Thanksgiving in the Classroom

Edited by award-winning and bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of intersecting stories by both new and veteran Native writers bursts with hope, joy, resilience, the strength of community, and Native pride. Native families from Nations across the continent gather at the 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). They are the heroes of their own stories. Featuring stories and poems by: Joseph Bruchac Art Coulson Christine Day Eric Gansworth Carole Lindstrom Dawn Quigley Rebecca Roanhorse David A. Robertson Andrea L. Rogers Kim Rogers Cynthia Leitich Smith Monique Gray Smith Traci Sorell, Tim Tingle Erika T. Wurth Brian Young In partnership with We Need Diverse Books

From New York Times bestselling author Carole Lindstrom and illustrator Bridget George comes a must-read companion to the powerful, award-winning picture book We Are Water Protectors. Telling the story of reall-ife water protectors, Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior celebrates Autumn Peltier and her great-aunt Josephine Mandamin, two Indigenous Rights Activists inspiring a tidal wave of change. The seventh generation is creating A sea of change. It was a soft voice, at first. Like a ripple. But with practice it grew louder. Indigenous women have long cared for the land and water, which in turn sustains all life on Earth--honoring their ancestors and providing for generations to come. Yet there was a time when their voices and teachings were nearly drowned out, leaving entire communities and environments in danger and without clean water. But then came Anishinaabe elder Grandma Josephine and her great-niece, Autumn Peltier. Featuring a foreword from water advocate and Indigenous Rights Activist Autumn Peltier herself, this stunning picture book encourages young readers to walk in the footsteps of the water warriors before them.

A Caldecott Honor Book! An Indie Bestseller! Caldecott Medalist Michaela Goade's first self-authored picture book is a gorgeous celebration of the land she knows well and the powerful wisdom of elders. On an island at the edge of a wide, wild sea, a girl and her grandmother gather gifts from the earth. Salmon from the stream, herring eggs from the ocean, and in the forest, a world of berries. Salmonberry, Cloudberry, Blueberry, Nagoonberry. Huckleberry, Snowberry, Strawberry, Crowberry. Through the seasons, they sing to the land as the land sings to them. Brimming with joy and gratitude, in every step of their journey, they forge a deeper kinship with both the earth and the generations that came before, joining in the song that connects us all. Michaela Goade's luminous rendering of water and forest, berries and jams glows with her love of the land and offers an invitation to readers to deepen their own relationship with the earth.

This charming and humorous book celebrates Pomo traditions and explores creative frustration, perfectionism, and the value in embracing your mistakes.  I want to dance! Bizzy can't wait to dance with all her friends and family at the summer gathering this year! But first, she must make the perfect regalia. It's tricky work, even with a grown-up's help, and her high expectations come crashing down in a flurry of torn fabric, loose beads, and tears. With support from her mom, grandma, and little brother, can Bizzy learn to see past the flaws, finish her work, and remember what's really important? AR Cribbins celebrates Pomo traditions in this charming and humorous tale about creativity and perfectionism. 

**A NEWBERY HONOR BOOK** A magical middle grade adventure about a boy in the Arctic who faces a series of challenges presented to him by a family of eagle gods. Through this, he learns important lessons about respecting nature, building compassion, and bringing a community together. With beautifully hand-drawn full color art throughout! As his family prepares for winter, a young, skilled hunter must travel up the mountain to collect obsidian for knapping―the same mountain where his two older brothers died. When he reaches the mountaintop, he is immediately confronted by a powerful eagle god named Savik. Savik gives the boy a choice: follow me or die like your brothers. What comes next is a harrowing journey to the home of the eagle gods and unexpected lessons on the natural world, the past that shapes us, and the community that binds us. Eagle Drums by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson is part cultural folklore, part origin myth about the Iñupiaq Messenger Feast, a Native Arctic tradition that is still celebrated in times of bounty among the Iñupiaq. This story is based on the oral tradition of how Iñupiaq people were given the gift of music, song, dance, community, and everlasting connection. Hopson's full-page illustrations and spot art, rendered in colored pencil, accompany this memorable story.

Winner of the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal An American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honor Winner "A wonderful and sweet book . . . Lovely stuff." --The New York Times Book Review Told in lively and powerful verse by debut author Kevin Noble Maillard, Fry Bread is an evocative depiction of a modern Native American family, vibrantly illustrated by Pura Belpre Award winner and Caldecott Honoree Juana Martinez-Neal. Fry bread is food. It is warm and delicious, piled high on a plate. Fry bread is time. It brings families together for meals and new memories. Fry bread is nation. It is shared by many, from coast to coast and beyond. Fry bread is us. It is a celebration of old and new, traditional and modern, similarity and difference. A Charlotte Huck Recommended Book A Publishers Weekly Best Picture Book A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book A School Library Journal Best Picture Book A Booklist Editor's Choice A Shelf Awareness Best Children's Book A Goodreads Choice Award Semifinalist A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book A National Public Radio (NPR) Best Book An NCTE Notable Poetry Book A NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People A ALA Notable Children's Book An ILA Notable Book for a Global Society Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year List One of NPR's 100 Favorite Books for Young Readers Nominee, Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award Nominee, Illinois Monarch Award

This retelling of a Navajo folktale explains how First Woman tried to write the laws of the land using stars in the sky, only to be thwarted by the trickster Coyote.

★ "Spillett captures the joy of the round dance, and a feeling of belonging and connection offered in intergenerational Indigenous community."​ --Publishers Weekly, starred review ★ "Simple and tender." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review From New York Times bestselling author Tasha Spillett and illustrator Daniel Ramirez comes a joyous intergenerational celebration of gender self-expression and acceptance through an Indigenous lens. Raven loves Round Dances. The drums sing to the people. The people dance to the music. Raven's favorite part is to watch the ribbon skirts, swirling like a rainbow. He wishes he could have a ribbon skirt of his own, but his grandmother has never seen a boy wearing one. Until the next round dance, when it turns out that even someone who has lived a long time can see wonderful things that they've never seen before.   In the spirit of beloved books like Julián is a Mermaid, here is a moving intergenerational story celebrating identity, self-expression, and the realization that even within our traditions, there is room for beautiful reinvention.

Don't miss this beautiful picture book, a Caldecott Honor winner! Raven, the trickster, wants to give people the gift of light. But can he find out where Sky Chief keeps it? And if he does, will he be able to escape without being discovered? His dream seems impossible, but if anyone can find a way to bring light to the world, wise and clever Raven can. "The physical environment, oral literature, and traditional life of the Pacific Coast Indians come alive in this amusing and well-conceived picture book." --School Library Journal

Finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award A New York Times / New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Book of 2022! NAMED A BEST PICTURE BOOK OF THE YEAR: Kirkus Reviews, Globe and Mail, and Chicago Public Library "A love letter to family, home, and Indigenous traditions. . . This story reminds readers of the joy we experience upon returning to those whom we love and who love us." --Kirkus STARRED Review From Cree-Métis artist Julie Flett and Academy Award-winning icon Buffy Sainte-Marie comes a celebration of Indigenous community, and the enduring love we hold for the people and places we are far away from. Based on Sainte-Marie's song of the same name, Still This Love Goes On combines Flett's breathtaking art with vivid lyrics to craft a stunning portrait of a Cree worldview. At the heart of this picture book is a gentle message about missing our loved ones, and the promise of seeing each other again. This gem of a picture book features: Sheet music of Buffy Sainte-Marie's beloved song Notes from Sainte-Marie and Flett about their inspiration for the song and illustrations Brimming with love for community and the land, Still This Love Goes On is destined to be read and sung for generations.

Award-winning author Eddie Chuculate recounts his experience growing up in rural Oklahoma, from boyhood to young manhood, in an evocative and vivid voice. Scholastic Focus is the premier home of thoroughly researched, beautifully written, and thoughtfully designed works of narrative nonfiction aimed at middle-grade and young adult readers. These books help readers learn about the world in which they live and develop their critical thinking skills so that they may become dynamic citizens who are able to analyze and understand our past, participate in essential discussions about our present, and work to grow and build our future. "Granny was full-blooded Creek, but the Bureau of Indian Affairs insisted she was fifteen-sixteenths. She showed her card to me. I'd sit at the kitchen table and stare at her when she was eating, wondering how you can be a sixteenth of anything." Growing up impoverished and shuttled between different households, it seemed life was bound to take a certain path for Eddie Chuculate. Despite the challenges he faced, his upbringing was rich with love and bountiful lessons from his Creek and Cherokee heritage, deep-rooted traditions he embraced even as he learned to live within the culture of white, small-town America that dominated his migratory childhood. Award-winning author Eddie Chuculate brings his childhood to life with spare, unflinching prose. This book is at once a love letter to his Native American roots and an inspiring and essential message for young readers everywhere, who are coming of age in an era when conversations about acceptance and empathy, love and perspective are more necessary than ever before.

★"In warm, soothing language, a mother speaks to her infant, poetically describing their ancestral surroundings and reflecting on traditional Cree knowledge...Luxuriantly alive with glowing colors and textured patterns, Dumont's (Onion Lake Cree Nation) exquisite pointillist illustrations resemble three-dimensional beadwork. This eloquent and insightful picture book (...) honors the enduring relationship between a child, their ancestors, and the land." -- Booklist, starred review As daylight fades to dusk and slips into darkness, this gentle lullaby celebrates the sounds of the Prairies and the Plains on a stormy summer's night. From the hum of dragonflies to the drumming of thunder, with grasses swirling and the northern lights glimmering, This Land Is a Lullabyshares a song and dance--a gift from the ancestors that soothes children to sleep and reminds them of their deeply rooted connections to the land. Written as a lullaby for the author's daughter and featuring striking pointillism artwork, this lush lullaby of the land honors the beauty of the Prairies and the Plains and the spiritual connection between Indigenous children, ancestors and their Traditional Territories.

Twelve Native American kids present historical and contemporary laws, policies, struggles, and victories in Native life, each with a powerful refrain- We are still here! An ideal nonfiction picture book for 7-10-year-old future activists and changemakers! An inspiring read by best-selling and award-winning Cherokee author Traci Sorell. Too often, Native American history is treated as a finished chapter instead of relevant and ongoing. This companion book to the award-winning We Are Grateful- Otsaliheliga offers readers everything they never learned in school about Native American people's past, present, and future. Precise, lyrical writing presents topics including- Assimilation Allotment Termination Relocation Economic Development Language Revival Sovereign Resurgence and more Best-selling Cherokee author Traci Sorell has a Native rights advocacy background, and is active in both her tribal community as well as the broader Native American community. We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know is sure to educate and inspire both Native and non-Native readers. A 2022 American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honor Book A 2022 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book

From author Carole Lindstrom and illustrator Michaela Goade comes a New York Times bestselling and Caldecott Medal winning picture book that honors Indigenous-led movements across the world. Powerfully written and gorgeously illustrated, We Are Water Protectors, issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth's water from harm and corruption--inviting young readers everywhere to join the fight. Water is the first medicine. It affects and connects us all . . . When a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth And poison her people's water, one young water protector Takes a stand to defend Earth's most sacred resource. The fight continues with Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior, the must-read companion book to We Are Water Protectors. Written by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Bridget George, it tells the story of real-life water protectors, Autumn Peltier and her great-aunt Josephine Mandamin, two Indigenous Rights Activists who have inspired a tidal wave of change.