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
Indigenous
Mii Maanda Ezhi-Gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know
In this lyrical story-poem, written in Anishinaabemowin and English, a child and grandmother explore their surroundings, taking pleasure in the familiar sights that each new season brings.
The Barren Grounds
Morgan and Eli, two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They each feel disconnected, from their culture and each other, and struggle to fit in at school and at their new home — until they find a secret place, walled off in an unfinished attic bedroom. A portal opens to another reality, Aski, bringing them onto frozen, barren grounds, where they meet Ochek (Fisher). The only hunter supporting his starving community, Misewa, Ochek welcomes the human children, teaching them traditional ways to survive. But as the need for food becomes desperate, they embark on a dangerous mission. Accompanied by Arik, a sassy Squirrel they catch stealing from the trapline, they try to save Misewa before the icy grip of winter freezes everything — including them.
Bone Man: A Native American Modoc Tale
“On the day that you were born, Kokolimalayas, the Bone Man, drank the river dry and devoured all the people except you and me. When you are old enough to be a warrior, you will bring the waters back and people will live here once again”.Ever since he was a young boy, Nulwee has been told the frightening story of the Bone Man by his Grandmother. She has always warned him that if he was to wake the enormous skeletal creature, that he would then have to defeat him in battle to save their village. Nulwee lives in dread of that moment. How will a small boy be able to destroy the fearless Bone Man?
WO’I BWIKAM- Coyote Songs
First published in 1990, this edition is a hand sewn trade paperback. Originally a first printing, several hundred copies were mistakenly bound in the wrong order. Recently discovered in a box in Chax Press’s former studio, these copies have been painstakenly unbound,correctly paginated, and hand-sewn with Irish linen thread, making an edition which is an improvement on the original paperback edition, at the same price.
Yaqui Myths And Legends
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
Nimoshom And His Bus
Nimoshom loved to drive the school bus. Every day, on the way to and from school, he had something to say. Sometimes, he told the kids silly stories. Sometimes, he taught the kids a new word in Cree.
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story
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 Belpré Award winner and Caldecott Honoree Juana Martinez-Neal.
Please watch WOW’s Imagination Friday with the author and illustrator of Fry Bread.
This book is featured in WOW Currents: Big Events, Strong Emotions – Anxiety.
Featured in WOW Review, Volume XV, Issue 4.
Awards:
Winner of the 2020 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
2020 American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honor Winner
National Public Radio (NPR) Best Book of 2019
NCTE Notable Poetry Book
2020 NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People
2020 ALA Notable Children’s Book
2020 ILA Notable Book for a Global Society
Weka’s Waiata
Koro and Kuia, the Weka chicks’ grandparents, are coming to visit. But how will the Weka chicks greet them? Fortunately the little Kiwi has a plan Weka’s Waiata is a sequel to Ruru’s Hangi and The little Kiwi’s Matariki, winner of the Best Picture Book at the 2016 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
The Kuia And The Spider
Absorbing New Zealand tale of the Kuia (a grandmother) and the spider. Ideal for reading aloud.