When Russell tries to share exciting news with his large, Native family, he struggles with being heard, but after he ventures out on his own he realizes how much he loves his family.
Americas
Materials from the Americas
Ancient Night
Ancient Night is a twist on two Nahuatl traditions: the rabbit which the Feathered Serpent placed on the moon, and Yaushu, the Lord Opossum who ruled the earth before humans came, and who stole fire from the gods to create the sun.
The Song That Called Them Home
One summer day, Lauren and her little brother, James, go on a trip to the land with their Moshom (grandfather). After they’ve arrived, the children decide to fish for dinner while Moshom naps. They are in their canoe in the middle of the lake when the water around them begins to swirl and crash. They are thrown overboard and when Lauren surfaces she sees her brother being pulled away by the Memekwesewak creatures who live in and around water and like to interfere with humans. Lauren must follow the Memekwesewak through a portal and along a watery path to find and bring back James. But when she finally comes upon her brother, she too feels the lure of the Memekwesewak’s song. Something even stronger must pull them back home.
Rafa Counts On Papá
Rafa and his dad love to measure anything and everything including how much Rafa’s dad loves him.
Who Am I? (Own Voices, Own Stories)
A young indigenous girl explores the ways she is connected to the Earth and to those who came before her.
Something Like Home
When a lost dog helps Laura find a way home to her family, they discover family in each other along the way.
Maggie Lou, Firefox (Maggie Lou, 1)
Maggie Lou’s grandpa doesn’t call her Firefox for nothing. She’s always finding ways to make life more interesting even if this means getting into big trouble. When her grandfather Moshôm finally agrees to teach her how to box, she decides that the rank odors, endless drills and teasing won’t stop her from wearing a tutu to the gym. Joining her father’s construction crew uncovers a surprising talent — besides learning how to use a broom and a great source of scrap wood to build a canine hotel for her dogs. And when she turns thirteen, she figures out an ingenious way to make some smokin’ good camouflage to wear on her first deer hunt, where she joins a long family tradition. Through it all she is surrounded by her big extended gumbo soup of a family, pestered by annoying younger siblings, and gently guided by her strong female relatives her mother, her kohkom and her ultra-cool cousin Jayda. “Keep taking up space,” Maggie’s mother says. “You’re only making room for the girls behind you.” A heroine for today, Maggie Lou discovers that with hard work and perseverance she can gain valuable new skills, without losing one iota of her irrepressible spirit.
Cleaning Up
Jess finds a secret diary and imagines what it would be like to be a girl who has everything. Will she become so wrapped up in someone else’s life that she misses a chance to create her own? Jess cleans houses to save money for college, because her dad, unemployed and off the wagon yet again and has moved the two of them out of the city into a decrepit borrowed tent and trailer. Jess wavers between anger at her father and fear that poverty and addiction may be her fate, too, and she decides she will do whatever it takes to avoid it. She gets a gig cleaning a gorgeous country home and discovers the trashed bedroom of the teenaged daughter, Quinn. Jess wonders how a girl with a perfect life, private school, horseback riding and could have wrecked such a beautiful room. As she cleans, she finds troubling clues, including, tucked behind the bed, a diary.
Gradually Jess learns that Quinn’s life is not what it’s supposed to be. Jess begins to imagine becoming friends with Quinn, and when she begins to write down a new story for Quinn, she risks turning her back on the opportunities that are right in front of her new friends, new interests, a fresh beginning.
Skeletina And The Greedy Tooth Fairy (Skeletina And The In-Between World)
Skeletina’s day starts just like any other in the mixed up, upside down, inbetween world she calls home. That is, until she hears a strange sound coming from right inside her house. There’s a little girl crying behind the walls, and her teeth keep falling out! But Skeletina knows who can sniff out the truth. Join fun loving and fearless Skeletina on another in between adventure as she helps a frightened little girl conquer her fears and turn a scary dream into something much more fun!
Running With Changing Woman
Samantha is a Navajo girl attending Atsá Mesa Community School on the Navajo Reservation. Her life has seemed pretty average when one day at school her body suddenly changes. As a ́Diné, Samantha must now prepare for the Diné womanhood ceremony called the Kinaaldá, a ceremony once performed by the Navajo deity, Changing Woman. With her life now filled with more drama than ever before, she’s reluctant to participate in the demanding four-day ceremony. With a whirlwind of new adventures and pep talks from those closest to her, Sam’s family and her two best friends do their best to help Sam deal with bullies, boys, and her new responsibilities as a Diné woman.