Middle Grade: 2022 Releases

Alfreda Beartrack-Algeo (Lower Brule Lakota Nation)

This is the story of Alfred Swallow and his family as they fend off attempts to take their land. Alfred is eleven years old and has many responsibilities not expected of a young boy. His Lalá (grandfather) has instilled in his grandson many Lakota traditions, which Alfred respects, although at times he struggles to understand the messages they convey. Young Alfred draws from his tradition when an unscrupulous U.S. land agent, who knows the value of the family’s land, is determined to grab their land with intimidation and force. The family and their neighbors band together to stop the unlawful actions, but can they stop a determined criminal?

Read More

Anna Rose Johnson (Sault Ste Marie Chippewa)

Growing up on Beaver Island, Norvia was proud of her Ojibwe heritage. Grand-père told her stories—stories about her ancestor Migizi, about Biboonke-o-nini the Wintermaker, about the Crane Clan and the Reindeer Clan—and sang her songs in the old language, and her grandmothers taught her to make story quilts and maple candy. Things are different in the city. Here, Norvia’s mother forces her to pretend she’s not Native at all—even to Mr. Ward, Ma’s new husband, and to Vernon, Norvia’s irritating new stepbrother. Despite the move, the upheaval, and the looming threat of world war, Norvia and her siblings—all five of them—are determined to make 1914 their best year ever. Norvia is certain that her future depends upon it… and upon her discretion. But how can she have the best year ever if she has to hide who she truly is?

Read More

Matthew J. Martinez (Ohkay Owingeh) and Jill Doerfler (White Earth Anishinaabe)

In 2021, Deb Haaland made history as the first Indigenous cabinet secretary. Serving as Secretary of the Interior, she has championed climate and the rights of Native peoples. In this book, discover Haaland’s early life, her political career, and more.

Read More

Elise McMullen-Ciotti (Cherokee Nation)

Rayna is used to being the new kid at school, but that doesn’t mean she wants to make new friends. Why bother when the military will only reassign her mom again soon anyway? The only friend Rayna wants is a furry, four-legged one—but instead of the dog she’s been dreaming of, what Rayna gets is a hedgehog named Spike who is as prickly and emo as she is. Worse, Rayna’s mom insists she enter Spike in a pet talent show to get to know some kids her age, including a cute boy named Nick. Only Spike doesn’t want to hang out or show off any more than Rayna does. Will Rayna curl herself into a ball and hide, or will she and Spike take a chance for a new pack of friends?

Read More

Katrina Phillips (Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe)

Meet the super SHEroes of history, the women who have shaped our history and society since ancient times. Indigenous women were prominent members of their communities long before Europeans reached North America. When the newcomers arrived, women played a key role in holding their communities together in the face of social turmoil—some joined male warriors to fight European settlement, while others argued that the two peoples could coexist peacefully. Indigenous women led political and legal fights to preserve their traditional rights throughout the 20th century and still do so today. Some became active campaigners in numerous causes, especially in the struggle to protect sacred lands from construction. This book tells their stories and describes their vital contributions.

Read More

Dawn Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe)

Tara Audibert (Wolastoqey)

First grader Jo Jo Makoons knows how to do a lot of things, like how to play jump rope, how to hide her peas in her milk, and how to be helpful in her classroom. But there’s one thing Jo Jo doesn’t know how to do: be fancy. She has a lot to learn before her Aunt Annie’s wedding! Favorite purple unicorn notebook in hand, joJo Jo starts exploring her Ojibwe community to find ways to be fancy.

Read More

ML Smoker (Assiniboine and Sioux/Fort Peck) and Natalie Peeterse

More interested in her social media presence than her Native American heritage, Aiyana is shocked when she suddenly finds herself in a magical world—with no cell coverage. Pursued by the trickster Raven, Aiyana struggles to get back home, and is helped by friends and allies she meets along the way. Her dangerous journey through the Spirit World tests her inner strength—and challenges her to embrace her Lakota heritage. But will it be enough to defeat the cruel and powerful Raven?

Read More

Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation)

The descendant of Cherokee ancestors who had been forced to walk the Trail of Tears, Wilma Mankiller experienced her own forced removal from the land she grew up on as a child. As she got older and learned more about the injustices her people had faced, she dedicated her life to instilling pride in Native heritage and reclaiming Native rights. She went on to become the first woman Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. In this book, learn about the amazing life of Wilma Mankiller—and how she persisted.

Read More

Roselynn Akulukjuk (Inuk) and Danny Christopher

Astrid Arijanto

In each of their adventures, Putuguq and Kublu learn about an element of Inuit mythology from their Elders, sometimes using what they learn to get the best of each other. This time, Putuguq and Kublu are at their grandparents’ house for lunch — caribou stew, Putuguq’s favorite. Putuguq’s worn out kamiik remind his grandparents of the story of the amautalik and the orphan, a traditional story about a little child who outsmarts an ogress. Grandmother’s storytelling tarts Putuguq’s imagination running wild, and after lunch, he and Kublu decide to act out the story they’ve just heard. But, for Putuguq, this is no ordinary play. He is determined to prove his fearlessness to an unsuspecting Kublu … with a little help from his stinky socks!

Read More

William Dumas (Rocky Cree)

Rhian Brynjolson

At the time of the spring thaw, the Rocky Cree fill their canoes with furs, eager to trade with the new visitors in mistiwāsahak, also known as Hudson Bay. But not all of the new visitors are welcome. When the canoes return home to the shores of the misinipī river, the Rocky Cree begin to collapse one by one, drenched in sweat and slowly slipping into delirium. Elder Kākakiw struggles to help the sick as more and more people pass into the spirit world. Hope finally comes with a visitor in the night: one of the Little People, small beings who are just like us. To save his people from death, Kākakiw must overcome his doubt to follow the traditional teachings of the Asiniskaw Īthiniwak and trust in the gift of the Little People.

Read More

Levi Illuitok (Inuit)

Ben Shannon

In this retelling of a traditional story from the Kugaaruk region, told by Elder Levi Illuitok, a father must save his infant child from an amajurjuk, an ogress known to steal children. When the ogress takes advantage of the child’s mother being blind to trick her into giving away her child, the child’s father embarks on a quest to find and save his infant from certain death. Will he be able to outsmart the amajurjuk and reunite his family?

Read More

Elizabeth LaPensée (Anishinaabe/Métis)

K.C. Oster (Ojibwe/Anishinaabe)

Aimée, a non-binary Anishinaabe middle-schooler, is on a class trip to offer gifts to Paayehnsag, the water spirits known to protect the land. While stories are told about the water spirits and the threat of the land being taken over for development, Aimée zones out, distracting themselves from the bullying and isolation they’ve experienced since expressing their non-binary identity. When Aimée accidentally wanders off, they are transported to an alternate dimension populated by traditional Anishinaabe figures. To gain the way back home, Aimée is called on to help Trickster by hunting down dark water spirits with guidance from Paayehnsag. On their journey, Aimée faces off with the land-grabbing Queen and her robotic guards and fights the dark water spirits against increasingly stacked odds.

Read More

Sandra Laronde (Teme-Augama-Anishinaabe)

The last thing that twelve-year old Misko wants to do is to move away from the city to spend time on the reservation with her grandmother. And yet she feels strangely compelled to go, drawn by a pull that she feels in her dreams—maybe she can finally find out what happened to her mother, who mysteriously disappeared when Misko was young. On the rez, Misko encounters a spirited horse named Mishtadim, who—to her dismay—is being violently broken by the rancher next door and his son Thomas. Misko and Thomas clash at first, only to find themselves drawn together by the wild horse. As Misko slowly discovers her unique bond with Mishtadim, she feels a sense of belonging and comes to understand the beauty of the world all around her.

Read More

Brandon Mitchell (Mi’gmaq)

Veronika Barinova and Britt Wilson

When her hair clip disappears, Mali is devastated—it was special, made by her giju’. Her mom thinks she lost it, but Mali knows it was stolen by the pugulatmu’j, the Little People. Soon after, Mali is surprised to meet Puug—and he’s wearing her hair clip. If she helps him find what he needs, she has a chance of getting it back. As they hunt for the objects on Puug’s list, Mali uncovers a lot of unanswered questions along the way. Will she really get her hair clip back? And why is Puug collecting these things anyway?

Read More

David A. Robertson (Norway House Cree)

After discovering a near-lifeless Eli at the base of the Great Tree, Morgan knows she doesn’t have much time to save him. And it will mean asking for help—from friends both old and new. Racing against the clock, and with Arik and Emily at her side, Morgan sets off to follow the trail away from the Great Tree to find Eli’s soul before it’s too late. As they journey deep into the northern woods, a place they’ve been warned never to enter, they face new challenges and life-threatening attacks from strange and horrifying creatures. But a surprise ally comes to their aid, and Morgan finds the strength to focus on what’s most important: saving her brother’s life.

Read More

Kim Spencer (Ts’msyen Nation)

In the 1980s, the coastal fishing town of Prince Rupert is booming: there is plenty of sockeye salmon in the nearby ocean, which means the fishermen are happy and there is lots of work at the cannery. Eleven-year-old Mia and her best friend, Lara, have known each other since kindergarten, and like most tweens, they like to hang out and compare notes on their crushes and dream about their futures. But even though they both live in the same cul-de-sac, Mia’s life is very different from her non-Indigenous, middle-class neighbor. Lara lives with her mom, her dad and her little brother in a big house, with two cars in the drive and a view of the ocean. Mia lives in a shabby wartime house that is full of relatives—her churchgoing grandmother, binge-drinking mother and a rotating number of aunts, uncles and cousins. Even though their differences never seemed to matter to the two friends, Mia begins to notice how adults treat her differently, just because she is Indigenous. Teachers, shopkeepers, even Lara’s parents—they all seem to have decided who Mia is without getting to know her first.

Read More

Eldon Yellowhorn (Piikani Nation) and Kathy Lowinger

How are knowledge systems passed down over generations? Through the knowledge inherited from their Elders and ancestors, Indigenous Peoples throughout North America have observed, practiced, experimented, and interacted with plants, animals, the sky, and the waters over millennia. Knowledge keepers have shared their wisdom with younger people through oral history, stories, ceremonies, and records that took many forms. This book explores how Indigenous knowledge comes from centuries of practices, experiences, and ideas gathered by people who have a long history with the natural world.

Read More