Navajo: Visions and Voices across the Mesa

Collection of twenty poems accompanied by full color paintings of mountains, plateaus, deserts, and wildlife from the American Southwest and of the Native people who live there. Book begins with spiritual elements, moves on to told stories, Begay’s memories, members of the community, and rituals, and ends with hope for an early spring. Throughout there is a sense of striving to balance the old ways and beliefs with the intrusive outer world and to protect the Earth, which is regarded as sacred.

Quiet Hero

A biography of Native American Ira Hayes, a shy, humble Pima Indian who fought in World War II as a Marine and was one of six soldiers to raise the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima, an event immortalized in Joe Rosenthal’s famous photograph.

Rattlesnake Mesa: Stories from a Native American Childhood

Chronicles the childhood of EdNah New Rider Weber as she is moved from her Pawnee home to live with her father on a Navajo reservation and then is again uprooted and placed in the Phoenix Indian School.

Less Than Half, More Than Whole

A child who is only part Native American is troubled by his mixed racial heritage.

Songs From The Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns To Weave (We Are Still Here : Native Americans Today)

Jaclyn Roessel live in Kayenta, Arizona, on the Navajo reservation. Like most young girls, Jaclyn has many interests. She likes her math class, she plays basketball and volleyball, and she loves in-line skating. She is also interested in rug weaving, and she has asked her grandmother to teach her how to weave. For the Navajos, weaving is more than a craft or hobby. It is an important part of the culture and history of the Dine–the people. Jaclyn’s grandmother has explained that she wants Jaclyn to learn not just the technique of weaving but the stories and songs that go along with it. These stories about Spider Woman and Changing Woman have been passed down from generation to generation. In Songs from the Loom, photographer and writer Monty Roessel accompanies Jaclyn and her grandmother as they shear sheep, gather plants to dye wool, and weave a rug. Navajo rugs are highly valued and hang in museums around the world. This book looks at what the beautiful rugs mean to the Navajos.

Kinaalda: A Navajo Girl Grows Up (We Are Still Here: Native Americans Today)

Celinda McKelvey, a Navajo girl, participates in the Kinaalda, the traditional coming-of-age ceremony of her people.

This book is featured in the October 2018 My Take/Your Take.

Songs of Shiprock Fair

A young Navajo girl enjoys every part of the annual Shiprock Fair, including the dances, parade, carnival, exhibits, contests, food, and the chance to visit with relatives.

The Mouse Couple

A mouse couple, in search of the mightiest husband for their daughter, approach the sun, the clouds, the wind, and a butte, before the unexpected victor finally appears.

The Flute Player

An introduction to Native American folklore – illustrated by the author