Introduction
It can be very difficult to select a good children's or YA book about another culture when you don't know enough about the culture to evaluate the book. That's why I was pleased to find some excellent online resources about children's and YA books by and about Native Americans (also known as American Indians).
These sites not only provide recommendations of specific children's books about Native Americans, they also discuss "bad books" and how to evaluate books about American Indians. Studying these resources will give you the background knowledge you need to make an informed decision when selecting YA and children's books about Native Americans for your child.
Online Resources: Children's and YA Books About Native Americans
Oayate Oyate describes itself as "a Native organization working to see that our lives and histories are portrayed honestly, and so that all people will know our stories belong to us." The site's annotated list of recommended books includes cover art and is divided into these categories:
Preschool & Up,
Grades 4 & Up,
Grades 7 & Up,
High School and Up. Be sure to read the
How to Tell the Difference section of the site to get an understanding of how Oayate evaluates books.
Native American Themes in Children and Young Adult Books
Cynthia Leitich Smith, a tribal member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is the award-winning author of several works of contemporary children's fiction about Native Americans. Her Web site has a multitude of helpful resources on diversity in children's books. The section on Native Americans (also referred to as American Indians) includes information about Children's and YA books by Native Authors and Illustrators, with links to a list of more than 20 authors and illustrators, as well as recommended books in the following categories: biographies, novels, picture books, series, and short stories and plays. Other resources on Smith's site include: Children's and YA Books With Contemporary Native Themes and Children's Books With Historical Native American Themes.
A Critical Bibliography on North American Indians, for K-12
This bibliography is from the Anthropology Outreach Office of the National Museum of Natural History, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution, stresses "books' strengths and weaknesses. Books that we found exceptional were given a star, indicating that they are highly recommended; those we found questionable were given a question mark, indicating that they are not recommended." Be sure and read the Introduction for information on the criteria used to rate children's books that include North American Indian characters/history/culture.
American Indian Youth Literature Award
The American Indian Library Association (AILA), an affiliate of the American Library Association, established the American Indian Youth Literature Award "to identify and honor the very best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians." The first Awards were presented in October 2006. Awards are given in three categories: Picture Book, Middle School, and Young Adult.
American Indians in Children's Literature
This blog is a project of Debbie Reese, an enrolled member of the Nambé Pueblo Tribe and an assistant professor in American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The subtitle of the blog is "Critical discussion of American Indians in children's books, the school curriculum, popular culture, and society-at-large."
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