Skip to content

Lists and Suggestions for Kids

Home » Services » Youth Services » Lists and Suggestions for Kids

http://mppl.org/services/youth-department/good-books/?list=American+Indian+Youth+Literature+Award+Winners+%26+Honors&category=awards

List: American Indian Youth Literature Award Winners & Honors


A photo of Herizon

Herizon

Herizon follows the journey of a Diň girl as she helps her grandmother retrieve a flock of sheep. Join in her venture across land and water with the help of a magical scarf that will expand your imagination and transform what you thought possible. The inspiring story celebrates creativity and bravery, while promoting an inclusive future made possible through intergenterational strength and knowledge.

More

Checking status…

A photo of Healer of the water monster

Healer of the water monster

"Nathan, a young Navajo boy from Phoenix, Arizona, goes on an epic hero's journey."--Kirkusreviews.com "When Nathan goes to visit his grandma, Nali, at her mobile summer home on the Navajo reservation, he knows he's in for a pretty uneventful summer, with no electricity or cell service. Still, he loves spending time with Nali and with his uncle Jet, though it's clear when Jet arrives that he brings his problems with him. One night, while lost in the nearby desert, Nathan finds someone extraordinary: a Holy Being from the Navajo Creation Story--a Water Monster--in need of help. Now Nathan must summon all his courage to save his new friend. With the help of other Navajo Holy Beings, Nathan is determined to save the Water Monster, and to support Uncle Jet in healing from his own pain

More

Checking status…

A photo of Becoming Miss Navajo

Becoming Miss Navajo

As a little girl, Jolyana Begay-Kroupa dreamed of becoming Miss Navajo. After years of learning the language, culture, and traditions, her chance finally comes to take on the important role.The skills she learned help her in tough competitions but will they be enough to earn her the crown of Miss Navajo? Witness the inspiring true story of what it takes to become Miss Navajo and how the competition is only the beginning. Filled with pictures taken during the 2001-2002 Miss Navajo Nation competition.

More

Checking status…

A photo of Learning my rights with Mousewoman

Learning my rights with Mousewoman

The tiny but mighty Mousewoman is a legendary figure in the oral and visual practices of Northwest Coast Indigenous cultures. She is both grandmother and oracle, able to travel in and out of the spirit world. Mousewoman sits on young people's shoulders in crucial times, whispering advice and knowledge. She protects and guides young people by helping them avoid or escape bad situations, and is never afraid to stand up to bigger beings. This book brings to life the timeless lessons of Mousewoman -- lessons that embody the principles outlined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. A first of its kind, this book empowers children to become proudly aware of their rights.

More

Checking status…

A photo of Indigenous Peoples' Day

Indigenous Peoples' Day

Indigenous Peoples' Day is about celebrating! The second Monday in October is a day to honor Native American people, their histories, and cultures. People mark the day with food, dancing, and songs. Readers will discover how a shared holiday can have multiple traditions and be celebrated in all sorts of way

More

Checking status…

A photo of I Sang You Down from the Stars

I Sang You Down from the Stars

A Native American woman describes how she loved her child before it was born and, throughout her pregnancy, gathered a bundle of gifts to welcome the newborn.

Checking status…

A photo of Ella Cara Deloria : Dakota language protector

Ella Cara Deloria : Dakota language protector

Ella Cara Deloria loved to listen to her family tell stories in the Dakota language. She recorded many American Indian peoples' stories and languages and shared them with everyone. She helped protect her people's language for future generations and also wrote stories of her own. Her story is a Minnesota Native American life

More

Checking status…

A photo of Healer of the Water Monster

Healer of the Water Monster

"Nathan, a young Navajo boy from Phoenix, Arizona, goes on an epic hero's journey."--Kirkusreviews.com

Checking status…

A photo of The Used-To-Be Best Friend

The Used-To-Be Best Friend

"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"-- Provided by publisher

More

Checking status…

A photo of The Sea in Winter

The Sea in Winter

After an injury sidelines her dreams of becoming a ballet star, Maisie is not excited for her blended family's midwinter road trip along the coast, near the Makah community where her mother grew up.

Checking status…

A photo of Bowwow Powwow: Bagosenjige-Niimi

Bowwow Powwow: Bagosenjige-Niimi

2020 Winner. "When Uncle and Windy Girl attend a powwow, Windy watches the dancers and listens to the singers. She eats tasty food and joins family and friends around the campfire. Later, Windy falls asleep under the stars. Uncle's stories inspire visions in her head: a bowwow powwow, where all the dancers are dogs. In these magical scenes, Windy sees veterans in a Grand Entry, and a visiting drum group, and traditional dancers, grass dancers, and jingle-dress dancers--all with telltale ears and paws and tails. All celebrating in song and dance. All attesting to the wonder of the powwow."--Provided by publisher.

More

Checking status…

A photo of Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story

2020 Winner. Also available in Overdrive.. Using illustrations that show the diversity in Native America and spare poetic text that emphasizes fry bread in terms of provenance, this volume tells the story of a post-colonial food that is a shared tradition for Native American families all across the North American continent. Includes a recipe and an extensive author note that delves into the social ways, foodways, and politics of America's 573 recognized tribes.

More

Checking status…

A photo of Indian No More

Indian No More

2020 Winner. When Regina's Umpqua tribe is legally terminated and her family must relocate from Oregon to Los Angeles, she goes on a quest to understand her identity as an Indian despite being so far from home.

Checking status…

A photo of Birdsong

Birdsong

Also available in Hoopla. When a young girl moves from the country to a small town, she feels lonely and out of place. But soon she meets an elderly woman next door, who shares her love of nature and art. As the seasons change, can the girl navigate the failing health of her new friend? Acclaimed author and artist Julie Flett's textured images of birds, flowers, art, and landscapes bring vibrancy and warmth to this powerful story, which highlights the fulfillment of intergenerational relationships and shared passions. A brief glossary and pronunciation guide to Cree-Métis words that appear in the text is provided on the copyright page.

More

Checking status…

A photo of All Around Us

All Around Us

Also available in Hoopla. Finding circles everywhere, a grandfather and his granddaughter meditate on the cycles of life and nature.

Checking status…

A photo of Hidden Roots

Hidden Roots

Although he is uncertain why his father is so angry and what secret his mother is keeping from him, eleven-year-old Sonny knows that he is different from his classmates in their small New York town. Annotation. As Hard As 11-Year-Old Sonny And His Mother Try, They Canâ‚‚t Predict His Fatherâ‚‚s Sudden Rages, Which Can Turn Physical In An Instant. Jakeâ‚‚s Anger Only Gets Worse After Long Days Laboring At The Local Paper Mill, And When Uncle Louis Appears. Louis Seems To Show Up When Sonny And His Mother Need Help Most, But There Is Something About Him And His Quiet, Wise Ways That Only Fuels Jakeâ‚‚s Rage. The Love Of Sonnyâ‚‚s Fragile Mother, The Support And Protection Of His Uncle Louis, And An Unexpected Friendship With A Librarian Help Sonny Gain The Confidence To Stand Up To His Father. The Consequences Of His Actions, And The Source Of His Fatherâ‚‚s Self-Hatred, Will Reverberate Through The Hearts And Minds Of Readers And Challenge Them To Examine Their Own Feelings About Love, Acceptance, And Self-Esteem.

More

Checking status…

A photo of I Can Make this Promise

I Can Make this Promise

Also available in Hoopla. "When twelve-year-old Edie finds letters and photographs in her attic that change everything she thought she knew about her Native American mother's adoption, she realizes she has a lot to learn about her family's history and her own identity"--

Checking status…

A photo of The Birchbark House

The Birchbark House

Also available in Overdrive and Hoopla. Omakayas, a seven-year-old Native American girl of the Ojibwa tribe, lives through the joys of summer and the perils of winter on an island in Lake Superior in 1847.

Checking status…

A photo of A Coyote Solstice Tale

A Coyote Solstice Tale

Also available in Hoopla. Coyote is eagerly awaiting the arrival of Beaver, Bear, Otter, and Moose for a celebratory Solstice feast when a little girl dressed as a reindeer shows up at his door. His guests arrive soon after, and, thinking that the girl must be lost, the animals decide to accompany her back the way she came by following her tracks in the snow...which lead to a mall.

More

Checking status…

A photo of In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse

In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse

Also available in Overdrive. Teased for his fair coloring, eleven-year-old Jimmy McClean travels with his maternal grandfather, Nyles High Eagle, to learn about his Lakota heritage while visiting places significant in the life of Crazy Horse, the nineteenth-century Lakota leader and warrior, in a tale that weaves the past with the present. Includes historical note and glossary.

More

Checking status…

A photo of How I Became a Ghost: A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story

How I Became a Ghost: A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story

A Choctaw boy tells the story of his tribe's removal from the only land its people had ever known, and how their journey to Oklahoma led him to become a ghost--one with the ability to help those he left behind.

Checking status…

A photo of At the Mountain's Base

At the Mountain's Base

"At the mountain's base sits a cabin under an old hickory tree. And in that cabin lives a family -- loving, weaving, cooking, and singing. The strength in their song sustains them through trials on the ground and in the sky, as they wait for their loved one, a pilot, to return from war."--

More

Checking status…

A photo of Fall in Line, Holden!

Fall in Line, Holden!

At a very strict school in Indigenous Nation, everyone but Holden stays in line until they reach the door at the end of the school day.

Checking status…

A photo of Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness into Light

Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness into Light

Also available in Hoopla. Choctaw author Tim Tingle tells the story of his famly's move from Oklahoma Choctaw country to Pasadena, Texas. Spanning fifty years, the book describes the problems encounted by his Choctaw grandmother from her orphan days at an Indian boarding school to hardships she met at her new home on the Texas Gult Coast. It is the story of one family's efforts to honor the past while struggling to gain a foothold in modern America.

More

Checking status…

A photo of Sitting Bull: Lakota Warrior and Defender of His People

Sitting Bull: Lakota Warrior and Defender of His People

Sitting Bull was one of the greatest Lakota/Sioux warriors and chiefs who ever lived. From killing his first buffalo at age 10 to being named war chief to leading his people against the U.S. Army, "Sitting Bull: Lakota Warrior and Defender of His People" brings the story of the great chief to light.

More

Checking status…

A photo of Shanyaak'kutlaax: Salmon Boy

Shanyaak'kutlaax: Salmon Boy

After a Tlingit mother gives her son a dried piece of salmon with mold on the end, he flings it away in disgust, committing a taboo. This offends the Salmon People, who sweep him into the water and into their world, where they name him Shanyaak'utlaax̲ or Salmon Boy. Find out what happens to Shanyaak'utlaax̲ in this ancient Tlingit story.

More

Checking status…

A photo of The Grizzly Mother

The Grizzly Mother

Also available in Hoopla. "An engaging look at how the animals, people, and seasons within an ecosystem are intertwined. To the Gitxsan people of Northwestern British Columbia, the grizzly is an integral part of the natural landscape. Together, they share the land and forests that the Skeena River runs through, as well as the sockeye salmon within it. Follow mother bear as she teaches her cubs what they need to survive on their own. The Mothers of Xsan series uses striking illustration and lyrical language to bring the poetry of the Xsan ecosystem to life."--

More

Checking status…

A photo of Mission to Space

Mission to Space

Go on a Mission to Space with Chickasaw astronaut John Herrington, as he shares his flight on the space shuttle Endeavour and his thirteen-day mission to the international Space Station. Learn what it takes to train for space flight, see the tasks he completed in space, and join him on his spacewalk 220 miles above the earth.

More

Checking status…

A photo of The Christmas Coat: Memories of My Sioux Childhood

The Christmas Coat: Memories of My Sioux Childhood

Virginia and her brother are never allowed to pick first from the donation boxes at church because their father is the priest, and she is heartbroken when another girl gets the beautiful coat that she covets. Based on the author's memories of life on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.

More

Checking status…

A photo of We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga

Also available in Overdrive and Hoopla. Journey through the year with a Cherokee family and their tribal nation as they express thanks for celebrations big and small.

Checking status…

© Copyright 2024 Mount Prospect Public Library,
All Rights Reserved

Mount Prospect Public Library

Install Mount Prospect Public Library

Install this application on your home screen for quick and easy access when you’re on the go.

Just tap then “Add to Home Screen”