Summer

This charming and humorous book celebrates Pomo traditions and explores creative frustration, perfectionism, and the value in embracing your mistakes. 

I want to dance!

Bizzy can't wait to dance with all her friends and family at the summer gathering this year! But first, she must make the perfect regalia. It's tricky work, even with a grown-up's help, and her high expectations come crashing down in a flurry of torn fabric, loose beads, and tears. With support from her mom, grandma, and little brother, can Bizzy learn to see past the flaws, finish her work, and remember what's really important?

AR Cribbins celebrates Pomo traditions in this charming and humorous tale about creativity and perfectionism. 

Reviews
“The illustrations are bright and energetic and mirror Bizzy’s emotional undulations.”—Booklist

“The many emotions of all the characters are wonderfully encapsulated in the imagery through collage and comic book–style cartoons…. This book teaches in a safe, digestible story that accidents happen, emotions will rise, but having support can help repair the situation smoother than attempting to fix it with those immediate big feelings.”—School & Library Journal

“A vibrantly illustrated life lesson.”—Kirkus

Educator Information 
Recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Additional Information
40 pages | 8.80" x 11.40" | Hardcover 

An Indigenous boy invites new friends to share in beloved traditions as he celebrates the joy of summer and his love for Earth and Creator in this picture book that revels in the warmth, light, and fun of the longest days of the year.

Bo, a proud Potawatomi boy, is excited to enjoy long summer days tending his garden, walking his dog, and playing in the river with his big sister, Dani. When he discovers that his family's favorite spot has been polluted with garbage, Bo realizes that caring for Earth is part of what makes summer special. And when he overcomes his shyness and invites others to join in, he discovers that summer's magic has even more surprises in store.

“Bo is short for saying Bodewadmi ndaw, which is ‘I am Potawatomi’ in our language. Bo is a celebration of Anishinaabe culture, from the way he wears his hair in a traditional braid to the way he shares the magic of summer and honors Earth by caring for her as she cares for us.”—Kaitlin B. Curtice

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 7.

This book is part of the An Indigenous Celebration of Nature series.

Additional Information
40 pages | 11.00" x 8.50" | Hardcover

It flows in your blood and echoes in your soul...Listen, my baby, to the sweet song of your home.

As daylight fades to dusk and slips into darkness, this gentle lullaby celebrates the sounds of the Prairies and the Plains on a stormy summer's night.

From the hum of dragonflies to the drumming of thunder, with grasses swirling and the northern lights glimmering, This Land Is a Lullaby shares a song and dance—a gift from the ancestors that soothes children to sleep and reminds them of their deeply rooted connections to the land.

Written as a lullaby for the author's daughter and featuring striking pointillism artwork, this lush lullaby of the land honors the beauty of the Prairies and the Plains and the spiritual connection between Indigenous children, ancestors and their Traditional Territories.

Reviews
“The book’s lexical simplicity and visual dynamism will engage even the youngest readers, providing a beautiful glimpse into the unbreakable bond between Indigenous people, their lands, and their ancestors who are still a part of them. Like a stirring song, this tale will move readers with its tranquil, reverent tone.”- Kirkus Reviews

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 5.

Reading Levels
Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient: M
Lexile measure: AD570L
Guided Reading Level: M

This book is available in a dual-language format (English and Plains Cree): This Land Is a Lullaby / cistomâwasowin ôma askiy 

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.75" x 10.75" | Hardcover

It flows in your blood and echoes in your soul...Listen, my baby, to the sweet song of your home.

As daylight fades to dusk and slips into darkness, this gentle lullaby celebrates the sounds of the Prairies and the Plains on a stormy summer's night.

From the hum of dragonflies to the drumming of thunder, with grasses swirling and the northern lights glimmering, This Land Is a Lullaby shares a song and dance—a gift from the ancestors that soothes children to sleep and reminds them of their deeply rooted connections to the land.

Written as a lullaby for the author's daughter and featuring striking pointillism artwork, this lush lullaby of the land honors the beauty of the Prairies and the Plains and the spiritual connection between Indigenous children, ancestors and their Traditional Territories.

This bilingual book includes full text in both English and Plains Cree.

Reviews
“The book’s lexical simplicity and visual dynamism will engage even the youngest readers, providing a beautiful glimpse into the unbreakable bond between Indigenous people, their lands, and their ancestors who are still a part of them. Like a stirring song, this tale will move readers with its tranquil, reverent tone.”- Kirkus Reviews

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 5.

Dual Language Format: English and Plains Cree.

Reading Levels
Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient: M
Lexile measure: AD570L
Guided Reading Level: M

This book is available in English: This Land Is a Lullaby

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.75" x 10.75" | Hardcover

This companion to Twelve Days of Winter is another book to read or sing along with children. In this reimagined version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” wildlife is observed during summer. The animals enjoy warmer weather, blooming flowers, and sunny days. Summer is also a busy time for animal parents who are wrangling their little ones. “On the first day of summer we looked around to see a black bear in an oak tree.”

Can you find a curious chipmunk watching other animals enjoying the summer?

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 8.

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.30" x 10.30" | Hardcover 

A debut picture book that celebrates self-love, care, and resilience with one of the most widespread plants—the dandelion.

Both a love letter to the dandelion and a call to love ourselves in a difficult world, Âmî Osâwâpikones reminds us that we are not defined as others see us. Following our young protagonist and the dandelions through the seasons, we are reminded that we are resilient, we are healers, we are funny, and we are loved.

Reviews
“A playful, lyrical, and persuasive love letter to a dandelion ... This tribute to a precious flowering plant will capture readers’ hearts.” —Kirkus Reviews

“SJ combines her gifts as both author and illustrator in this beautiful and endearing book that both children and adults will adore.” —Monique Gray-Smith

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 7.

Includes some Cree words (y-dialect - Plains Cree).  Plains Cree translations and a pronunciation guide can be found at the back of the book.

Includes an Author's Note that describes the inspiration for this story.

Themes: self-love, resilience, care, and lightheartedness conveyed through the dandelion. 

This book is available in French: Âmî Osâwâpikones / Cher pissenlit 

Additional Information
40 pages | 9.00" x 9.00" | Hardcover

This bundle includes all four titles in the By Day and By Night Nature Series:

• Hideaway Cove (hardcover)
• A Night at Hideaway Cove (paperback) 
• Fernwood Forest (hardcover)
• A Night in Fernwood Forest (hardcover)

Each book in the By Day and By Night Nature Series focuses on a scene typical of a distinct west coast habitat, showing how living and non-living things are connected in a healthy ecosystem. As readers, we observe animals going about their daily activities: caring for their young, searching for food, and responding to the changes in light, temperature, and weather conditions throughout the day or night. The last four pages of each book provide facts about the highlighted animals and plants as well as features that are unique to their habitats. The final page suggests ways that young readers and their families can be respectful as they visit wilderness areas.

Readers with a sense of curiosity will find opportunities in these books to:

• use picture clues to predict the featured animal on the next page
• identify, count, and sequence numbers (1 owl, 2 deer, 3 squirrels, etc.)
• search for small creatures that travel from page to page
• discover patterns in the text and structure of the books
• track the movement of the sun, or moon, across the sky

Reading Level: Nonfiction text features such as headings, bold words, bullets, captions, and labelled diagrams make these books accessible to independent readers in grades 2 to 4. The books would also be great “read-alouds” for younger children.

Curriculum Links
Reading - Providing opportunities for guided practise in using reading strategies: visualizing, making connections, asking questions, transforming, and inferring.

Science - Supporting discussion and further exploration:

• characteristics of living things
• needs of living things
• connections between living and non-living things
• daily and seasonal changes
• animal growth and changes
• plant growth and changes
• weather
• habitats
• observable patterns in the sky

Numeracy - Counting and sequencing of numbers 1 to 10.

Social Responsibility - Initiating discussions about ways to take care of wilderness areas.

Lesson plans are available for each book and are free to download from each book's listing on our website!

Additional Information
Titles included are 32 pages, 8.5" x 11"

​Please note: All books in this bundle are hardcovers, except for A Night at Hideaway Cove, which is a paperback as the hardcover edition is out of print. ​

A lullaby of reconciliation and reclamation, celebrating the ancestral relationship between Indigenous children and the land that is forever their home.

Under glowing morning sun and silvery winter moon, from speckled frogs croaking in spring to summer fields painted with fireweed, this meditative lullaby introduces little ones to the plants and animals of the Prairies and the Plains. Featuring stunning artwork by celebrated artist Carla Joseph, Forever Our Home is a beautiful and gentle song about our spiritual connection to the land.

Reviews
A tender hymn to the prairie in all seasons...Uplifting and joyous." — Kirkus Reviews

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 5.

This book is available in a the dual-language format (English and Plains Cree): Forever Our Home / kâkikê kîkinaw

Additional Information
32 pages | 9.00" x 9.00" | Hardcover

A lullaby of reconciliation and reclamation, celebrating the ancestral relationship between Indigenous children and the land that is forever their home.

Under glowing morning sun and silvery winter moon, from speckled frogs croaking in spring to summer fields painted with fireweed, this meditative lullaby introduces little ones to the plants and animals of the Prairies and the Plains. Featuring stunning artwork by celebrated artist Carla Joseph, Forever Our Home is a beautiful and gentle song about our spiritual connection to the land.

Reviews
A tender hymn to the prairie in all seasons...Uplifting and joyous." — Kirkus Reviews

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 5.

Written in both Plains Cree and English and featuring stunning artwork by celebrated artist Carla Joseph, Forever Our Home / kâkikê kîkinaw is a beautiful and gentle song about our spiritual connection to the land.

Find the English version here: Forever Our Home

Additional Information
32 pages | 9.00" x 9.00" | Hardcover

A young girl spends the summer at her grandmother’s home on the Standing Rock Reservation in this heartwarming family story from acclaimed author-artist S. D. Nelson

Now that Clara is almost in third grade, she’s finally old enough to spend her first summer away from home visiting her grandma, Unci, and her cousin at their home in Standing Rock Reservation. To welcome her visit, Uncle Louie brings an extra-special surprise in his pickup truck: the tipi that’s been passed down through their family for generations. The girls learn how to stack the poles and wrap the canvas covering around them, how to paint spirit pictures on its walls, and how the circle of the tipi tells its own story, reminding us to how to live in the great Circle of Life. Over long days spent playing outside, doing beadwork together, telling stories, singing songs, and sleeping under the stars, the tipi brings the family closer together. As summer draws to an end, goodbye comes all too soon, but Clara will always cling to the memories of summer days and starry nights . . . and Grandma’s tipi.

Reviews
"Nelson (Standing Rock Sioux) depicts his people’s customs with reverence…When Clara’s time on the Standing Rock Reservation comes to an end, the rich lessons of her heritage stay with her—just as they will with young readers, who will be drawn in by both Nelson’s moving narration and glowing images."— Kirkus

“Nelson’s vibrant illustrations are stylized to reflect Lakota ledger drawings. He effortlessly blends this art style into his realistic, authentic depictions of modern Lakota life."— The Horn Book Magazine

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Additional Information
40 pages | 9.00" x 10.00" | Hardcover

Two sisters have waited all spring and summer to pick berries with their ningiuq, their grandmother. They've gone fishing, dug for clams, and by the time late summer arrives, it's finally time for berries!

Ninguiq and the girls head out to pick berries, rain or shine—nothing will stop Ningiuq! Through driving rain and early autumn snow the girls and Ningiuq pick as many sweet berries as their buckets can hold. The hard work is all worth it to enjoy the delicious treats Ninguiq creates with her berries.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 5.

Additional Information
28 pages | 9.00" x 9.00" | Hardcover 

This story is about a beaver home.

Beavers make homes out of sticks, rocks, and mud.

There are four seasons in the year: winter, spring, summer, and fall. Which season is this story about?

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for grade 1 students, but may also be useful in kindergarten classrooms.

Strong Science - Animals is a language-based science series for primary students featuring animals that all Canadian students will recognize. Photographs and Indigenous artwork illustrate the series. Common learning objectives in science curricula across Canada are addressed, and suggestions for extending the learning to other curriculum areas, including Indigenous cultural awareness, language arts, math, and art, are included in the teacher’s guide. The sixteen books in this series are grouped into four levels that increase in complexity, designed to accommodate students with various reading abilities within a classroom. This feature facilitates the use of this series in literacy programs along with the Strong Readers series.

A Home for the Beavers is an EP3 (Early Primary 3) book in the Strong Science - Animals series. Font size decreases as language complexity and word count increase across levels: EP1 books have approximately 40 words, EP2 books have approximately 60 words, EP3 books have approximately 80 words, and EP4 books have approximately 100 words.

A teacher's guide for Strong Science - Animals is available: Strong Science - Animals: Teacher's Guide

Authenticity Note: This book has received the Indigenous Text label because the author is Indigenous (Lakota) and the featured animal holds cultural significance in many Indigenous cultures. The engaging story provides factual information in an easy-to-read format for children to learn science concepts and build literacy skills. It promotes respect for animals and Mother Earth, and its illustrations communicate additional cultural information through Lakota symbolism and designs. Further cultural connections are identified in the teacher's guide. Refer to the guide to explore the book's Indigenous connections fully. It is up to readers to determine if the book will work as a stand-alone authentic Indigenous text for their purposes.  

Additional Information
16 Pages | 6.5" x 5.5" | Paperback | ISBN: 978-1-77174-612-0

This delightful board book, written without text, was created by the Taos Pueblo's Tiwa Language Program to preserve the Tiwa culture and revitalize the Tiwa language by teaching it to younger generations. Many other Indigenous languages also need revitalizing, so it is the hope of the Taos Pueblo's Tiwa Language Program that other American Indian Nations will find the books in the Toas Pueblo Four Seasons series useful to teach their language to young children. The beautiful, hand-drawn illustrations will also teach young children about the four seasons of the year. All proceeds of the book support the Taos Pueblo's Tiwa Language Program.

This text-free board book allows Indigenous nations to teach their own languages to children.

Educator & Series Information
This wordless book is part of the Taos Pueblo Four Seasons series.

We are the "Red Willow People" of Taos Pueblo and have sustained our ancient village as one of the longest continuously inhabited communities, for over 1,000 years. Taos Pueblo is located in northern New Mexico and our Tiwa language is a dialect of the Tanoan language, which is not a written language. Traditionally we learn our Tiwa Language through oral tradition but we are in danger of losing our ancient language due to colonization, modernization, and the shift from Tiwa as our first language to English as our first language. The efforts of the Taos Pueblo Tiwa Language Program are focused on revitalizing the Tiwa Language and culture by protecting and preserving it, through teaching it to our younger generations.

This text-free board book allows Indigenous nations to teach their own languages to children.

Additional Information
22 pages | 8" x 8" | Board Book 

Little Ocean likes to play outside. In this picture book, Ocean shows us how she has fun outside in all types of weather. Outside is where new discoveries are made and adventures happen!

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for preschool-aged children.

This book is part of the The Adventure Series of Learning With Ocean.

Additional Information
16 Pages 

Shawna Davis invites the reader to explore each of the four seasons through her beautiful words and lush, unforgettable, beaded illustrations.

We begin in Gwooyim (Spring) when the Majagalee, the Sim Algyax word for “flower,” are just beginning to sprout. We then move on to Sint (Summer) when Grandmother Sun stays in the sky a bit longer. Next there is Xwsit (Fall), just as Summer begins to get sleepy, and Maadim (Winter) where the snow has fallen and the freezer is full.

This is a story of nature, its importance to our lives, and why it must be cared for and respected.

Toonasa Jordana Luggi’s lovely, rich, and nearly tactile photographs are the perfect complement to Shawna’s hand-beaded artwork and wonderful, hand-cut paper backgrounds.

Includes Pronunciation Guides.

Reviews
“...simple, evocative poetry is culturally specific, rooted in a deep love of the land and the people around her but it’s also relatable to readers of different backgrounds. The lyrical verse in Majagalee makes it an ideal read-aloud book.... Majagalee is an elevated concept book. It introduces readers to the seasons, the plants and animals of the Northwest Coast, Sim Algyax, Indigenous art, and the importance of all these things to Gitksan culture. Despite its apparent simplicity, Majagalee is a complex and brilliantly constructed book. It will appeal to Indigenous and non-Indigenous readers alike, and for teachers and parents, it serves as an outstanding example of a book that demonstrates the ongoing presence and beauty of Indigenous cultures in what is now known as Canada..” – Quill & Quire, starred review

Educator Information
Juvenile Fiction. This picture book explores the four seasons on the northwest coast of what is currently British Columbia from a Gitksan perspective.

Additional information
Pages: 40