Anthologies / Short Stories

A long time ago, Robin wore a white breast, Rattlesnake didn't rattle, Rabbit and Bear both sported luscious, long tails, and the naked-necked Turkey Buzzard meant to be fully clothed. Witness how these animals were transformed into the ones we recognize today with these traditional tales re-told.

Educator Information
Recommended for Grades 6 and under.

Additional Information
45 pages | 4.25" x 5.50" | Paperback


 

Cort Dogniez’s Growing up Métis: Stories of Resiliency is the second installment of his historical fiction series that began with Road to La Prairie Ronde. In two separate, but connected fictionalized stories, Cort delves into the lives of two of his foremothers: his great-grandmother, Josephine Gariepy and his grandmother, Clara Dumont when they were young. While highlighting the dispossession and marginalization of his ancestors following the 1885 Resistance, Cort deftly weaves Métis culture through these two stories with a positive “focus on nicknames, faith, storytelling, and a resilient spirit.”

Jade McDougall’s beautiful illustrations brings these poignant, coming of age stories to life. Growing up Métis: Stories of Resiliency includes Michif and Cree glossaries to reflect Josephine and Clara’s first languages as well as guide questions for educators to explore the stories and Métis culture in depth with their students.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended by the publisher for ages 9+.

This book is the second installment in the historical fiction series that began with Road to La Prairie Ronde.

Additional Information
85 Pages | 14 cm x 20.3 cm | Paperback 

Uncover the Terrifying Intersection of History and Horror

Imagine a chilling horror collection that weaves classic monsters like werewolves and vampires with the true horrors of colonialism, domestic violence, and displacement. Man Made Monsters, by acclaimed Cherokee writer Andrea Rogers, delivers.

Follow a Cherokee family across centuries, from their ancestral lands in 1830s Georgia to the battlefields of World War I and Vietnam, and beyond. Each story offers a chilling glimpse into a different era, revealing how history's monsters intertwine with the supernatural.

Man Made Monsters is a powerful exploration of identity and the enduring legacy of colonization. Rogers masterfully blends Cherokee legends with chilling horror, creating unforgettable characters and monsters.

Each story is accompanied by haunting illustrations from Cherokee artist Jeff Edwards, incorporating the Cherokee syllabary for a truly immersive experience.

Don't miss out on this masterpiece! Man Made Monsters will stay with you long after the last page.

Reviews
“Man Made Monsters is a brilliant and expansive journey across time, seen through a Cherokee lens, written by the brilliant and essential voice of Andrea Rogers. This collection is full to the brim with voice and breadth, including but not limited to magic, horror, and fantasy. The book is fun, funny, and dead-serious. It is beautifully written, and it is full of monsters.” - Tommy Orange

"Although each of Cherokee author Rogers’ stories could stand alone (and versions of some were previously published individually), placing them in chronological order and thus in dialogue with each other results in a thematically richer read and allows readers the delight of tracing the family trees in the frontmatter to situate the characters in relation to other protagonists. " - Kirkus Reviews

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12 to 18 by the publisher.

Additional Information
336 pages | 6.02" x 9.00" | Paperback 

A fresh and fearless collection of short fiction, poetry and graphic fiction for today’s middle-grade readers.

In this timely, thought-provoking, funny and heartbreaking collection, ten acclaimed BIPOC authors from across Canada explore the theme and concept of home.

From awkward family dinners, to life on the rez, to moving to a new town, each of these stories provides a unique perspective on the theme of belonging through characters tasked with navigating and finding their place in this world.

Brought together by curator (and story contributor), Jael Richardson, Today I Am will make readers laugh and cry while opening their hearts and minds to the world around them, validating how it feels to be young and alive today.

Today I Am includes stories by Jael Richardson, Marty Chan, Rosena Fung, Michael Hutchinson, Chad Lucas, Angela Misri, Mahtab Narsimhan, Danny Ramadan, Liselle Sambury and Brandon Wint.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 10 to 14.

The majority of authors on this work are not Indigenous.  This work includes a contribution from Michael Hutchinson, a citizen of the Misipawistik Cree Nation.  Readers will need to determine if this text will work for their purposes.

Additional Information
240 pages | 5.49" x 8.25" | Paperback 

Mi'kmaq people have been in touch with the spiritual for thousands of years. Some of these spiritual bonds have meant that the Mi'kmaq have resulted in scary encounters with the living. Ancients stories of ghosts and shape-shifters have been told around the fire for generations. Keeping this tradition alive is important not only for future campfires, but also to protect the sacred sites and hollowed grounds.

Educator Information
Juvenile Fiction

Additional Information
180 pages | 5.75" x 8.75" | Paperback

Have you ever wondered why Rabbit has such long ears? Or why Raccoon is wearing a mask? In this collection of funny and unique short stories, young Skye enlightens us in a number of Indigenous teachings, passed down to her from her Ojibway Grandfather. Through her natural gift of storytelling, Skye encourages other children to embrace the art and become storytellers, too!

Educator Information
This book is recommended for ages 5 to 9.

"Each story has a special teaching, so remember to listen closely for it."

A teacher lesson plan is available for this resource: Storyteller Skye: Teachings from My Ojibway Grandfather Teacher Lesson Plan

This book is available in French: Skye la conteuse: Enseignements de mon grand-pere ojibway 

Additional Information
48 pages | 10.95" x 7.02" | Paperback

The book contains four Dene stories, as told by Raymond Yakeleya. "Flight Through the Rainbow" is about flying through a rainbow in a small plane and experiencing multi-sensations of colour. It also tells the legend of the spider and how its web catches raindrops that create the rainbow. "The Midwife and the Spirit of Life," dedicated to Raymond's Granny Harriet Gladue, is about the birth of babies and bringing their spirits into the world. "The Slingshot and the Songbird" is about a boy's sadness over killing a friendly songbird. "The Medicine Brothers and the Giant Birds" is a tale told to Raymond by his uncle George Blondin about the hazards of giant animals when the world was new.

The book also contains Dene language translation of terms from the book.

Educator & Series Information
This book is recommended for ages 8 to 12.

This book is part of the Indigenous Spirit of Nature series.

Additional Information
48 pages | 8.50" x 8.50" | Paperback

I don’t recall seeing books when I was a little boy. But the old people, they grew up listening to stories. And so, every night, when the old people were done their evening prayers, they would sit and they would tell us stories too.

At the time of the spring thaw, the Rocky Cree fill their canoes with furs, eager to trade with the new visitors in mistiwāsahak (Hudson Bay). But not all of the new visitors are welcome.

When the canoes return home to the shores of the misinipī river, the Rocky Cree begin to collapse one by one, drenched in sweat and slowly slipping into delirium. Kākakiw struggles to help the sick as more and more people pass into the spirit world. Exhausted physically, emotionally, and spiritually, he seeks guidance through prayer.

Hope finally comes with a visitor in the night: one of the Little People, small beings who are just like us. If Kākakiw can journey to their home, he will be given the medicine his people need. All he has to do is paddle through a cliff of solid bedrock to get there.

To save his people from certain death, Kākakiw must overcome doubt to follow the traditional teachings of the Asiniskaw Īthiniwak and trust in the gift of the Little People.

In this illustrated short story for all ages, celebrated Rocky Cree storyteller William Dumas shares a teaching about hope in the face of adversity. This book is a companion story to The Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Īthiniwak series.

Reviews
"A tale rich with warmth and wonder that not only documents traditions but carries them on." — David A. Robertson, author The Barren Grounds

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 9 to 11.

Reading Level: Lexile® Framework for Reading: 870L

This book is a companion story to The Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Īthiniwak series. This series is about the Asiniskaw Īthiniwak (Rocky Cree) of Northern Manitoba. Corresponding to the six seasons of sīkwan (spring), nīpin (summer), takwakin (fall), mikiskow (freeze-up), pipon (winter), and mithoskamin (break-up), the books explore the language, culture, knowledge, territory, and history of the 17th century Rocky Cree people through story and images. The groundbreaking series centres Indigenous ways of knowing and includes insights from a wide range of disciplines—cross-cultural education, history, archaeology, anthropology, linguistics, literature, oral culture and storytelling, experiential and community-based learning, and art.

Contains some Cree language/words, and a glossary of them.

Additional Information
48 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Hardcover

The Missing Caribou Hide is a story that passes through the years in Tłı̨chǫ history. It tells of times when people lived a simpler life built around the fur trade, hard work and helping one another. It tells of times when relationships with animals and our environment were stronger than they are today.

In this story, a young girl who lives with her grandmother, wishes to own a sled so that she can go sliding like the other children in her community. However, her grandmother needs her to help with chores around the home. The young girl has developed a friendship with Tatsǫ̀ (Raven), Į̀hk'aa (Canada Jay), Nǫ̀mba (Weasel) and Nǫge (Fox). Because of her kindness, the four animal friends decide to help her out.

Included in this book is the use of Tłı̨chǫ language as well as Tłı̨chǫ legends told about these animals from the traditional stories of community elders. It has been edited and translated by the community members themselves.

Reviews
“This book is a reminder of Tlicho and their relationship and connections to their environment and the animals they share their lands with. These stories are important teachings to the cultural history of the Dene People. Not only should the book be in every classroom, but every Canadian should also read these stories to help understand Indigenous peoples and their culture. "The Missing Caribou Hide" can help bridge the gap between not only Tlicho parent and child, but also help connect Indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians alike." — Paul Andrew, Order of the Northwest Territories

Educator Information
Recommended for children.

Included in this book is the use of Tlicho language as well as Tlicho stories told about these animals from the traditonal stories of community elders.  It has been edited and translated by the community members themselves.  A pronunciation guide is found at the back of the book.

Includes a Christmas story.

Additional Information

48 pages | 8.50" x 11.00" | Paperback

“Be careful of what you accept from spirits.”

Loup Garrou, trickster rabbits, and spirits with names that can’t be spoken — the plains and forests of North America are alive with characters like these, all waiting to meet you in this collection of folklore retold in comics!

Reviews
"Enjoyable for reading aloud or sharing around a campfire." -- KIRKUS

"Explores the stories, passed down through generations, of the people who have inhabited Turtle Island since time immemorial." - Women Write About Comics 

Educator Information
Comic book recommended for ages 10 to 12.

The book features more than 100 pages of entertaining and educational stories by artists and writers from Indigenous nations across the continent, including:

•  “As It Was Told to Me”, a creation tale that shows that the world needs good and bad to exist, which is written and illustrated by Elijah Forbes, a transgender Odawa illustrator who has facilitated the creation of illustration projects such as the 2020 “Trans Awareness Week.”
   
• “Chokfi,” the story of the trickster rabbit, who is jealous of Otter's fur coat and tries to steal it, by writer Jordaan Arledge, a trans Chickasaw comic writer and the founder of Arledge Comics, and  artist Mekala Nava.
   
• “White Horse Plains”, a cautionary tale about greed that comes from the Métis settlement St. Francois Xavier, as told by Rhael McGregor, a Non-Binary/Two-Spirit Métis comic artist and animator from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
   
• “Rougarou” by Mystery Solving Lesbians writer Maija Ambrose Plamondon and Métis-based artist Milo Applejohn, about a werewolf-like creature that haunts the Métis communities.
   
• “Agonjin In the Water” by the non-binary Ojibawe artist Alice RL, about a girl whose tribe is suffering from a drought and finds a Mishipeshu while searching for water.
   
• “Woman in the Woods” by the Cuban Taíno artist and storyteller Mercedes Acosta about a curious girl who sees a mysterious figure in the woods at night.
   
• “Into Darkness” by Izzy Roberts, a Michigan-based illustrator and a member of the Navajo Nation and Kinyaa’áanii clan, about a creature so dangerous and scary that no one dares utter its name.

Additional Information
120 pages | 6.06" x 9.04" | Black and white throughout | Paperback 

Thirteen of the most accomplished YA authors deliver a label-defying anthology that includes ten short stories, a graphic novel, and a one-act play from Walter Dean Myers never before in-print. This collection addresses topics like gentrification, acceptance, untimely death, coming out, and poverty and ranges in genre from contemporary realistic fiction to adventure and romance. It will inspire you to break conventions, bend the rules, and color outside the lines. All you need is fresh ink.

Authors Include: Schuyler Bailar, Melissa de la Cruz, Sara Farizan, Sharon G. Flake, Eric Gansworth, Malindo Lo, Walter Dean Myers, Daniel José Older, Thien Pham, Jason Reynolds, Aminah Mae Safi, Gene Luen Yang, Nicola Yoon

Reviews
"I absolutely love this mix of established and newer talents, and I'm really intrigued and excited by the mixed formats." --BookRiot

"Huge, huge names in YA participated." --Bustle

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12+

This work includes an Indigenous contribution. Not all conributions are from Indigenous writers.  It's up to readers to determine if this work is authentic for their puproses.

Additional Information

This beautiful compendium of tales shares eight classic Inuit creation stories from the Baffin region. From the origins of day and night, thunder and lightning, and the sun and the moon to the creation of the first caribou and source of all the Arctic’s fearful storms, this book recounts traditional Inuit legends in the poetic and engaging style of authors Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley.

Reviews
"...[a] complete package of story-telling and art for giving voice to classic Inuit creation stories and meaningful discussion of beginnings and endings." - CanLit for Little Canadians

Additional Information
80 pages | 7.00" x 10.00"

“With the passing of many of our Elders, the telling of these stories becomes more valuable than ever.” — Raymond Yakeleya

The Tree by the Woodpile is a story about a First Nations boy who is told an enchanting tale by his grandmother about how an old tree by the woodpile provides food and shelter for the birds and animals of the North. Other stories in the book are “The Wolf,” and “The Mountain, the Wind, and the Wildflowers.” The stories are suffused with Newet'sine, the Creator and Spirit of Nature, who brings a message of how we must to cherish our land. 

Educator & Series Information
The book, written in English and Dene for middle-grade children, ages 7 to 12, supports the "First Peoples Principles of Learning," particularly recognizing the role of Indigenous knowledge and learning embedded in memory, history, and story.

Recommended for these subject areas: English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies.

This is the first book in the UpRoute Indigenous Spirit of Nature Series.

Additional Information
64 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | 25 b&w illustrations |18 colour illustrations | Dene translation by Jane Modeste (Dene).

Fifty of the foremost diverse children's authors and illustrators--including Jason Reynolds, Jacqueline Woodson, and Kwame Alexander--share answers to the question, "In this divisive world, what shall we tell our children?" in this beautiful, full-color keepsake collection.

What do we tell our children when the world seems bleak, and prejudice and racism run rampant? With 96 lavishly designed pages of original art and prose, fifty diverse creators lend voice to young activists.

Featuring poems, letters, personal essays, art, and other works from such industry leaders as Jacqueline Woodson, Jason Reynolds, Kwame Alexander, Andrea Pippins, Sharon Draper, Rita Williams-Garcia, Ellen Oh, Joseph Bruchac, and artists Ekua Holmes, Rafael Lopez, James Ransome, Javaka Steptoe, and more, this anthology empowers the nation's youth to listen, learn, and build a better tomorrow.

Reviews
"An anthology of poems, short stories, personal essays, and artwork by indigenous creators and creators of color that explores the struggles of the past through the experiences of those who lived through them and offers reassurance, encouragement, advice, and hope for young people facing our current political crisis. The editors are the founders of acclaimed small press Just Us Books." - We Are Kid Lit Collective, 2019 Summer Reading List 

"A love song from children's literature's brightest stars to America's Indigenous children and children of color, encouraging them to be brave and kind."—Kirkus Reviews starred review

"Addressing complex topics with sensitivity and candor, this a necessary purchase for all libraries serving children."—School Library Journal, starred review

"Wade and Cheryl Willis Hudson, founders of Just Us Books, offer this empowering anthology to counter today’s often-unsettling political climate for children of varying ethnicities, faiths, identities, and abilities"—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The attractive and accessible presentation will pull kids in; the wisdom they find inside will keep them engaged—and, it is to be hoped, motivated."—Horn Book, starred review

Educator Information
Recommended Ages: 8-12

Additional Information
96 pages | 7.75" x 9.75"

Authenticity Note: This work has received the Authentic Indigenous Text label because of the contributions of Indigenous peoples to this work.  Contributions from many people, of varying ethnicities, faiths, etc., are included in this work also. 

The Gift Is in the Making retells previously published Anishinaabeg stories, bringing to life Anishinaabeg values and teachings to a new generation. Readers are immersed in a world where all genders are respected, the tiniest being has influence in the world, and unconditional love binds families and communities to each other and to their homeland. Sprinkled with gentle humour and the Anishinaabe language, this collection of stories speaks to children and adults alike, and reminds us of the timelessness of stories that touch the heart.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of The Debwe Series.

Recommended for grades 5 to 9.

Additional Information
99 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"