Skip to main content
InclusiReads
← All topics

Indigenous books

Books by and about Indigenous peoples — history, family, and living culture.

Indigenous kids deserve stories in the present tense: supper, dance, water, grandparents, an ordinary day. This hub is living culture. It is not a museum label, and it is not a November bin.

We look for Native families now. We skip legends with no living people attached. We skip books that only come off the shelf at Thanksgiving. Read these because they are good books.

A starter picture-book pile

The dedicated guide is Indigenous picture books for kids: Fry Bread, We Are Water Protectors, Jingle Dancer, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, All Around Us, and a board book for the lap, My Heart Fills With Happiness.

A question that keeps the story from turning into a lesson: who in this book is having an ordinary day? If the answer is nobody, the book may still be good, but it may be doing museum work. We try not to lead with museum work. Thanksgiving is not when these come off the shelf. They stay out with the trucks and the fairies.

Identity on the page

We do not use an Own Voices badge. If a listing mentions a creator's Nation or community, it comes from public self-identification or publisher materials they approved. If we cannot source it, we leave it out. Creator identity.

Related guides: Indigenous Picture Books for Kids

Audience

Age

95 books · Page 2 of 4

Cover of Who-Paddled-Backward-With-Trout

Ages 3–8

Who-Paddled-Backward-With-Trout

Howard A. Norman

A young Cree Indian boy, Trout-with-Flattened-Nose, is not fond of his given name and seeks to earn a new one that is more flattering.

$17.99$19.99
Cover of Vision Seeker

Ages 3–8

Vision Seeker

James Whetung

Paintings by Paul Morin evoke the crackle of fire, the scent of cedar, the mysterious dark side of the moon. The Vision Seeker is a book for all people and all ages.

$17.99$19.99
Cover of I am Sacagawea

Ages 3–8

I am Sacagawea

Brad Meltzer

This friendly, fun biography series inspired the PBS Kids TV show Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum. One great role model at a time, these books encourage kids to dream big.

$17.99$19.99
Buy on Bookshop
Cover of Little Indian

Ages 3–8

Little Indian

Peggy Parish

Little Indian by Peggy Parish — a thoughtfully chosen inclusive book for young readers.

$17.99$19.99
Cover of The first beaver

Ages 3–8

The first beaver

Caroll Simpson

A story about trust between parents and children and the importance of being true to oneself. Native Americans, legends, Pacific Northwest, animals

$17.99$19.99
Cover of Paiute princess

Ages 3–8

Paiute princess

Deborah Kogan Ray

With sweeping illustrations and extensive backmatter, including hand-drawn maps, a chronology, archival photographs, an author's notes, and additional resource information, Deborah Kogan Ray offers a remarkable look at an underrepresented ...

$17.99$19.99
Cover of Brother eagle, sister sky

Ages 3–8

Brother eagle, sister sky

Seattle Chief

En Hermana Aguila, Hermano Cielo, las palabras del Jefe Seattle se transforman en una experiencia que los minos de toda edad y de todo origen pueden aprovechar para estimular la conciencia de un mundo cuyos recursos naturales estan ...

$17.99$19.99
Cover of Fire Race

Ages 3–8

Fire Race

Jonathan London

Wise Old Coyote steals the fire from the greedy Yellow Jacket Sisters, while Eagle, Cougar, Fox, Bear, Measuring Worm, Turtle, and Frog work together to help, in this wonderful recounting of how the animal people first captured fire.

$17.99$19.99
Buy on Bookshop
Cover of Navajo ABC

Ages 3–8

Navajo ABC

Luci Tapahonso

Navajo ABC by Luci Tapahonso — a thoughtfully chosen inclusive book for young readers.

$17.99$19.99
Cover of The big race

Ages 3–8

The big race

Unknown Author

The big race by Unknown — a thoughtfully chosen inclusive book for young readers.

$17.99$19.99
Cover of Yakari, tome 4

Ages 3–8

Yakari, tome 4

Derib

Yakari, tome 4 by Derib — a thoughtfully chosen inclusive book for young readers.

$17.99$19.99
Cover of Welcome to Monstertown

Ages 3–8

Welcome to Monstertown

Ryan Heshka

Simple text introduces the hardworking residents of Monster Town, including Postmaster Skeleton and Frank N. Stein, an electrician.

$17.99$19.99
Cover of Golden Eagle

Ages 3–8

Golden Eagle

Mercer Mayer

Golden Eagle by Mercer Mayer — a thoughtfully chosen inclusive book for young readers.

$17.99$19.99
Cover of Gathering Tree

Ages 3–8

Gathering Tree

Larry Loyie

Gathering Tree by Larry Loyie — a thoughtfully chosen inclusive book for young readers.

$17.99$19.99
Buy on Bookshop
Cover of Secret of the Dance

Ages 3–8

Secret of the Dance

Andrea Spalding

And there, he saw a figure he knew. Aboriginal elder Alfred Scow and award-winning author Andrea Spalding collaborate to tell the story, to tell the secret of the dance.

$17.99$19.99
Buy on Bookshop
Cover of The bell ringer and the pirates

Ages 3–8

The bell ringer and the pirates

Eleanor Coerr

The bell ringer and the pirates by Eleanor Coerr — a thoughtfully chosen inclusive book for young readers.

$17.99$19.99
Cover of The thunder egg

Ages 3–8

The thunder egg

Tim J. Myers

Although teased by the other children in her tribe, a young Cheyenne girl cares for an odd gray stone, believing it to be the egg of the Thundergod who brings summer rains to their parched land.

$17.99$19.99
Buy on Bookshop
Cover of Nannabah's friend

Ages 3–8

Nannabah's friend

Mary Perrine

A Navajo girl feels lonely tending sheep by herself for the first time until she makes some dolls to keep her company and, even better, meets a new friend.

$17.99$19.99
Cover of The sunflower garden

Ages 3–8

The sunflower garden

Janice May Udry

An Algonkian Indian girl lives in the shadow of her four brothers' achievements until her cultivation of a sunflower garden and an attack on a rattlesnake bring praise from the entire village.

$17.99$19.99
Cover of Eye of the changer

Ages 3–8

Eye of the changer

Muriel E. Ringstad

A blind twelve-year-old Salish Indian boy is inspired to overcome his disability by a legend of his people known as the "Eye of the Changer".

$17.99$19.99
Cover of Yetsa's Sweater

Ages 3–8

Yetsa's Sweater

Sylvia Olsen

Yetsa joins her grandmother for a day of cleaning and spinning wool. The yarn will be knitted into Cowichan sweaters, a specialty of the Coast Salish Indians. Intergenerational relationships

$17.99$19.99
Buy on Bookshop
Cover of Ancient Thunder

Ages 3–8

Ancient Thunder

Leo Yerxa

With rich illustrations that makes each page look like a leather shirt, tells the proud tale of wild horses in the natural world and the special importance they had in the communities of the First Peoples.

$17.99$19.99
Cover of Huron Carol

Ages 3–8

Huron Carol

Ian Wallace

Multilingual versions of the text, the music and a full description of how this carol has come down to us today are included.

$17.99$19.99
Buy on Bookshop
Cover of The Inuksuk Book

Ages 3–8

The Inuksuk Book

Mary Wallace

In telling the story of inuksuit, the story of those who dwell in the Arctic unfolds. A guide to Inuktitut words rounds out this comprehensive guide to the inuksuk.

$17.99$19.99