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Recommended! Darryl Baker's KAMIK JOINS THE PACK
Kamik Joins the Pack was in my mail today. Adapted from the memories of Darryl Baker, who is Inuit, the story is the third in Inhabit Media's series featuring Jake and his pup, Kamik.I first met Kamik...
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Richard Van Camp's SPIRIT
If you follow Native news, you know that suicide rates in our communities are high. Here's a table from a 2015 report by the Center for Disease Control:That is data for the U.S. If you do an internet...
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Worry and Wonder, by Marcie Rendon, in SKY BLUE WATER: GREAT STORIES FOR...
Marcie Rendon's "Worry and Wonder" is a short story in Sky Blue Water: Great Stories for Young Readers, edited by Jay D. Peterson and Collette A. Morgan. Here's a screen cap of the cover and a partial...
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Highly recommended: TALES OF THE MIGHTY CODE TALKERS
Eds. note: This graphic novel--like many in the genre--can be used with a wide range of ages, from students in middle grade, on up to college. Comics! Graphic novels! Are you reading them? You should...
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Dan Gemeinhart's SOME KIND OF COURAGE
Way back in January or February, a reader wrote to ask me about Dan Gemeinhart's Some Kind of Courage. I put it into my "Debbie--have you seen" series and am glad to be able to return to it, today,...
View ArticleDebbie--have you seen STONE MIRRORS: THE SCUPTURE AND SILENCE OF EDMONIA...
Friend and colleague, Edi Campbell, asked me if I'd seen Jeannine Atkins Stone Mirrors: The Sculpture and Silence of Edmonia Jones. It is due out in January from Atheneum Books for Young Readers--which...
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Debbie--have you seen THE CRYING ROCKS by Janet Taylor Lisle?
A colleague wrote to ask if I've seen anything about Janet Taylor Lisle's The Crying Rocks. It is due out in May of 2017 from Simon and Schuster.Here's the description:From Newbery Honor author Janet...
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Not recommended: RUNS WITH COURAGE by Joan M. Wolf
I do not recommend Runs With Courage, published in 2016 by Sleeping Bear Press. Written by Joan M. Wolf, it has several kinds of problems in it.Wolf created dialog for Lakota characters of 1880 that...
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Dear Teachers: Do You Teach Joseph Boyden's THREE DAY ROAD?
January 7, 2017Dear Teachers,I know that some of you assign Joseph Boyden's Three Day Road to students in your high school classes. Some of you may be doing author studies of him. This letter and...
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Not Recommended: MISSING NIMAMA and THE MISSING by Melanie Florence
Sometime last year, I received a copy of Melanie Florence's Missing Nimama. It is a picture book, published in 2015 by Clockwise Press in Ontario Canada.I didn't read it, then, because it didn't feel...
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Debbie--have you seen REZ RUNAWAY by Melanie Florence?
Yesterday's review of Melanie Florence's Missing Nimama generated a lot of private email and social media from Native people who are uncomfortable with it but didn't want to say anything. I also got...
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Debbie--have you seen the SPIRIT ANIMALS series published by Scholastic?
Among the many books I have on the towering to-be-read pile is the Spirit Animals series published by Scholastic. Here's a bit of info about it, from the website:The series centers on the fantasy world...
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Not Recommended: I AM SACAGAWEA by Grace Norwich
A reader wrote to ask if I've seen I Am Sacagawea by Grace Norwich. It was published in 2012 by Scholastic in its "I Am" biography series. Here's the synopsis:I am only sixteen years old as I trek...
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Lydia Sharp's WHENEVER I'M WITH YOU
Lydia Sharp's Whenever I'm With You was published on January 3, 2017 by Scholastic. Here's the synopsis for Whenever I'm With You:After Gabi's parents' divorce, she moves from California to Alaska with...
View ArticleDebbie--have you seen Ruby Slipperjack's THE RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL DIARY OF...
A reader wrote to ask if I've seen Ruby Slipperjack's The Residential School Diary of Violet Pesheens. Published by Scholastic in its Dear Canada series, this one is set in Northern Ontario, Canada,...
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Can Kiera Drake's THE CONTINENT be revised?
Kiera Drake's The Continent was slated for release in January of 2017 from Harlequin Teen. Questions from readers, however, prompted Harlequin Teen to postpone it. They didn't say they were canceling...
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Not Recommended: THE LEGEND OF SKYCO: SPIRIT QUEST by Jennifer Frick-Ruppert
A reader asked me about The Legend of Skyco: Spirit Quest by Jennifer Frick-Ruppert, due out on April 4 of 2017 from Amber Jack Publishing. I was able to get an ARC. Here's the synopsis:Skyco, an...
View ArticleNotes on STONE MIRRORS: THE SCULPTURE AND SILENCE OF EDMONIA LEWIS
Some time back, a reader wrote to ask if I'd seen Stone Mirrors: The Sculpture and Silence of Edmonia Lewis by Jeannine Atkins. Published this year (2017) by Atheneum/Simon and Schuster, I see that it...
View ArticleKara Stewart's Letter to Agents and Editors
Over the weekend, Kara Stewart posted her Dear Agents and Editors letter. It consists of a series of questions that agents and editors can use to evaluate American Indian content. Kara was amongst...
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Debbie--have you seen Sara Biren's THE LAST THING YOU SAID?
A reader wrote to ask if I've seenSara Biren's The Last Thing You Said. Biren's young adult novel is due out onApril 4, 2017 from Amulet Books(which is part of Abrams Books).Here's the description:Last...
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