveal. “They are alive with wisdom,” Grandma says. As her granddaughters look closely, the treasures spark the girls’ imaginations. They find stories in the strength of rocks shaped by volcanoes, the cleansing power of beautiful crystals, the mystery of the sea that houses shells and shapes the environment, and the long journey meteorites took to find their way to Earth. This is the power of Grandma’s special garden, where wonder grows and stories blossom.
Notable Achievements
Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Winner 2023; ALSC Notable Children’s Books 2023; Brigid Erin Flynn Award for Best Picture Book Winner 2023; Américas Award Commended Title; Southwest Books of the Year 2023; Best Books 2022 (Kirkus Reviews); Best Books of the Year 2022 (Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature)
Trade Reviews
★ Kirkus Reviews: “Enchanting. . . It’s a sweet summoning emboldened by González’s starry-eyed text, an assortment of phrases and statements that gesture toward the promise found in young readers everywhere. Garcia’s muralist background lends itself here to striking, gorgeous artwork that embodies a whimsical sense of cosmic compassion. . . Simply dazzling.”
★ Publisher’s Weekly: “Lyrical words by González (a member of the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation) emphasize the intergenerational ties that bind the characters and show Indigenous knowledge in the process of being passed down. Garcia’s portraits center affectionate familial gestures alongside mural-like views of sunset skies and evocative representations of fire, earth, air, and water.”
Booklist: “González’s poetic, eloquent writing is successfully complemented by Garcia’s stunning paintings, full of color and energy. . . A thought-provoking, mind-expanding piece of art that shows gratitude to our planet.”
Shelf Awareness: “The team behind the Pura Belpré Illustration Honoree All Around Us here introduce readers to the wonder and healing power of the natural world and the importance of sharing in cultural traditions. . . Garcia’s illustrations have a dream-like quality that pairs beautifully with González’s spiritual yet grounded narration.”
Nibi’s Water Song
ISBN
9781643794822
Publisher & Publication Year
Author
Sunshine Tenasco
Illustrator
Chief Lady Bird
Summary
When Nibi, an Indigenous girl, turns the tap in her house, only mucky brown water comes out. That starts her on a search for clean water to drink. Though she must face polluted rivers, unfriendly neighbors, and her own temporary discouragement, Nibi’s joyful energy becomes a catalyst for change and action as her community rallies around her to make clean drinking water available for all.
Notable Achievements
CCBC Choices (Cooperative Children’s Book Center)
Trade Reviews
Kirkus Reviews: “One gutsy girl leads the way.”
School Library Journal: “The compelling narrative with its accompanying illustrations explains the fight for clean water in simple and relatable terms, making this a great first purchase.”
Publishers Weekly: “Nibi’s arc educates readers about the lack of potable water in many Indigenous communities while encouraging children to speak out about conservation issues.”
Booklist: “A good introduction to this under-reported injustice.”
When the Shadbush Blooms
ISBN
9781643792019
Publisher & Publication Year
Authors
Carla Messinger, Susan R. Katz
Illustrator
David Kanietakeron Fadden
Summary
Today when a Lenape Indian girl ventures to the stream to fish for shad, she knows that another girl did the same generations before her. Through the cycle of the seasons, what is important has remained: being with family, knowing when berries are ripe for picking, listening to stories in a warm home. Told by Traditional Sister and Contemporary Sister, each from her own time, this is a book about tradition and about change. Then and now are not so very different when the shadbush blooms.
Notable Achievements
CCBC Choices (Cooperative Children’s Book Center); Skipping Stones Book Awards Honor; Notable Books in the Language Arts (NCTE); Best Children’s Books of the Year (Bank Street College of Education)
Trade Reviews
Kirkus Reviews: “Across double-page illustrations, two Lenape Indian families engage in similar activities — an informational juxtaposing of the activities of a family from years past as they fish, garden, harvest and play alongside their contemporary counterparts. As the book moves from season to season, one narrative functions as the description for both side-by-side illustrations.”
School Library Journal: “The design is effective, and images in the gutters-a tree trunk, a shoreline, a sledding hill-creatively link the two eras together. Discreet yellow banners identify the seasons-or moons-in both Lenape and English. Messinger (Turtle Clan Lenape) and Katz poetically tell the story in first person, present tense. Fadden (Wolf Clan Mohawk) uses lush hues in his sensitive, acrylic illustrations. An opening note points out the ways that the Lenape and Europeans exchanged cultural elements, and endnotes provide information about the Lenni Lenape and their culture, a description of the Lenape seasons, and a pronunciation guide. Share this book with children of all backgrounds during celebrations of families, traditions, and seasons.”
Link to Review
Booklist: “The seamless integration of the past with the present gently but powerfully showsthe enduring power of tradition and history, while also highlighting the cyclical aspectof nature. Informative back matter provides more detail on the Lenni Lenape people,seasons, and culture. A lovely, enriching offering.”
