November is Native American Heritage Month—a time to celebrate the rich histories, cultures, and traditions of all First Nations. It is encouraging to see new books being created by and about First Nation authors and/or illustrators. Be sure to visit our booklist of First Nation Board Books and Picture Books, and look for these new 2019 titles that have been added to our collection.

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard (Seminole Nation, Mekusukey band); illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal
A picture book about food, family, history, and culture. Told in lively and powerful verse, it is a celebration of old and new, traditional and modern, similarity and difference.

At the Mountain’s Base by Traci Sorell (Cherokee)
A family, separated by duty and distance, waits for a loved one to return home in this lyrical picture book celebrating the bonds of a Cherokee family and the bravery of history-making women pilots. At the mountain’s base sits a cabin under an old hickory tree, and in that cabin lives a family—loving, weaving, cooking, and singing. The strength in their song sustains them through trials on the ground and in the sky, as they wait for their loved one, a pilot, to return from war. With an author’s note that pays homage to the true history of Native American U.S. service members like WWII pilot Ola Mildred "Millie" Rexroat, this is a story that reveals the roots that ground us, the dreams that help us soar, and the people and traditions that hold us up.
 

Thanku: Poems of Gratitude by Joseph Bruchac, [and thirty-one others]; illustrated by Marlena Myles; edited by Miranda Paul
This poetry anthology explores a wide range of ways to be grateful (from gratitude for a puppy to gratitude for family to gratitude for the sky) with poems by a diverse group of contributors, including Joseph Bruchac, Margarita Engle, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Naomi Shihab Nye, Charles Waters, and Jane Yolen.  With full-color digital illustrations by Native American artist Marlena Myles (Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscokee Creek)

Visit your neighborhood library to find these books and more!