Reading together with young children, starting from birth, gives you the opportunity to share the world with them.
Help your child develop an understanding of Native American cultures and communities by choosing books from the titles below. As you read: Ask questions, watch to see what your child is curious about, and learn more together.
Little YouRichard Van Camp (Dogrib nation from Canada’s Northwest Territories)
Birth+
This simple board book beautifully highlights all the ways a little one is loved and adored by their parents.
My Heart Fills With HappinessMonique Gray Smith (Cree, Lakota)
Birth+
Explore all the different ways there are to feel happiness in this beautiful picture book that features everyday joyful moments.
In My Anaana’s AmautikNadia Sammurtok (Inuit)
Birth+
This story describes how warm and safe it feels to be bundled up in Mama’s amautik―the pouch in the back of a parka where a mother carries her child.
Wild BerriesJulie Flett (Cree-Metis)
1+
A little boy gathers berries with his grandmother and meets ant, spider and fox as they do. (This book is also available in two dialects of Cree.)
Sweetest KuluCelina Kalluk (Inuit)
1+
This bedtime story describes the gifts a newborn baby receives from the land and animals of the Arctic world.
Fry Bread: A Native American Family StoryKevin Noble Maillard (Seminole Nation)
2+
Preparing food, baking it, and sharing it with those you love is so much fun! This story takes us through the process of making fry bread with family and friends.
Thanks to the AnimalsAllen Sockabasin (Passamaquoddy)
2+
Zoo Sap and his family are moving from their summer home on the coast to their winter home in the woods. As they make the trip, Zoo Sap slides off the end of the sled but…nobody notices. Alone in the woods, Zoo Sap’s cries bring beaver, great bald eagle and other animals to help until his father returns for him.
We Are Water ProtectorsCarole Lindstrom (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe Indians)
3+
In this story, one young water protector takes a stand against the oil pipeline—an evil snake that poisons her community’s water—and powerfully shows how water connects us and sustains us all.
We Are Grateful: OtsaliheligaTraci Sorrell (Cherokee Nation)
3+
Beginning in fall and continuing across all four seasons, readers see beautiful illustrations of all there is to be grateful for across the year.
Thunder Boy Jr.Sherman Alexie (Salish)
3+
Thunder Boy Jr. wants a normal name…and he doesn’t want to share his name with his Dad. He wants a name that celebrates something amazing he’s done. How will Dad help him out?
