It’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and there are now even more LGBTQ-inclusive children’s books that celebrate indigenous people and cultures than last year—so here’s a new roundup, great for reading all year ’round!
Click titles or images for full reviews and further details. These are all great books for reading at any time, whether they reflect your own culture and experiences or offer windows into others. Let’s hope there are even more in the coming year! You can also always visit my database and start typing “Indigenous” in the Tag field to filter and see what’s new!
Rabbit Chase, by Elizabeth LaPensée, illustrated by KC Oster (Annick Press). A retelling of Alice in Wonderland through the eyes of Aimée, a non-binary Anishinaabe middle-schooler might seem like an odd cultural mix, but it works. LaPensée, an Anishinaabe, Métis, and Irish writer, has woven both European and Anishinaabe tales together to create something that honors both and yet feels wholly original. Ojibwe-Anishinaabe illustrator KC Oster’s images feel contemporary, but with muted palettes that evoke the natural world through which Aimée moves. Lovely and recommended. (OK, this one’s not a picture book, but rather a graphic novel, but suitable for late elementary through middle grade kids, so I’m slipping it in anyway.)
Noodin’s Perfect Day, by Ansley Simpson, illustrated by Rhael McGregor (Flamingo Rampant). Noodin, a nonbinary Anishinaabe child, is seeking a perfect day, involving pancakes for breakfast, dogs to pet, and books to read. But their mom is busy and their aunty asks them to watch two of their cousins. Noodin decides to head off to the city with the cousins to visit Noodin’s dad. Dad is busy, too—but the cousins help Noodin have fun anyway, even if the day wasn’t quite what they expected. But does Noodin ever get their pancakes?
Ho’onani: Hula Warrior, by Heather Gale and illustrated by Mika Song (Tundra Books). Based on the true story of a Native Hawaiian child who feels neither wahine (girl) or kane (boy) and who wants to join the school performance of a traditional kane hula chant. An empowering story of a child navigating and finding strength in both gender and cultural identities.
Kapaemahu, by Dean Hamer, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, and Joe Wilson, illustrated by Daniel Sousa (Kokila). Wong-Kalu, a Native Hawaiian teacher, cultural practitioner, filmmaker, and transgender health advocate, is also featured in Ho’onani. Kapaemahu tells the Indigenous legend of four beings of dual male and female spirit, or Mahu, who brought healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaii. Although some have tried to suppress the story, there are others who still remember and honor them.
Sharice’s Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman, by Sharice Davids with Nancy K. Mays and illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (Harper Collins). A powerful autobiography by one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress and the first openly lesbian Native American to hold such an office. A story written to inspire, that likely will, serving as a mirror for those who share one or more of Davids’ identities and for anyone whose path takes them places they didn’t expect.
Things in the Sea are Touching Me! by Linda Jane Keegan and illustrated by Minky Stapleton (Scholastic New Zealand). A fun tale about a girl exploring the seashore with her two moms (one White, one with darker skin and hair and presumed Indigenous), leery of what is touching her under the water (kelp, a small crab, etc.) Published in both English and Maori.
Families, by Jesse Unaapik Mike and Kerry McCluskey and illustrated by Lenny Lishchenko (Inhabit Media). Talittuq, a second-grade boy living with his mother in Iqaluit, capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, learns the many different family configurations that he, his friends, and his teacher have. While the plot sticks to well-worn paths trod by many other LGBTQ-inclusive books celebrating families, it stands out for its focus on an indigenous family and its use of Inuktitut terms and names throughout.
Colors of Aloha, by Kanoa Kau-Arteaga and illustrated by J.R. Keaolani Bogac-Moore. A group of Hawai’ian children, plus one older brother and his boyfriend, explore their island and learn their colors, along with tidbits about various native Hawai’ian legends, culture, and foods.
47,000 Beads, by Koja and Angel Adeyoha, and illustrated by Holly McGillis (Flamingo Rampant). A Lakota child named Peyton loves to dance, especially at Pow Wow, but Auntie notices that Peyton has been dancing less and less. When Peyton shares about not being comfortable wearing a dress anymore, Auntie Eyota enlists the help from another auntie, plus Peyton’s mother, cousin, and a two-spirit elder so that Peyton may fully express a two-spirit self and dance at a pow wow..
When We Love Someone We Sing to Them/Cuando Amamos Cantamos, by Ernesto Javier Martínez and illustrated by Maya Gonzalez (Reflection Press). A gorgeous bilingual book (English and Spanish) that honors the Mexican serenata tradition even as reframes it to include one boy creating a love song for another, with the help of his father. While it is a celebration of Mexican culture broadly speaking and the characters are not identified as indigenous, it includes references to Xochipilli, the Mesoamerican Nahua deity of creativity, dance, and song.
A couple of other LGBTQ-inclusive picture books include indigenous characters in passing:
Pride Puppy!, by Robin Stevenson and illustrated by Julie McLaughlin (Orca). An alphabet book with a fun story arc, plus a seek-and-find game, all wrapped up in a package bursting with diversity across LGBTQ and other identities. Among other things, we see characters with two-spirit Pride flags and signs reading “Two Spirit Pride.”
Genius Jolene, by Sara Cassidy and illustrated by Charlene Chua (Orca). This early chapter book about a girl going on a road trip with her gay dad includes an in-passing reference to the fact that the dad’s new boyfriend (whom we meet briefly in one scene) is Coast Salish, an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest.