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Teddy Anderson's THE MEDICINE WHEEL: STORIES OF A HOOP DANCER
Several people in Canada have written to ask me about a self-published book that is being promoted via social media.From the author's website is this:"Medicine Wheel: Stories of a Hoop Dancer" is a...
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THANKSGIVING THIEF (Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew #16)
There are many ways I could critique Thanksgiving Thief. We could start with the cover:Nothing wrong, we might say, but chapter one is called "Cool Costumes" and introduces the three kids on the cover...
View ArticleWilla Strayhorn's THE WAY WE BARED OUR SOULS
Willa Strayhorn's The Way We Bared Our Souls opens with a deeply problematic scene. The characters in the story are inside a "ceremonial kiva" (p. 1). Chronologically, this scene is from the last part...
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Daniel Jose Older's SHADOWSHAPER
Last year I read Daniel Jose Older's excellent essay in Buzzfeed Books. Titled "Diversity is Not Enough: Race, Power, Publishing," it was shared widely in my social media networks. I started following...
View ArticleChildren's Books that Mock Native Names Pave the Way for Adam Sandler's Satire
On Thursday (April 23, 2015), Vince Shilling, writing at Indian Country Today, broke a news story that was quickly picked up by social media sites (like Gawker) and then news media, too (like CNN, and...
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Native American Representation in Children's Literature: Challenging the...
Eds Note: Today, AICL is pleased to share a study done by Julie Stivers, a graduate student at UNC-Chapel Hill, School of Library and Information Science. Ms. Stivers shared the poster (below) with me...
View Articleemily m. danforth's THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST
emily m. danforth's The Miseducation of Cameron Post made quite a splash when it was published in 2012. Published by Balzar + Bray (an imprint of HarperCollins), it won the 2012 Montana Book Award, was...
View ArticleHUNTERS OF CHAOS by Crystal Velasquez
Anytime someone writes a book--yes, even a work of fiction--that gets basic facts about Native people wrong, it is going to get a 'not recommended' from me.It doesn't matter, to me, how well-written...
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Richard Van Camp's THE BLUE RAVEN
New this year (2015) is Richard Van Camp's graphic novel, The Blue Raven. Illustrated by Steven Keewatin Sanderson, the story is about a stolen bicycle, and, healing. Here's the cover:The bike, named...
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IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF CRAZY HORSE by Joseph Marshall III
Joseph Marshall III is an enrolled member of the Sicangu Lakota (Rosebud Sioux) tribe. Born and raised on the Rosebud Sioux reservation, he is the author of several books about Lakota people. Last...
View ArticleAICL's Best Books of 2015
In December of 2014, I made a list of books that I'd recommended in 2014. It was a list of books that were published in that year.This year I'm starting the Best Books of 2015 list today (May 6) and...
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Indian-as-spirit in SMEK FOR PRESIDENT by Adam Rex
Earlier this year, I did an analysis of the Native content in Adam Rex's The True Meaning of Smekday. I found the ways that Rex used Native characters and history to be troubling. Some see his...
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An Inclusive Summer Reading 2015 List for Kids and Young Adults
Early in 2015, Edith Campbell invited a handful of colleagues who share a passion for children, literacy, and diversity to work with her on a Summer Reading list. She invited us to suggest titles we...
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A Missed Opportunity in Cynthia DeFelice's FORT
The L.A. Times released their Summer Reading Guide earlier today. I glanced at the Kids list. I'm thrilled to see Engle's Enchanted Air on it, and Older's Shadowshaper, too. I found much to love in...
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Meeting of the Minds at 2015 Native Early Childhood Symposium
For the last two days I've been in Albuquerque at the Sacred Little Ones 2015 Native Early Childhood Symposium. There have been so many high points, exciting and inspiring moments, but one is...
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Nobody went "huh?" when Rachel Dolezal said she lived in a tipi...
I've been following the news stories about Rachel Dolezal. There are many. All the major media outlets are reporting about--and questioning--her performance of a Black identity.This post is less about...
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Enid Blyton's SECRET SEVEN series
Enid Blyton popped up in my news media feed this morning because of an exhibit about her and her work that is on national tour in the UK. Somewhere in my reading about children's literature, I'd read...
View ArticleGONE WITH THE WIND in Martina Boone's COMPULSION
Back in April of 2015, I learned about Martina Boone's Compulsion: Heirs of Watson Island. Published in 2014 by Simon Pulse (which is part of Simon and Schuster), the protagonist is a teenage girl...
View ArticleMartina Boone's COMPULSION
This is my second post about Martina Boone's book. My first one is about Boone's use of Gone With the Wind in her YA novel. In April of 2015, I learned about Martina Boone's Compulsion: Heirs of Watson...
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A Native Response to Sophie Gilbert's Article "In Defense of Pocahontas"
Yesterday (June 23, 2015), I read Sophie Gilbert's article in The Atlantic, "In Defense of Pocahontas: Disney's Most Radical Heroine."My first reaction to Gilbert's article was anger. I was incensed at...
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