Bruchac, J. (2021). Rez Dogs. Dial Books. ISBN:978-0593326213
Plot Summary
Malian is visiting her grandparents on the reservation when COVID-19 hits. This turns her weekend visit into a much longer stay. Her parents are in Boston and must stay there until it is safe to travel. While staying with her grandparents Malian gets to know more about their past and the hardships of her people. She learns of the residential schools and forced relocation of so many of her people and decides to turn this new knowledge into a presentation for school. Malian also finds a new friend in the stray dog that wanders onto their property at the beginning of the shut down. She learns that the dog is here to teach and protect her.
Analysis
This story is written in verse and has old stories woven into the new one of Malian and COVID-19. This story also sheds light on the atrocities that happened and continue to happen on reservations across the country. The differences of how COVID-19 was handled on and off the reservation are discussed by the author. The reader also can connect to the COVID-19 lockdown and the experience that we all shared during that time. The characters in this novel are all Native American. There are cultural references in the Wabanaki language that is used as well as the community of the reservation. Stories of the past from the grandparents also give readers a view of their native culture. Malian learns about her grandparents and their culture through the stories they tell her. The native culture is also shown through the rez dog and how the grandparents relate and react to him. The theme of community is present in this story and how the Wabanaki people care for each other. Readers will relate to this difficult time and also develop empathy for the mistreatment of the native people long ago and today.
Reviews
“Hidden throughout this moving novel in verse, old stories are discovered like buried treasures.”—Kirkus, starred review
"Deftly handles weighty issues and provides readers a story they can connect with . . . [A] dose of hope for the future."—School Library Journal, starred review
“Story telling is an important part of culture, and Bruchac is a masterful storyteller who weaves culture with narrative."—School Library Connection, starred review
Connections
Other books by Joseph Bruchac include: Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War II, Jim Thorpe: Original All American, and Killer of Enemies.
Maillard, K. N. (2019). Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story. Roaring Brook
Press. ISBN: 978-1-626727465.
Plot Summary
This beautifully written poem shares the history behind fry bread. The author shares the steps to make fry bread and the cultural significance it has on the Native American community.
Analysis
This story is told in verse and gives the steps of how to make fry bread along with the history and culture of fry bread. The illustrations are beautifully done and depict a modern Native American family working together to make the food they love. Included in the illustrations are examples of Native American culture such as the mixing bowl, tattoos, pottery, woven baskets, and clothing. In the back of the book the author also includes the recipe for fry bread along with an author’s note. In the author’s note each stanza is explained in more detail and historical facts are included. The author also explains items in the pictures and their cultural significance. The end pages of the book include all of the names of the indiginous tribes of North America. There are many cultural references throughout this book. The author explains that modern Native American people can have many different appearances which is what is shown in the illustrations. Native Americans are not all dark skin, long dark hair, and high cheekbones.
Reviews
“With buoyant, heartfelt illustrations that show the diversity in Native America, the book tells the story of a post-colonial food, a shared tradition across the North American continent . . . Through this topic that includes the diversity of so many Native peoples in a single story, Maillard (Mekusukey Seminole) promotes unity and familiarity among nations. Fry bread is much more than food, as this book amply demonstrates.” ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Fry Bread celebrates the thing itself and much, much more . . . Maillard and Martinez-Neal bring depth, detail, and whimsy to this Native American food story, with text and illustrations depicting the diversity of indigenous peoples, the role of continuity between generations, and the adaptation over time of people, place, and tradition.” ―Booklist, starred review
“This warm and charming book shows and affirms Native lives. The informational text and expressive drawings give it broad appeal.” ―School Library Journal, starred review
Connections
The Robert Sibert Medal Winner
American Indian Youth Literature Honor
Other books by Kevin Noble Maillard include: Loving v. Virginia in a Post Racial World: Rethinking Race, Sex, and Marriage.
Tingle, T. (2006). Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom.
Cinco Puntos Press. ISBN: 978-1933693200
Plot Summary
This story tells about an unlikely friendship between an African American slave and a Choctaw Native American. In the story the river Bok Chitto separates the Native American lands from the plantations and slave owners land. If the slaves are able to cross the river then they are free. One day a native girl Martha Tom crosses the river and discovers an African American church service in the woods. There she befriends a young boy named Little Mo and his family. Then the mother of Little Mo discovers that she is going to be sold. Little Mo and his family rely on Martha Tom and her family to get them across the river to safety.
Analysis
This beautifully written story tells of two cultures coming together to help one another. The stories of Native Americans helping runaway slaves is not commonly known and this author shares one of these stories with the reader. There are two cultures represented in this story, African American and Native American. The two cultures are shown by the way the characters dress and the language they use. The Choctaw wedding ceremony is described in this story and the style of dress for this ceremony is explained. There are also bits of Choctaw language sprinkled throughout the book. African American culture is shown through their church ceremony in the woods and the messages of faith throughout the story. The illustrations are dark and solemn and show the characters looking right at readers. At the end of the story is an author’s note with historical facts about the Choctaw nation as well as a note about Native storytelling. There are also two photographs, one of the current Choctaw nation and one of an 1908 wedding ceremony. The theme of friendship and kindness weaves throughout the story.
Reviews
"A moving and wholly original story about the intersection of cultures…Bridges creates mural-like paintings with a rock-solid spirituality and stripped-down graphic sensibility, the ideal match for the down-to-earth cadences and poetic drama of the text." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"A very moving story about friends helping each other and reveals a lesser-known part of American History: Native Americans helped runaway slaves...While, this is a picture book; it would make a wonderful read-aloud for middle elementary students." —Children's Literature
"Crossing Bok Chitto… tells a tale with a happier ending, but its journey is no less a departure from the narrative of American uplift. In literature for children, this is a lesson as old as the Grimms. But these realities cut deeper than any fantasy." —The New York Times
Connections
2008-2009 Texas Bluebonnet Master Award List
Jane Addams Peace Award Honor Book
Other books by Tim Tingle include: How I Became a Ghost, Trust Your Name, and House of Purple Cedar.
Gansworth, E. (2020). Apple Skin to the Core. Levine Querido. ISBN: 9781646140138
Plot Summary
This autobiography tells about the life of the author Eric Gansworth. He starts off by telling about his grandparents and their experiences with the government boarding schools and how that shaped them as young people. He then tells how his grandparents' experiences have shaped his parents and his own life. The word apple is a slur in the native community meaning red on the outside and white on the inside. This slur gave the author inspiration for this book. Gansworth also talks about how difficult it was to be an Onondaga among Tuscaroras. Gansworth grew up very poor on the reservation in a house with no running water or central heat. Through this hardship he pulls himself out of the despair of the reservation and to the world he desires.
Analysis
This story is written in verse and includes many pieces of artwork from the author himself. Also included are photographs of the author’s family, himself, and the house he grew up in on the reservation. At the end of the book the author includes notes about his stories, culture, and the artwork that was included in the novel. The characters in the story are mostly native. There are many cultural references throughout the story. The author tells of cultural events like the naming ceremony and the wedding ceremony. The author also talks about cultural foods such as fry bread and Indian cornbread and how they are made. The topic of the government boarding schools is also discussed and how they tried to take the native out of them. They also discussed the harmful effects these schools had on the people who attended them as well as the native community itself. This book is a gritty and real look at life growing up on a reservation. The author is honest and inspiring and this novel is a welcome addition to any library.
Reviews
"With language rich in metaphor, this is a timely and important work that begs for multiple readings." - BOOKLIST (starred review)
"A searing yet dryly funny, at times intimate and at times highly literary picture of life hemmed in by majoritarian expectations and gutted by exploitation that made staying in the family home intolerable but leaving it unthinkable." - BCCB
"Exceptional..A stirring depiction of Indigenous life likely to evoke empathy from and resonate with all who venture into Gansworth's world." - SHELF-AWARENESS (starred review)
Connections
Winner of the American Indian Youth Literature Award
Printz Honor Winner
National Book Award Longlist
Other books by Eric Gansworth include: If I Ever Get Out of Here, Give Me Some Truth, and Indian Summers.
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