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2013 Virginia Mathews Scholarship Awarded to Debbie Reese
In today's email, I received the Fall 2013 newsletter of the American Indian Library Association. In it is an announcement that I was selected as the recipient of the 2013 Virginia Mathews Scholarship...
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"Mom, when Jesus was born, where were all the women?" Marcie Rendon's...
Marcie Rendon's daughters were raised in a matriarchal home. On Christmas Eve, 1990, one of her daughters asked her "Mom, when Jesus was born, where were all the women?" When I read that question, I...
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WILD BERRIES by Julie Flett
In 2011, I read Julie Flett's alphabet book, Lii Yiiboo Nayaapiwak lii Swer. In English, the title of that book is Owls See Clearly at Night. I wrote about it in January of 2012, noting especially...
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Erin Hollingsworth's review of THE GIANT BEAR: AN INUIT FOLKTALE
I follow the reviews that Erin Hollingsworth, a librarian in Barrow, Alaska posts at goodreads. I met Erin a couple of years ago at the 2012 Pacific Coast Library Association's conference in Anchorage,...
View ArticlePhil Robertson: "The Almighty gave us this." Debbie Reese: "No. He didn't."
In the many excellent critiques of Phil Robertson's comments about gays and African Americans, I haven't seen anything that pushes back on his "The Almighty gave us this [northern Louisiana...
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Travers (author of Mary Poppins): "I lived with the Indians..."
With the release of Saving Mr. Banks, my colleagues in children's literature are responding to Disney's presentation of P. L. Travers. In reading Jerry Griswold's '"Saving Mr. Banks" but throwing P.L....
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HOOKED by Liz Fichera
I'm among those who wish that we had more books featuring Native protagonists in which the setting is today. Or last year. Or even ten years ago. Point is, stories about us as-we-are, with our cars and...
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THANKSGIVING ON THURSDAY, by Mary Pope Osborne
A friend (you, Diana!) asked (on Facebook) for books that a first grader could read on Kindle. Several people suggested Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Treehouse Series. I chimed in to let Diana know that...
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CHILDREN OF THE TIPI: LIFE IN THE BUFFALO DAYS by Michael O. Fitzgerald
While reading about children's books this morning, I came across some peculiar reviews of Children of the Tipi: Life in the Buffalo Days by Michael O. Fitzgerald. His book was published in 2013 by...
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THE GIANT BEAR: AN INUIT FOLKTALE by Jose Angutinngurniq
In December of last year, I passed along a portion of Erin Hollingsworth's review of The Giant Bear: An Inuit Folktale, by Jose Angutinngurniq. Earlier this week I was at the local library and,...
View ArticleK8's Notes on RUSH REVERE AND THE BRAVE PILGRIMS
Recently, a teacher wrote to ask if I'd reviewed Rush Limbaugh's Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims. I haven't reviewed it, but I do know about it. And, this morning in my email cue, there was one from...
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About "diverse" books and inclusivity in Brian Floca's LOCOMOTIVE
Among the books that has gotten some buzz this year as a frontrunner for major book awards is Brian Floca's Locomotive. It is a celebratory treatment of the transcontinental railroad presented in a...
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2013: Top Ten List of Books for Elementary School
If I was starting a library in an elementary school or if I was ordering books for an elementary school library, these are ten books I'd buy right away, along with the ten listed in 2010: Top Ten Books...
View ArticleNaomi Bishop (a Native librarian) Review's Liz Fichera's HOOKED
Naomi Bishop offers a unique perspective on Liz Fichera's Hooked for two reasons. First, Naomi is of the tribe that Fichera gave to her protagonist. Second, Naomi is a librarian and long-time member of...
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"Indians at the Post Office"
The National Postal Museum has an exhibit up called Indians at the Post Office. The murals were made in the 1930s and 1940s and are part of a larger set, all created at the same time, as part of a...
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2014 Recipients of American Indian Library Association's Youth Literature Award
Just after 2:00 Eastern Time on January 26 2014, the American Indian Library Association announced the recipients of their 2014 Youth Literature Award.Picture Book Winner: Caribou Song by Tomson...
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Gansworth's IF I EVER GET OUT OF HERE on 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults list
Just heard that the days-long discussions of the YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults committee are over, and... the committee has voted on the 2014 list.Eric Gansworth's If I Ever Get Out of Here is...
View ArticleDear John Green: About "Columbus brought smallpox to the Natives"
Dear John Green,Like most of the people in the land of children's and young adult literature, I took time this morning to watch the trailer for the film based on your much acclaimed book, The Fault In...
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Eric Gansworth and Tim Tingle's books selected for CCBC-NET discussion
Last year, two outstanding books by Native authors were published: Eric Gansworth's If I Ever Get Out of Here and Tim Tingle's How I Became A Ghost. This morning, my CCBC-NET digest started with an...
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Some thoughts on YA lit and American Indians
Earlier today I spoke with Ashley Strickland, a reporter from CNN, about young adult literature and American Indians. For that conversation, I pored over notes, books, articles, essays... trying to...
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