Indigo's Bookshelf: Voices of Native Youth

After writing the last blog, Michael is reflecting, healing and taking a step back. He asked me to do the next Hall of Fame pick. As we've stated before, individual reviews are the opinion of one reviewer, but we unanimously vote for HOF titles. Eduardo, almost 19!, is taking forever finishing his review of WHEN A GHOST TALKS, LISTEN: A CHOCTAW TRAIL OF TEARS STORY. I know how hard it is when you want to get a review just right and are also worrying about how it will be received. To Eduardo, Tim Tingle is the GOAT, plain and simple. And, come on, we all love and respect him and his work. We almost feel we know him. The storyteller who gathers the kids round when the parents are trying to shoo them off to bed. And he always captures their imaginations and sets their dreams spinning. He also has a spark of genius. WHEN TURTLES GREW FEATHERS: A FOLKTALE FROM THE CHOCTAW NATION is sitting in the woven basket next to my bed where I keep all my library books. My mom read it to me, ...

This is going to be a controversial post for some people, because I'm going to explain why I can't let go of Sherman Alexie's THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN. I'm not defending Alexie for the horrible charges against him by Native women, who have my total support. I know that members of @ofglades and Indigo's Bookshelf cannot separate Alexie from his work. I respect that. Most of his books I can leave behind. But as a Native crip, Arnold Spirit, Jr. became the most important character I ever read (actually, I listened to the audiobook). There is no other like him. Sherman Alexie was born with hydrocephalus. That's one of those disabilities where people talk "quality of life." He had brain surgery at six months old and still has some side effects, like reduced vision and stuttering. As a kid, Alexie had seizures and bedwetting. He was bullied with ableist slurs because of his large head. He couldn't participate in a lot of ...

But where are the Indigenous Q2S? There ought to be Indigenous Q2S Well, maybe next year Those are revised lines from a song my cousin Maddie sang for a concert. "The writer was gay," she told me. "IS gay," I said. "And, so what?" She sneered, which is not unusual. The vow we made when Indie died was to fight queerphobia is every form, and to promote Q2S voices. In this, we have failed. Looking at AICL's great "Best of 2018" list, I am struck by the cishet-ness of it all. Except for Joshua Whitehead's JONNY APPLESEED. No shade on AICL. That's what was published. And I am especially struck by the cishet-ness of this blog and our @ofglades Twitter. Though Twitter has been the best teacher. We are ALWAYS learning from Daniel Heath Justice and Laura Jimenez. We are learning from Alex Gino and Kyle Lukoff. We are learning from Kheryn Callender. It is actually Kheryn's YA novel THIS IS KIND OF AN EPIC LOVE ST...

This is the BEST "Best of..." list. It's the one everyone should follow and make sure they have these books in their collections. (Check the lists from other years too!) These books are honestly vetted. We appreciate that this list is still not complete. We are still catching up on our 2018 reading and reviewing too! We greatly honor each book and author listed. Thank you for your work on behalf of Native youth. Your work means we are not invisible and our lives have value. Our stories deserve to be told, and enrich all readers, in different formats and genres. SHONABISH!

Ashleigh, 13: After Alexis' review of HEARTS UNBROKEN, we decided there were so many books by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee (Creek) Nation) that we want to honor. This is my favorite! After she watches a video of her Grandma Wolfe jingle dancing, a girl Jenna wants to dance at an upcoming powwow. But she needs jingles for her dress. Jenna visits her neighbors and family who loan her jingles for the dress. She is careful not to take too many, so that another person's dress won't "lose its voice." This book looks and sounds like our real lives, the way we keep traditions in today's world. I wrap my arms around it and squeeze it to my heart. Charlie, 16: INDIAN SHOES is a great book about a boy named Ray and his Grampa Halfmoon. I like to see a book about a loving relationship between generations of Native men. In this book, there are different stories about them. I have two favorites. "Night Fishing." where the boy and his gra...

Ashleigh, 13: This must be Julie Flett celebration day! I said in my part of the review for Traci Sorell's WE ARE GRATEFUL, Otsaliheliga, that I love bears. I especially love Black Bears. I respect their dark beauty and fierce power. There are 4.000 Black Bears in Florida today. I also love Julie Flett's book, BLACK BEAR, RED FOX, Counting in Cree. I share it with my four year old sister, Violet. I show her the book, and she points out the colors and animals. Together, we say the words in Cree. If she gets excited and throws or bites it, it doesn't even hurt the book! It is simple and beautiful. Just right to share with the young ones. Shonabish, Julie Flett <3 PS My mother Roberta wants to add: Vi has sensory processing issues. The fact that this book is not 'too busy' is comforting to her and she can easily absorb the information.

We decided as a team that every time one of us (or a group of us) posts a review, that person is going to pick a Hall of Fame book, author or series. Although the reviews are one member's (or individuals in a group's) opinion/s, the Hall of Fame books have been unanimously voted as essential Native #ownvoices and kidlit & YALit classics. Because three of us created the last review, we all had different ideas about which book should be chosen next. Eduardo decided to keep his choice for when he completes his review of Tim Tingle's WHEN A GHOST TALKS, LISTEN, A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story. Alexis, 18: I am choosing WHEN WE WERE ALONE, by David Alexander Robertson, with illustrations by Julie Flett. I'm not sure why it immediately came to mind to pair with WE ARE GRATEFUL, Otsaliheliga, by Traci Sorell. Maybe it had something to do with the two girls in the fall leaves on the cover. Maybe because at this time of year, we honor our legacy of pain and destruction (e...

We have read this book many times since it was published in October 2018. It is a feast for the heart, eyes, voice and mind. Since we think it is a major work, that has already been awarded (and should receive further awards) and many of us have read and discussed it, we decided to do a group review. Alexis : I heard a lot about this book before it was released. I was instantly intrigued by the concept of it and by the cover. The bright, distinctive artwork, the font of the title and, of course, the title in Cherokee and also in the Cherokee syllabary. I read it very quickly the first time. Probably because I was filled with expectation. I immediately thought it was beautiful and a much fuller book, with more information, than I had expected. I also thought the words and illustrations were a perfect combination. Eduardo . You know I'm a wannabe filmmaker, so, yeah, I immediately recognized that the book was the whole package. Author and illustrator worked perfectly together...

Are you ready for some football? I was assigned to write a review of UNSTOPPABLE: How Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Defeated Army. The book is written by Art Coulson and illustrated by Nick Hardcastle. Even though the cover looked cool and the book isn't too long, I was still intimidated to do it, because I'm dyslexic. But it turned out to be a great read that didn't frustrate me at all. As a matter of fact, it's one of my new favorite books. Let me explain why. I have CP, that's cerebral palsy. I get around in a chair. And I play some sports. But I really like watching games and listening to them being called. Coulson did an excellent job of making me feel like I was at the Carlisle-Army Game. He is obviously also a sports fan, and can keep up the tension and excitement of the game. I think he did an amazing job of getting young readers to know Jim Thorpe. He doesn't just seem like a legend (Olympian gold medalist and footb...

*Warning: There are spoilers because I discuss the book, but I don’t give away important plot points. There is also use of the n-word. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I was really drawn to the image on Dawn Quigley’s APPLE IN THE MIDDLE (AITM) before the book was even published (August 2018). The image of a contemporary Native teen, who is not ridiculously glamorous, but pretty and real (love those earrings!), got stuck in my mind immediately. I thought, ‘I want to know who this girl is,’ and why there’s a pink house in the background. I am happy to say that the book more than lived up to my expectations. It’s not just a well-written, enjoyable book I admired from a distance. In some ways, I feel I am that girl on the cover, fifteen-year old Apple Starkington. Even though the circumstances of our lives are very different. Like Apple, I have a White father and a Native mother. My mom is Florida Seminole, while Apple’s mother was Turtle Mountain ...