(3) K-3 Illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight. A contemporary girl describes all the tasks and details leading up to her Cherokee community’s wild onion dinner at the start of spring. From her grandmother stitching a tear dress to the girl tending the chickens to gathering the onions together as a family, then cooking, serving, and enjoying the meal at the community center, an appreciation for tradition, and the child’s thankfulness for abundance, comes through. Clear, colorful, digital-looking illustrations set a warm and congenial scene. An author’s note, three recipes, and a glossary are appended.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old Wesley Wilder is excited to have her poem, "We Still Belong: An Indigenous People's Day Poem!" published in the school paper. When the time comes, she's unprepared for some of the reactions she receives, for better or worse. The story takes place during one day--Indigenous People's Day--with well-timed extended flashbacks and first-person rumination rounding out the characters, setting (Everett, Washington), and main narrative. Wesley lives with her single mother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, and baby cousin; her matrilineal tribal affiliation is Upper Skagit, though she does not qualify for enrollment. She has a supportive best friend, Hanan, and wants to ask a cute fellow gamer to the school dance. Readers learn these details organically as the day unfolds; it's an effective, relaxed way for Day (The Sea in Winter, rev. 3/21) to convey information and endear readers to her protagonist. As Hanan says, when Wesley's poem is discounted by a teacher for not having a "clear thesis statement": "You are enough...You always have been. You have nothing to prove...You're a gamer and a poet and a good friend. You're kind and funny and nerdy and weird." This is a story of quiet determination and triumph, with well-defined characters who push each other and are there for each other, and which culminates in sweet heart-to-heart conversations at a powwow in a high-school gym. An appended author's note provides further detail about the story's setting, tribal citizenship (Day is a tribal citizen of the Upper Skagit Tribe), and names and naming.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(1) YA Kiki, who is Black and Cree, has been gone for five months when the book begins, and the police have stopped looking for her. Her friend and fellow First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Student Association member Berlin, a high achiever living with depression, and Cam, Berlin's longtime childhood rival, feel Kiki's loss profoundly. When Berlin thinks she sees Kiki outside Pink Mountain Pizza, where she and Cam work--and where much of the story is set--the two put aside their dfferences to search for her. They're assisted by new coworker Jessie, whose abusive father, a developer, is trying to buy Pink Mountain Pizza out from under Joe, one of the few Black business owners in town. Their social media campaign to raise awareness and save the store garners much support but also provides a platform for people to attack Joe, bringing to light issues of capitalism and anti-Black racism. Kiki's page-turning story and her mother's earlier disappearance provide multiple angles on the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People. Through a well-characterized ensemble cast, Ferguson (The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, rev. 5/22), who is Michif/Métis and white, addresses the myriad difficult topics facing her characters with sensitivity and care.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(3) YA The summer before sophomore year, Tre Brun is grieving the accidental death of his older brother as well as living in his shadow -- Jaxon was beloved and idolized for his varsity basketball stardom within the Brun family and throughout the entire Red Lake Reservation. Tre is also on a mission: dedicating himself to rigorous training in hopes of making varsity and, alongside Jaxon’s former teammates, bringing their rez team to the Minnesota State Basketball Championships. Ojibwe author Graves's Morris– and AILA YA Award–winning debut is at once an exhilarating sports thriller, an underdog story, a grieving-family portrait, and a relatable high-school social dramedy. That it is set on a contemporary Native reservation is both a casual detail and a noteworthy aspect of the book, thanks to Graves's authentic depictions of the socioeconomic, racial, and cultural specifics of Tre's lived reality. A YA novel with massive commercial appeal that also opens windows -- hell, wide, welcoming gates -- to an underrepresented community.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Julie Flett. Becca emulates her grandmother by learning to bead, painting a sunrise, and dancing at the powwow. Her grandmother joyfully shares skills, cultural traditions, and affection; in a refreshing twist, Grandma also learns from her granddaughter as they shoot hoops while Becca practices for basketball tryouts. Grandpa appears regularly throughout, most often preparing food for them all. Debut author Rogers (Wichita and Affiliated Tribes) successfully blends both traditional and contemporary aspects of life for this family, offering a sense of what being part of an Indigenous community can mean. The text is spare and poetic, primarily describing the relationship between grandmother and grandchild but also delivering a small sports-related tale. (After a successful tryout, Becca and her grandparents go out for pizza.) Cree-Métis artist Flett (Still This Love Goes On, rev. 11/22) gives life and depth to the text with her stunning mixed-media illustrations. Spreads resemble collage with layers of color and texture. The book provides a valuable opportunity for readers of all backgrounds to reflect on what they can learn from an older generation. Handsome book design, eloquent text, and an authentic portrayal of its subject make this a welcome addition to collections.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jonathan Nelson. A Wichita girl, Katie, writes a letter to Bob, her family's trustworthy white sedan, after it's determined they need to trade it in for a larger vehicle. Katie describes how they cared for the car with tune-ups and fender-bender repairs and kept Bob clean and shiny. She reminisces about the many ways Bob helped her family: taking them to the hospital when little sister Jenna was born, going to the library, visiting friends, attending the Oklahoma State Fair and the Wichita Annual Dance, and getting to school -- all were made possible by reliable Bob. Readers also experience trips to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons, where Bob helps them speed away from a large moose. "You brought us there and back all in one piece." Katie remembers journeys to Powwow, especially her first experience dancing as a tiny tot. The narrative of the many uses of Bob provides a universal story line with which many children can identify while also matter-of-factly incorporating activities specific to Indigenous families. The engaging illustrations show Bob as a standard car without eyes, mouth, or other human features, and yet Katie's heartfelt narrative enables readers to imagine Bob as an actual family member. Appended with a glossary of Cherokee and Wichita terms.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) 4-6 In this sequel to Healer of the Water Monster (rev. 7/21), Nathan and his mother and Edward and his father have moved in together. Both boys can see Holy Beings from traditional Diné stories, such as playful Dew and powerful Yitoo, water monsters from the first book. Now that Nathan is entering puberty, he will soon lose his ability to see them, and before that happens, he needs to travel to the Third World to ask Yitoo to mentor Dew. She agrees, but upon her return to the Fourth World (this world), Yitoo finds that her water is being diverted from sacred Navajo lland to be used for private swimming pools and water parks. She vows to take her water back and return it to its rightful owners, but her methods would destroy many cities and communities. Navajo author Young interweaves the atrocities of the Long Walk, Navajo traditional beliefs, and modern issues of climate change and water consumption in an action-filled adventure featuring two appealing Indigenous protagonists. Young readers are faced with big questions about identity, justice, and inherited trauma. An author's note and glossary add further context.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(1) YA Lou is preparing to spend the summer scooping ice cream at her uncles' seasonal shop, Michif Creamery, to save money for university in the fall. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned. She and her boyfriend break up (he's "all hormones-on-fire"; she realizes eventually that she's "ace or demi or something"), and they still have to work together. King, a former friend, returns from Toronto, and as their relationship deepens Lou is forced to face the fact that she had denied being Métis for most of the time they'd known each other. Additionally upsetting, she injures her shoulder in an altercation, a particular difficulty because she hopes to play water polo at school. The creamery is also under threats both mundane (a broken freezer) and more disturbing (intimidation from Lou's white biological father, a rapist recently released from prison). Lou must figure out how to save her university dreams and her uncles' business, as well as who she is as a Métis young woman. Although the book (a debut for Ferguson, who is also Michif/Métis and white) deals with major issues such as racism, rape, teen dating violence, and sexual harassment, it does not feel too heavy or overdramatized. Young adult readers can relate to the struggles Lou is facing as she navigates her transition from high school to college, and also use them as a conversation starter about race, identity, sexuality, dating, and friendship.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) 4-6 Through this linked anthology by seventeen contributors, readers experience "What Is a Powwow?" (the title of Kim Rogers's opening poem), as characters converge in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the Dance for Mother Earth Powwow. Rory begins to heal from his father's abusive words and embrace his Indigenous heritage ("Fancy Dancer" by Monique Gray Smith). Aiden travels with his foster parents to meet his brother and dance in his first powwow (David A. Robertson's "Brothers"). Amber, whose sister battled cancer, receives a new dress for the Jingle Dance ("Secret and Surprises" by Traci Sorell). Some of the attendees live locally, while others travel from places including Oklahoma and Missouri; some live in the city, while others live on the reservation. This anthology offers readers a variety of images of Native children while also introducing them to vocabulary from several different Indigenous languages, compiled in an appended glossary. According to Rogers's poem: "A powwow is / friends and family / ...a way to remember those / who've passed on / ...a place for belly-laughing / ...healing / and soul-soothing," and this volume reflects all of those elements and more. Notes and acknowledgments, contributor bios, and an editor's note are appended.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(2) 4-6 "My ballet studio has always been my sanctuary." In October, twelve-year-old Maisie ­suffered a devastating knee injury and subsequent ACL surgery. Now it's February, and with hard work and physical therapy she has been cleared to go on a winter-break hiking trip to Washington's Olympic Peninsula with her parents and younger brother. Maisie's family is Native--her mom is Makah; her father, who has passed away, was Piscataway; her stepfather, Jack, is an enrolled citizen of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and eager for their journey to the Elwha River. On vacation, Maisie, in a rush to prove her recovery and without dealing with the emotional fallout from her surgery, reinjures herself. The story takes place primarily over the course of four days, during which we get to know Maisie's family uncommonly well through quotidian details and worldview-encompassing conversations; secondary characters, too, are nuanced and vividly drawn. Maisie's pain is specific to her experience while being relatable to many readers going through big life changes. Her alienation, denial, and despair make her eventual opening up feel cathartic and narratively earned. The Pacific Northwest setting is atmospherically described and indicative of this Native blended family's formative experiences. An appended author's note provides more details about the Native history touched on in the story.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(1) 1-3 Illustrated by Tara Audibert. This series opener introduces Jo Jo Makoons Azure, a rambunctious first grader with "strong lungs" (according to her mom) and a wish to make more friends. In eight brief yet eventful chapters, we follow this seven-year-old ­Everygirl through a relatable and entertaining series of misadventures and misunderstandings--over everything from rhyming words, to teachers ("Jim" is astonishingly not the P. E. teacher's first name), to Little Shell ­Elementary School's yearbook cover. Through it all, the first-person narrative is consistently engaging, with just the right touch of primary-grade silliness to balance out Jo Jo's fears about friendship. Will Mimi, her cat and "home best friend," deflate like a balloon when she gets her shots? And why hasn't Fern, her "school best friend," been sitting with her at lunch lately? Throughout, contemporary Native culture takes center stage: Jo Jo's multigenerational family lives on the fictional Pembina Ojibwe reservation; some Ojibwe and Michif words are phonetically spelled within the text in a manner consistent with Jo Jo's hilariously frank voice ("If you can say ­Tyrannosaurus rex, you can say nindizhinikaaz ["my name is..." in Ojibwe]"). Audibert's cartoony illustrations add humorous layers to this exemplary transitional reader.

Reviewer: Sam Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(2) 4-6 In her reimagining of a classic, Smith gives readers a decidedly modern look at the magic, adventure, and mystery of Barrie's Peter Pan, without its derogatory depictions of Indigenous people. The story opens in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where stepsisters Wendy Darling and Lily Roberts are weathering the fallout of their parents' marital crisis and conflicting professional ambitions. Ms. Roberts-Darling is Muscogee Creek and is committed to the economic development of her tribe. She'd offered to officially adopt Wendy, but Wendy balked at the idea in deference to her late mother and is heading to New York for the summer with her English financier father. The rifts between the once-inseparable stepsisters and between their parents are not the only ones. Peter Pan (who shows up at the Roberts-Darling residence on a mission to find a storyteller to bring to Neverland) has been deserted by his shadow, who is sick and tired of the boy's bullying ways. With a generous dose of fairy dust, Wendy and her little brother Michael are whisked off to Neverland, and Lily follows to try to rescue them. In that would-be paradise, there are environmental and humanitarian disasters looming all around, and even the satisfaction of finding a longed-for storyteller is short-lived once Wendy announces that she's about to turn thirteen and so, by Peter's own decree, must be fed to a giant crocodile. This smart and engaging middle-grade novel intertwines bits of Barrie's language, some strong and resourceful Indigenous kids, and themes of the importance of family and the powerful bonds of sisterhood into an original and wholly satisfying bit of magic.

Reviewer: Luann Toth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(2) 4-6 Eleven-year-old Nathan convinces his (divorced) parents to let him stay with his grandmother, Nali (a Navajo word used for paternal relationships, e.g. paternal ­grandparents), in New Mexico during the summer so he can work on a science ­experiment. Nali's mobile home does not have indoor plumbing or electricity, and although this means no ­cellphone for two months, it is better than spending time with his dad and Dad's girlfriend. After planting traditional as well as ­store-bought corn seeds for his experiment, Nathan notices that the traditional seeds are missing. One night he finds a horned toad taking his seeds and follows it into the desert. There he finds a sick water monster. At the same time, Uncle Jet has returned home from the Marines and needs healing as well. Nathan is committed to helping them both. To do that, Nathan must travel to the Third World to meet with the Mother Water Monster. Young does a great job of mixing Navajo lore with current concerns. The water monster represents the many bodies of water that are sick from pollution and overuse; many Navajo men and women have returned home from war sick like Uncle Jet. The book explores how healing must come from both modern and traditional ­medicines. A glossary helps readers ­understand the Navajo words and relationships that are ­important to the story.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021