This is part 2 of the 3 part series on Top 10: Best Native American Children’s Books by Debbie Reese. For her Top 10 list of Picture Books, please click here.
Category: American Indian Children’s Books
Native American, American Indian, First Nations Canadian, and Indigenous Books for Kids.
The Navajo Code Talkers of WWII
In eerily similar circumstances, young Navajo Americans were forced to relocate to attend boarding school where great attempts were made by the school to purge them of their ethnic identity, particularly their language. Both children’s books that are featured talk about harsh punishments for speaking in their native tongue. This forced relocation is not unlike the Japanese Americans during WWII. Is this really America, the home of the free?! This is the ugly underbelly that doesn’t get much press coverage. Am I the only one who didn’t learn about the Navajo Code Breakers at school in U.S. History? I am glad for these books to teach a new generation, and our nation, that the differences that make us unique make our country more powerful. Imagine if that boarding school were successful in wiping out the Navajo language? It’s really not inconceivable if the timing of the war were different!
Top 10: Best Native American Young Adult Books
This is part 3 of a 3 part series by Debbie Reese, renowned scholar of Native American Children’s Literature.
Top 10: Best Native American Picture Books
I am so excited to find these books lists by pre-eminent Native American Children’s Literature scholar, Debbie Reese. She has a wonderful website (listed on my blogroll), American Indians in Children’s Literature.
Asian Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Alvin Ho
This appealing series is a fun and funny read with great illustrations by LeUyen Pham that really make the book come alive. Look and Pham have a winning combination. Fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid can have another series to dig into! Hooray for that!