Children's books by or about Indigenous People: Young adult
This guide lists children's books and young adult literature in Cubberley Education Library by or about Native Americans and Indigenous Peoples..
Young adult
Rez ball by Byron Graves
Publication Date: 2023Gr.8 and up.
This compelling debut novel by new talent Byron Graves tells the relatable, high-stakes story of a young athlete determined to play like the hero his Ojibwe community needs him to be.Saints of the household by Ari Tison
Publication Date: 2023Gr.8 and up; Pura Belpre award author honor 2024.
Max and Jay have always depended on one another for their survival. Growing up with a physically abusive father, the two Bribri American brothers have learned that the only way to protect themselves and their mother is to stick to a schedule and keep their heads down. But when they hear a classmate in trouble in the woods, instinct takes over and they intervene, breaking up a fight and beating their high school's star soccer player to a pulp. This act of violence threatens the brothers' dreams for the future and their beliefs about who they are.Warrior girl unearthed by Angeline Boulley
Publication Date: 2023Ages 14 and up; Gr.9 and up.
Angeline Boulley takes us back to Sugar Island in this high-stakes thriller about the power of discovering your stolen history. Perry Firekeeper-Birch has always known who she is - the laidback twin, the troublemaker, the best fisher on Sugar Island. Her aspirations won't ever take her far from home, and she wouldn't have it any other way. But as the rising number of missing Indigenous women starts circling closer to home, as her family becomes embroiled in a high-profile murder investigation, and as greedy grave robbers seek to profit off of what belongs to her Anishinaabe tribe, Perry begins to question everything.
2021-2022
The summer of bitter and sweet by Jen Ferguson
Publication Date: 2022Ages 13 and up; Gr.8 and up.
In this complex and emotionally resonant novel about a Métis girl living on the Canadian prairies, debut author Jen Ferguson serves up a powerful story about rage, secrets, and all the spectrums that make up a person--and the sweetness that can still live alongside the bitterest truth.Firekeeper's daughter by Angeline Boulley
Publication Date: 2021Gr.9 and up.
Eighteen-Firekeeper's Daughter, is a groundbreaking YA thriller about a Native teen who must root out the corruption in her community. Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.
2017-2019
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz; Jean Mendoza; Debbie Reese (Adapted by)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » E76.8 .R44 2019Ages 12 and up; Gr.9 and up.
Going beyond the story of America as a country "discovered" by a few brave men in the "New World," Indigenous human rights advocate Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz reveals the roles that settler colonialism and policies of American Indian genocide played in forming our national identity.Hearts unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Publication Date: 2018Gr.9 and up.
New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith turns to realistic fiction with the thoughtful story of a Native teen navigating the complicated, confusing waters of high school - and first love.When Louise Wolfe's first real boyfriend mocks and disrespects Native people in front of her, she breaks things off and dumps him over e-mail.The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PR9199.4 .D56 M37 2017Gr.8 and up.
Humanity has nearly destroyed its world through global warming, but now an even greater evil lurks. The indigenous people of North America are being hunted and harvested for their bone marrow, which carries the key to recovering something the rest of the population has lost: the ability to dream.#NotYourPrincess by Lisa Charleyboy (Ed.); Mary Beth Leatherdale (Ed.)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » E98 .W8 N68 2017Lexile measure 910; Ages 14 and up.
Whether looking back to a troubled past or welcoming a hopeful future, the powerful voices of Indigenous women across North America resound in this book. #Not Your Princess presents an eclectic collection of poems, essays, interviews, and art that combine to express the experience of being a Native woman.
Before 2017
Dreaming in Indian by Lisa Charleyboy (Editor); Mary Beth Leatherdale (Editor)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » N6549.5 .A54 D74 2014Lexile measure 1040; Ages 12 and up; gr. 9-12.
Anthology of art and writings from some of the most groundbreaking Native artists working in North America today. Emerging and established Native artists...The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie; Ellen Forney (Illustrator)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3551 .L35774 A27 2007Lexile measure 600; ages 13 and up; book level 4.
Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.Sisters in Spirit by Sally Roesch Wagner (Editor); Sally R. Wagner
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » HQ1410 .W35 2001Gr. 9-12.
Recounts, with documentation, the influence of the Iroquois model of freedom on women's early struggle for freedom and equality in the United States. The revolutionary changes unleashed by the Iroquois-to-feminist relationship continue to shape our lives today.
- Last Updated: Feb 27, 2025 9:53 AM
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