Charlesbridge
Based in Watertown, Massachusetts, Charlesbridge publishes high quality books for children, with a goal of creating lifelong readers and learners. Their books encourage reading and discovery in the classroom, library, and home. They believe that books for children should offer accurate information, promote a positive worldview, and embrace a child’s innate sense of wonder and fun. They continually strive to seek new voices, new visions, and new directions in children’s literature. Charlesbridge is dedicated to uplifting voices that have traditionally been left out of children’s publishing.
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga
ISBN
9781580897723
Publisher & Publication Year
Authors
Illustrator
Summary
The Cherokee community is grateful for the blessings and challenges that each season brings. Beginning in the fall with the new year and ending in summer, readers follow a full Cherokee year of celebrations and experiences. Contemporary and traditional practices are depicted with illustrations.
Notable Achievements
2020 Odyssey Honor (recognizing excellence in audiobooks); 2020 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book; 2019 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards Honor Book; 2019 Sibert Honor Book; 2019 Orbis Pictus Honor Book; 2019 Notable Books for a Global Society; NPR’s Guide To 2018’s Great Reads; Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2018; School Library Journal Best Books of 2018; 2018 Book Launch Award (SCBWI); 2018 JLG selection; Reading the West Book Award Winner; CCBC Choices 2019; Nautilus Gold Award – Children’s Illustrated Nonfiction; A Margaret Wise Brown Best Board Book of 2023
Trade Reviews
School Library Journal: “This informative and authentic introduction to a thriving ancestral and ceremonial way of life is perfect for holiday and family sharing.”
Kirkus: “Sorell intentionally crafts a narrative that simultaneously embraces modernity and a traditional presentation of Cherokee community and way of life. […] Colorful, folk art–style illustrations show Cherokee people during ceremonies, in family gatherings large and small, and outdoors enjoying each of the four seasons, always expressing gratitude.”
Booklist: “Lessac’s folkloric illustrations in bright gouache colors stand in pleasing contrast to the book’s contemporary feel and setting. The text reads like poetry but has a gentle instructional dimension to it.”
The Horn Book: Subscription needed
Educator Guide
The Educator guide for We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga is meticulously detailed with author biographies, historical information, pre-reading as well as post-reading questions to lead discussions, wonderful information about the Cherokee nation, tons of activities like a crossword puzzle, and Cherokee words flashcards. And if that wasn’t enough, it also has Common Core Standard Alignment Charts! Oh my!
Kindred Spirits: Shilombish Ittibachvffa
ISBN
9781623543969
Publisher & Publication Year
Author
Leslie Stall Widener (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma)
Illustrator
Johnson Yazzie (Diné)
Summary
In 1845, the Potato Famine devastated Ireland. An ocean away, Choctaw people heard and were moved by the similarities to the injustice they had suffered on the Trail of Tears. Though they had little, they gathered money to donate. 2020. COVID-19 disproportionately ravaged the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe. Irish people remembered the Choctaws’ kindness and paid it forward by donating millions of dollars to support water access and basic services. A nonfiction picture book about the inspiring true pay-it-forward story that bridges two continents, 175 years, and two events in history—connecting Ireland, Choctaw Nation, Navajo Nation, and the Hopi Tribe
Notable Achievements
A 2024 Junior Library Guild Selection
Trade Reviews
Kirkus: “The author breaks up the narrative with illuminating sidebars that offer additional information about each crisis. Yazzie’s (Navajo Nation) folk art–esque illustrations pop with emotion and come alive from his vibrant use of color. […] A richly detailed, phenomenally told true story about paying it forward through history.”
Booklist: “A compelling nonfiction read-aloud and a wonderful resource for history classes and SEL units.”
The Horn Book: Subscription needed
Forever Cousins
ISBN
9781623542924
Publisher & Publication Year
Author
Laurel Goodluck (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Tsimshian Nations)
Illustrator
Jonathan Nelson (Diné)
Summary
Kara and Amanda hate not being together. Then it’s time for the family reunion on the Rez. Each girl worries that the other hasn’t missed her. But once they reconnect, they realize that they are still forever cousins. This story highlights the ongoing impact of the 1950s Indian Relocation Act on Native families.
Notable Achievements
Charlotte Huck Book Award Honor 2023; AILA – American Indian Youth Literature Award 2024; American Indians in Children’s Literature Year in Review 2022; Junior Library Guild Selection 2022
Trade Reviews
Kirkus: “This matter-of-fact yet poignant story brings that bond to vivid life as the girls realize that no matter what, they are “forever cousins.” The illustrations rely on a muted palette and feature appealing characters with large heads. […] Children facing separations of their own will find this reassuring.”
Booklist: “Nelson’s digital cartoon illustrations nicely capture cultural details, subtly incorporating varying skin tones and fashion choices within the family and signaling differences between life in the city and on the Reservation. An informative author’s note discusses the author’s upbringing within an intertribal Native American family as well as the Indian Relocation Act of 1956.”
The Horn Book: Subscription needed
Educator Guide
Heartdrum’s in house Teaching Guide offers educators a well of helpful information for several of their published books, including bios from authors and as well illustrators, a summarization of the book, and several meaningful questions to help guide student discussions about the material.
Powwow Day
ISBN
9781580899482
Publisher & Publication Year
Author
Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation)
Illustrator
Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw Nation)
Summary
It’s powwow day, but eight-year-old River can’t dance this year. She’s been very sick for a very long time. River struggles with the isolation of a serious illness and the frustration of her physical limits—and as she finds solace in the healing power of community. Back matter explains the history and functions of powwows, which are held across the United States and Canada and are open to both Native Americans and non-Native visitors.
Notable Achievements
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2022; A School Library Journal Best Book of 2022; A Shelf Awareness Best Book of 2022; A Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature Best Multicultural Children’s Book of 2022; A Bookstagang Picture Book Guild Best Bookshelf Building Picture Book of 2022; A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2022; A 2023 Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended Book; A 2023 ILA Notable Book for a Global Society; A 2023 Texas Library Association 2×2 Reading List selection
Trade Reviews
School Library Journal: “A tender and inspiring view of Indigenous traditions and how celebrating them can lead to healing and redemption.”
Publishers Weekly: “Sorell […] creates a resonant, hopeful tale about the healing power of community and tradition, deftly capturing the powwow’s essence. Textural digital illustrations by Goodnight […] focus on the event’s sights and its participants’ fluid movements, effectively conveying River’s sideline perspective and desire to dance with her community once again.”
Kirkus: “Goodnight’s vibrant, energetic digital illustrations capture the beauty and intricacy of powwow regalia as well as the unique atmosphere of a powwow gathering. Together, the artwork and text sensitively portray and celebrate a powerful ritual that upholds the culture, healing traditions, and creative spirit of Native American communities.”
Educator Guide
Powwow Day’s Activity Kit offers author and illustrator biographies, book summarization, a discussion guide with thoughtful questions, activity worksheets, a proposed research activity for young students, and a word search.
Mascot
ISBN
9781623543808
Publisher & Publication Year
Author
Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation) and Charles Waters
Summary
In Rye, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., people work hard, kids go to school, and football is big on Friday nights. An eighth-grade English teacher creates an assignment for her class to debate whether Rye’s mascot should stay or change. Now six middle-schoolers—all with different backgrounds and beliefs—get involved in a contentious issue that already has the suburb turned upside-down with everyone choosing sides and arguments getting ugly.
Notable Achievements
A 2024 Charlotte Huck Award honor book; A Junior Library Guild selection; A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2023; A New York Public Library Best Book of 2023; A National Public Radio “Books We Love” title of 2023; 2024 Texas Lone Star Reading List; An American Indian Youth Literature Honor book; Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children's Books of the Year 2024
Trade Reviews
School Library Journal: “Highly recommended as a pick for classrooms to use in debate and conversations; a timely and important novel.”
Publishers Weekly: “Told via seven alternating narratives, this ripped-from-the-headlines collaboration in verse by Waters and Cherokee Nation member Sorell follows a fictional town’s division over a racist sports mascot. The creators eschew judgment to present a well-rounded discussion about classism and racism, as well as effective allyship, with compassion and understanding.”
Kirkus: “This clever novel unfolds in poems told in multiple voices showing the wide range of students’, families’, and community responses to the controversy; for some, initial feelings of opposition, hesitation, or indifference change and friendships are tested. The compelling, highly relevant subject matter and accessible text invite readers to understand different perspectives and witness individual growth.”
Booklist: Subscription needed
Educator Guide
The discussion guide for Mascot offers authors biographies and plentiful questions to help guide classroom discussions as well as writing projects.
Keepunumuk Weeâchumun’s Thanksgiving Story
ISBN
9781623542900
Publisher & Publication Year
Author
Danielle Greendeer (Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Citizen), Anthony Perry (Chickasaw), & Alexis Bunten (Aleut, Yup’ik)
Illustrator
Garry Meeches Sr. (Anishinaabe)
Summary
The Thanksgiving story that most Americans know celebrates the Pilgrims. But without members of the Wampanoag tribe who already lived on the land where the Pilgrims settled, the Pilgrims would never have made it through their first winter. And without Weeâchumun (corn), the Native people wouldn’t have helped.
Notable Achievements
A 2022 New England Book Award winner; A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2022; A Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature Best Multicultural Children’s Book of 2022; A Children’s Book Council Notable Social Studies Book of 2023
Trade Reviews
School Library Journal: “Overall, this story is a good addition for the historical knowledge of the first Thanksgiving from the Wampanoag viewpoint. A good choice for libraries striving to share Indigenous perspectives.”
Kirkus: “The Thanksgiving story, told from the perspective of the Wampanoag people. […] Rich, saturated acrylics imbued with a touch of magic add to the vibrancy of this important, beautiful story. […] A much-needed Thanksgiving retelling that centers the Wampanoag people.”
Booklist: “Greens and blues complement the earth-toned palette employed on most spreads; particularly effective is the depiction of the Three Sisters, spirits representing corn, beans, and squash. This is a perfect choice for anyone looking for an alternative perspective to the traditional Thanksgiving story or an Indigenous Peoples’ Day read.”
The Horn Book: Subscription needed
Educator Guide
The activity kit for Keepunumuk offers educators a step-by-step guide on how to cook Nasamp while also encouraging inciteful prompts to help students consider Indigenous food sources, a dotted grid to allow students to draw N8hkumuhs’s garden, flashcards, word searches, and links to external resources for further information.
