Heartdrum
Heartdrum, launched in spring 2021, is a Native-centered imprint of HarperChildren’s, located in New York City. Their focus is contemporary fiction centered on young Native heroes for young readers in the United States and Canada. They also publish several nonfiction and concept picture books, including historical nonfiction set during the 20th century. Their catalogue often receives widespread recognition and critical acclaim. Heartdrum’s commitment to publishing Native authors, who have ties to their own tribal communities, results in authentic stories that present the lived experiences of native children in honest and through-provoking ways.
Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids
ISBN
9780062869951
Publisher & Publication Year
Authors
Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki – tribal identity under contention), Art Coulson (Cherokee), Christine Day (Upper Skagit), Eric Gansworth (Onondaga), Carole Lindstrom (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe), Dawn Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe), Rebecca Roanhorse (not enrolled, claims Pueblo), David A. Robertson (Norway House Cree Nation), Andrea L. Rogers (Cherokee), Kim Rogers (Wichita and Affiliated Tribes), Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee Nation), Monique Gray Smith (Cree), Traci Sorell (Cherokee), Tim Tingle (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), Erika T. Wurth (Apache/Chickasaw/Cherokee descent), & Brian Young (Diné)
Summary
A collection of 18 short stories and poems, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, that details young native children gathering at the fictional Dance for Mother Earth Powwow in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In a high school gym full of color and song, people dance, sell beadwork and books, and celebrate friendship and heritage. Young protagonists will meet relatives from faraway, mysterious strangers, and sometimes one another (plus one scrappy rez dog).
Notable Achievements
Bank Street Children’s Best Books of the Year; Amazon.com Best Books of the Month; New York Public Library’s Best Books for Kids; ALA Notable Children’s Book; IndieBound Indie Next List; Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Book
Trade Reviews
School Library Journal: “The well-edited volume begins with welcoming and humorous tales before moving into heavier territory. Each creator provides a short biography in the back matter, which includes their tribal affiliation and other works, in addition to their acknowledgements and notes on their contributions to the book.”
Publishers Weekly: “Using the framework of an intertribal powwow, 17 Indigenous authors craft stories that explore themes such as ethnic identity and ancestry… It’s a wonderful introduction to the included authors’ work and a persuasive encouragement to seek out more Indigenous stories.”
Kirkus: “Enrollment issues, Indian wannabes, and veterans’ histories are just a few of the serious themes addressed in these entertaining stories written by familiar and lesser-known writers alike. Senses of goodwill and humor pervade the book as well as the spirit of community, intersection, resilience, and a desire to remember the past.”
Booklist: “With exceptionally strong writing throughout and appended with a glossary, author notes, and acknowledgements, this makes an appealing choice for those just learning about contemporary Indigenous life as well as readers well versed in the powwow circuit.”
The Horn Book: “This anthology offers readers a variety of images of Native children while also introducing them to vocabulary from several different Indigenous languages, compiled in an appended glossary.”
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.
Healer of the Water Monster
ISBN
9780062990419
Publisher & Publication Year
Author
Brian Young (Diné)
Illustrator
Summary
Nathan Todacheenie decides to spend his summer with his paternal grandma, Nali, at her mobile summer home on the Navajo reservation to avoid spending time with his dad and his new girlfriend. Before they can get comfortable, Uncle Jet, a war time veteran who struggles with alcoholism, shows up. Then, one night, Nathan finds someone extraordinary in the desert: a Holy Being from the Navajo Creation Story—a Water Monster—in need of help. Now it is up to Nathan to help Uncle Jet and Pond, the Water Monster, on their paths to healing.
Notable Achievements
ALA Notable Children’s Book; Bank Street Children’s Best Books of the Year; American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner
Trade Reviews
Publishers Weekly: “This excellently wrought middle grade debut by Young […] centers 11-year-old Nathan Todacheenie, a Diné boy who, seeking to escape a vacation with his father and his father’s girlfriend, ends up in a world of tradition and magic. Gentle, complex characters and flawed, loving human relationships lend depth to Young’s worlds-spanning novel.”
Kirkus: “The deeply grounded and original perspective of this story brings readers into both the worlds of Navajo blessing songs, rain songs, and traditional healing and everyday family relationships. Hands readers a meaningful new take on family love.”
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.
Rez Ball
ISBN
9780063160385
Publisher & Publication Year
Author
Byron Graves (Ojibwe)
Summary
After the death of his older brother, Tre Brun is invited to play on his late brother’s basketball team on the Red Lake Reservation. Tre sees this as his shot to represent his Ojibwe rez and lead the team all the way to their first state basketball championship. Stepping into his late older brother’s shoes as a star player means that Tre can’t mess up.
Notable Achievements
Book Riot’s Best Children’s Books; American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner; Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Honor Book; Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choice; William C. Morris Award; New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
Trade Reviews
School Library Journal: “Graves strikes a balance between a broadly accessible portrait of teen experience—basketball practice, and sometimes out-of-control partying—with a pointed view of Indigenous life, including harassment by racist cops and ill treatment by white teams from Bemidji and Minneapolis, and yet all the comforts of hope, family, and tradition.”
Publishers Weekly: “Basketball means everything to Ojibwe 15-year-old Tre Brun, who lives on the Red Lake Nation Reservation in Minnesota. […] Debut author Graves, who is Ojibwe, realistically depicts life living on a reservation via Tre’s earnest first-person POV, and plentiful fast-paced basketball game sequences will appeal to fans of sports fiction.”
Kirkus: “A deeply personal look at grief, the weight of expectations, and the ways we find connections with those we have lost. While the start feels a bit forced, the novel quickly settles into its coming-of-age sports-underdog story, giving readers tense, fast-paced descriptions of high-stakes basketball games interspersed with textured descriptions of life on the reservation.”
Booklist: Subscription needed
The Horn Book: “Ojibwe author Graves’s Morris– and AILA YA Award–winning debut is at once an exhilarating sports thriller, an underdog story, a grieving-family portrait, and a relatable high-school social dramedy. […] A YA novel with massive commercial appeal that also opens windows — hell, wide, welcoming gates — to an underrepresented community.”
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.
A Letter For Bob
ISBN
9780063044555
Publisher & Publication Year
Author
Kim Rogers (Wichita and Affiliated Tribes)
Illustrator
Jonathan Nelson (Diné)
Summary
Ever since the day Mom and Dad brought Bob home from the car dealership, Bob has been a part of Katie’s family. Bob has taken them all over, from powwows to vacations to time spent with faraway family. Bob has been there in sad and scary times and for some of the family’s most treasured memories. But after many miles, it’s time for the family to say goodbye to Bob.
Notable Achievements
Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Book; Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choice; American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner
Trade Reviews
School Library Journal: “This is a letter to Bob, a family car, from a girl who feels that the car is part of her family, tying together events from their family history… Eventually, the family has to say goodbye to Bob, but not without some sadness at the parting.”
Publishers Weekly: “An Indigenous child’s love for a beloved family car drives this loving epistolary reminiscence from Wichita author Rogers and Diné illustrator Nelson… Easy prose and crisply drawn digital illustrations give equal weight to each member of family caring for its members through life’s seasons.”
Kirkus: “What starts as a simple ode to a well-cherished sedan quickly becomes a more nuanced love letter to Native families, accompanied by emotion-driven, comic art from Nelson. […] For its tender vignettes of modern Indigenous life, this tale will make a glowing addition to any personal, school, or public library.”
Booklist: “The expressive illustrations capture Katie’s memories as well as the happiness of another family that appears to be choosing Bob as its new car. Imaginative children from many backgrounds will empathize with Katie’s feelings and her reluctance to say goodbye. An engaging, emotionally resonant picture book.”
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.
Two Tribes
ISBN
9780062983589
Publisher & Publication Year
Author
Emily Bowen Cohen (Muscogee)
Summary
Mia feels out of place at home and at her Jewish day school, finding 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. Mia then plans 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.
Notable Achievements
School Library Journal Best Book; National Jewish Book Award; New York Public Library’s Best Books for Kids
Trade Reviews
School Library Journal: “A must-purchase for young readers everywhere on how to learn about, be empowered by, and embrace one’s identity.”
Publishers Weekly: “In Mia’s struggle to reconcile her ancestries, the creator develops a credible portrayal of self-image and acceptance. Plentiful panels rendered in earth tones further enhance this nuanced portrait of Mia’s search for identity.”
Kirkus: “A coming-of-age tale about the beauty and challenges of embodying two cultures. […] The story is well crafted, with Jewish and Muscogee beliefs integrated to great effect and art that enhances the text.”
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.
Jo Jo Makoons: The Used-To-Be-Best Friend
ISBN
9780063015388
Publisher & Publication Year
Author
Dawn Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe)
Illustrator
Tara Audibert (Wolastoqey/French)
Summary
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.
Notable Achievements
Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Book; Amazon Best Books of the Month; School Library Journal Best Book; American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book
Trade Reviews
School Library Journal: “The story playfully captures age-appropriate concerns and interests, as young Jo Jo navigates family traditions and shifting friendships… A sweet, slice-of-life series debut.”
Publishers Weekly: “Quigley adeptly creates strong classroom scenes that convey an inclusive student body’s realistic dynamic and an endearing, assured seven-year-old protagonist who appreciates her cultural identity. B&W cartoon drawings by Audibert, who is of Wolastoqey/French heritage, emphasize characterization throughout.”
The Horn Book: “This series opener introduces Jo Jo Makoons Azure, a rambunctious first grader with “strong lungs” […] and a wish to make more friends. Through it all, the first-person narrative is consistently engaging, with just the right touch of primary-grade silliness to balance out Jo Jo’s fears about friendship.”
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.
