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7 Picture Books By and About Native Americans

11/21/2021

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​The NYC region is the ancestral home of the Canarsie, Lanape, and Wappinger peoples. Today and every day, it is important to learn about and honor Native history and celebrate Native heroes - past and present - with your kids.
 
Here are seven beautiful children’s books written by and about Indigenous people. Many of these books are illustrated by Indigenous artists as well. Enjoy!

  1. When We Are Kind by Monique Gray Smith
    ​A book about the many ways to be kind – and how it makes us feel.
  2. We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell
    This book highlights a full Cherokee year of celebrations and traditions.
  3. Thanku: Poems of Gratitude, illustrated by Marlena Myles, edited by Miranda Paul
    A book of poems about gratitude, including illustrations and many poem by Indigenous peoples.
  4. You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith
    This picture book explores all the ways that we can show love and respect for one another.
  5. Hungry Johnny by Cheryl Minnema, illustrated by Wesley Ballinger
    A story about a hungry child and Ojibwe community and celebration.
  6. Thanks to the Animals by Allen Sockabasin
    A young boy gets lost as his family travels to their winter home, and kind animals come to keep him safe and warm.
  7. Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp, illustrated by Erwin Printup, Jr.
    A children’s version of the Thanksgiving address, written by a contemporary Mohawk chief.
  8. And a bonus: this article (for caregivers) is an honest account of the myths of the first Thanksgiving, as told by a member of the Wampanoag tribe.

​Special thanks to Debbie Reese's comprehensive blog about American Indian portrayal in children's books, which is an excellent resource. Debbie is Nambé Pueblo.

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Favorite Books to Inspire Dramatic Play

8/30/2017

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Happy Wednesday again! Caroline here with our go-to books as a basis for lessons full of creative play. Many of these are deservedly well-loved classics. They are my favorites because each one is so rich with possibility, in different ways for different age groups.  At this point, I can't pass up an opportunity to explore with these books and I ONLY read them out loud to kids when I know we will have time to create our own imaginary worlds right afterwards 😍

They work well in small settings too, if you’re looking for some fun parent-child or family time activity.
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I’m A Frog! 
from Mo Willems’ Elephant & Piggie series.
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If you’re not familiar with this one - or if you’re familiar with every other Elephant & Piggie except this one, here’s the rundown: 
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Piggie pretends to be a frog...
Elephant worries (dramatically and with great panache, of course) that Piggie really IS a frog...
Piggie assures Elephant it is pretend, and that anyone can pretend... 
Elephant overcomes his anxiety and pretends to be a cow.
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A great book for those very young and/or just beginning to grasp the concept of cooperative intentional dramatic play, use it as a jumping off point for a conversation about pretending, giving each child the opportunity to demonstrate for the class how to pretend that he/she is something else, or inviting the children as a group to pretend they are something - show me how a horse runs! Don’t forget to shake your horse tail! 


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    ​Bitty City Players offers theater and science enrichment through after-school programs, in-school workshops, and events for ages 1-10 in NYC.

    ​Learn more about the organization and our team here.

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