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Some thoughts on the use of the word "tribe" by teachers and schools...
Below is a thread I did on Twitter this morning. I used the spool app to compile the individual tweets so I could paste them here.A conversation is taking place on Twitter, where some teachers are...
View ArticleNot recommended: THE SPIRIT TRACKERS by Jan Bourdreau Waboose and Francois...
A reader wrote to ask me about The Spirit Trackers by Jan Bourdeau Waboose (illustrations by Francois Thisdale). Here's the description:Cousins Will and Tom have always wanted to become Trackers just...
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Recommended! BABY RAVEN and BABY EAGLE by Crystal Worl
If there is a basket (or shelf) of board books in your home, classroom, or library, you best get Baby Eagle and Baby Raven.They're part of the Baby Raven Reads series published in 2016 by Sealaska...
View ArticleProblems with "Americans" by Douglas Wood
What’s it supposed to mean, to be American these days? White supremacists are loud & proud at the highest level of government. Oligarchs quietly funnel fortunes into campaigns against the public...
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Debbie--have you seen CODE WORD COURAGE by Kirby Larson?
A reader wrote to ask about Kirby Larson's Code Word Courage. Due out in 2018 from Scholastic, it is part of Larson's "Dogs of World War II" series. Here's the description:Billie has lived with her...
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Debbie--have you seen THE LEAVING YEAR by Pam McGaffin?
A reader writes to ask if I've seen Pam McGaffin's The Leaving Year. Published in 2018 by Spark Press, it got a starred review from School Library Journal. Here's the description:As the Summer of Love...
View ArticleDo you use Le Roy H. Appleton's American Indian Design & Decoration?
Update, 7:50 PM, September 25, 2018: Earlier today, Rosanne Parry submitted a comment to my review of her book, saying that the Makah and the Quinault nations have final say on the merits of her book....
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Recommended! Art Coulson's UNSTOPPABLE: HOW JIM THORPE AND THE CARLISLE...
This is a quick post to recommend Art Coulson's Unstoppable: How Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Defeated Army. Published by Capstone, it is one that I think teachers can use in...
View ArticleDoes Rosanne Parry Throw Responsibility on Tribal Nations to Object to Her Book?
In 2014, I had a very long public exchange with Rosanne Parry after I posted my review of her book, Written In Stone. When I reviewed Lane Smith's A Tribe Of Kidsin 2016, Parry defended that book.That...
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Hmmm... What was Sendak thinking about when he created WHERE THE WILD THINGS...
A few months ago, a reader sent me a link that she'd know I'd be interested in... to an auction site that was auctioning a framed collage (collage might not be the right word) of three items. Here's...
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Connecting Some Dots: Picture Books about Museums, White Privilege, and Brett...
I have an invitation to be interviewed for a podcast. I said yes, and went to that person's website to see what all they have been saying there about children's books. They'd been to the Eric Carle...
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My response to "Can you recommend a book about Columbus?"
I get email from people asking me to recommend a good book about Christopher Columbus. Far too many books depict him as a hero. He wasn't, but people in the US ignore the horrible things he did (if...
View ArticleA Curated List of Native Responses to Elizabeth Warren
In 2012 when Elizabeth Warren first spoke about being "part Delaware and part Cherokee" and about a photo of someone in her family who had high cheekbones, I wrote several blog posts to help people...
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Some thoughts on Native identity, in response to #ElizabethWarren (again)
Eds note: Below is a compilation of a tweet thread I did from Oct 20-21. (If you do tweet threads and want to compile them, try Spooler. That's what I used for this post.)Thinking, today, about Native...
View ArticleClassic, Award-Winning, Popular Books with Racist, Biased Depictions of...
In my experience, a lot of people don't remember or realize that classic, award-winning, or popular books have Native content in them that is biased, stereotypical, or just flat out incorrect. I and...
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Not recommended: Scott Kelley's I AM BIRCH
A colleague wrote to ask me about Scott Kelley's I Am Birch. Published in 2018 by Islandport Press, it is getting a 'not recommended' from me.In the back of I Am Birch is an "About the Book" page that...
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Debbie--have you seen SQUIRM by Carl Hiaasen?
A reader of AICL wrote to ask if I've seen Squirm by Carl Hiassen. Published in 2018 by Knopf (Penguin Random House) here's the description:Some facts about Billy Dickens: * He once saw a biker...
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Apple, Echo, and the Importance of “More Than One Book"
Two Native high school girls, two unique stories about not fitting in, and about trying to make sense of Indigenous heritage/ancestry when something has disrupted their place in a Native...
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Highly Recommended: WHEN WE PLAY OUR DRUMS, THEY SING by Richard Van Camp +...
When We Play Our Drums, They Sing by Richard Van Camp and Lucy & Lola by Monique Gray Smith are two outstanding books... in one. Here's the covers:If you get one, you will have the other. They are...
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Native Trailblazers, or In Search of “500 Brave Native Americans”
Grandson Will, age 8, sings along to Pete Seeger at the top of his lungs:“’Tis advertised in Boston, New York, and Buffalo.500 brave Native Americans A whalin’ for to go –”He’s got the lyrics wrong;...
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