Award Books

American Indian Youth Literature Award, Best Young Adult Book, 2022; Michael L. Printz Honors for Excellence in YA Lit. 2021
"The term 'Apple' is a slur in Native communities across the country. It's for someone supposedly 'red on the outside, white on the inside.' Eric Gansworth is telling his story in Apple (Skin to the Core). The story of his family, of Onondaga among Tuscaroras, of Native folks everywhere. From the horrible legacy of the government boarding schools, to a boy watching his siblings leave and return and leave again, to a young man fighting to be an artist who balances multiple worlds. Eric shatters that slur and reclaims it in verse and prose and imagery that truly lives up to the word heartbreaking." -- Inside front jacket flap.

American Indian Youth Literature Award, Best Picture Book, 2022 "Herizon follows the journey of a Diné girl as she helps her grandmother retrieve a flock of sheep. Join in her venture across land and water with the help of a magical scarf that will expand your imagination and transform what you thought possible. This story celebrates creativity and bravery, while promoting an inclusive future made possible through intergenerational strength and knowledge."--Front jacket flap.

American Indian Youth Literature Award - Picture Book Honor, 2022
"Mary Golda Ross designed classified projects for Lockheed Air Corporation as the company's first female engineer. Find out how her passion for math and the Cherokee values she was raised with shaped her life and work"--Provided by publisher

American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honor, 2022
The tiny but mighty Mousewoman is a legendary figure in the oral and visual practices of Northwest Coast Indigenous cultures. She is both grandmother and oracle, able to travel in and out of the spirit world. Mousewoman sits on young people's shoulders in crucial times, whispering advice and knowledge. She protects and guides young people by helping them avoid or escape bad situations, and is never afraid to stand up to bigger beings. This book brings to life the timeless lessons of Mousewoman -- lessons that embody the principles outlined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. A first of its kind, this book empowers children to become proudly aware of their rights.

American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honor, 2022
As a little girl, Jolyana Begay-Kroupa dreamed of becoming Miss Navajo. After years of learning the language, culture, and traditions, her chance finally comes to take on the important role. The skills she learned help her in tough competitions - but will they be enough to earn her the crown of Miss Navajo? Witness the inspiring true story of what it takes to become Miss Navajo and how the competition is only the beginning. This book is filled with pictures taken during the 2001-2002 Miss Navajo Nation competition.

American Indian Youth Literature Award, Best Middle Grade Book, 2022
"Brian Young's powerful debut novel tells of a seemingly ordinary Navajo boy who must save the life of a Water Monster-- and comes to realize he's a hero at heart."--Provided by publisher

American Indian Youth Literature Award - Middle Grade Honor Book, 2022
After an injury sidelines her dreams of becoming a ballet star, Maisie is not excited for her blended family's midwinter road trip along the coast, near the Makah community where her mother grew up.

American Indian Youth Literature Award - Middle Grade Honor Book, 2022
"Jo Jo Makoons Azure is a spirited seven-year-old who moves through the world a little differently than anyone else on her Ojibwe reservation. It always seems like her mom, her kokum (grandma), and her teacher have a lot to learn--about how good Jo Jo is at cleaning up, what makes a good rhyme, and what it means to be friendly. Even though Jo Jo loves her #1 best friend Mimi (who is a cat), she's worried that she needs to figure out how to make more friends. Because Fern, her best friend at school, may not want to be friends anymore"--Provided by publisher.

American Indian Youth Literature Award - Middle Grade Honor Book, 2022
"Indigenous Peoples' Day is about celebrating! The second Monday in October is a day to honor Native American people, their histories, and cultures. People mark the day with food, dancing, and songs. Readers will discover how a shared holiday can have multiple traditions and be celebrated in all sorts of ways"--Provided by publisher.

American Indian Youth Literature Award - Middle Grade Honor Book, 2022
"Peggy Flanagan is the Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota. This is the second-highest office in the state. She is the first Native woman to hold such a high elected statewide office in the United States. Her whole life she knew that the school system doesn't tell American Indian stories in a true way. Peggy is working hard to change how Native peoples' stories are told and to make life better for all Minnesotans. Her story is a Minnesota Native American life."--Provided by publisher.

American Indian Youth Literature Award, - Young Adult Honor Book, 2022
Based on the true-life story of Yurok men called to serve in World War I, this story follows three cousins as they struggle with being combat soldiers on the Western Front.

American Indian Youth Literature Young Adult Honor Book, 2022; Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, Winner, 2022; William C. Morris YA Debut Award Winner, 2022
Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.
Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, either in her hometown or on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of college, but when her family is struck by tragedy she puts her future on hold to care for her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, a new recruit on her brother Levi's hockey team. When Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, she reluctantly agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source of a new drug. How far will she go to protect her community, if it threatens to tear apart the only world she's ever known? -- adapted from jacket.

American Indian Youth Literature Award - Young Adult Honor Book, 2022
"Imagine an America very similar to our own. It's got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream. There are some differences. This America has been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day. Seventeen-year-old Elatsoe ("Ellie" for short) lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect façade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family"--Publisher's description