American Indian Youth Literature Award/Honors Winners

"The first AILA American Indian Youth Literature Awards were presented during the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color in 2006. Awarded biennially, the AIYLA identifies and honors the very best writing and illustrations by Native Americans and Indigenous peoples of North America. Books selected to receive the award present Indigenous North American peoples in the fullness of their humanity." - AILAnet.org

Showing 1 - 20 of 21  There are a total of 48 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for "Apple"
Star rating for Apple
Description:
Author and visual artist "Eric Gansworth is telling his 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"--Publisher...
Book cover for "Bowwow powwow ="
Star rating for Bowwow powwow =
Description:
When Uncle and Windy Girl attend a powwow, Windy watches the dancers and listens to the singers. She eats tasty food and joins family and friends around the campfire. Later, Windy falls asleep under the stars. Uncle's stories inspire visions in her head: a bowwow powwow, where all the dancers are dogs.
Book cover for "Contenders"
Star rating for Contenders
Description:
"The true story of John Meyers and Charles Bender, who in 1911 became the first two Native American pro baseball players to face off in a World Series, teaches important lessons about resilience, doing what you love in the face of injustice, and the fight for Native American representation in sports."--
Book cover for "Deb Haaland"
Star rating for Deb Haaland
Description:
Biography of the first Native American to become a cabinet secretary.
Book cover for "Dreaming in Indian"
Star rating for Dreaming in Indian
Description:
A powerful and visually stunning anthology from some of the most groundbreaking Native artists working in North America today.
Book cover for "Eagle drums"
Star rating for Eagle drums
Description:
In preparation for winter, a skilled young hunter embarks on a perilous journey up the mountain to gather obsidian, where he encounters the fearsome eagle god Savik and is presented with a life-altering choice.
Book cover for "Forever cousins"
Star rating for Forever cousins
Description:
Amanda and Kara are cousins and best friends in an intertribal Native American family; but Kara's family leaves the city and moves back to the Rez, making both girls sad--but the summer reunion reminds them that they will always be cousins.
Book cover for "Funeral songs for dying girls"
Star rating for Funeral songs for dying girls
Description:
"Funeral Songs For Dying Girls is a young adult novel about an Indigenous girl who lives on the grounds of a cemetery with her widowed father."--
Book cover for "Healer of the water monster"
Star rating for Healer of the water monster
Author:
Series:
Description:
"Brian Young's ... 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."--Publisher's description.
Book cover for "Heroes of the water monster"
Star rating for Heroes of the water monster
Series:
Description:
Edward and Nathan, two Navajo stepbrothers, work with a young water monster named Dew to confront their past and save the world from a monstrous, enormous Enemy that is stealing water from all of the Navajo Nation.
Book cover for "In the footsteps of Crazy Horse"
Star rating for In the footsteps of Crazy Horse
Description:
Teased for his fair coloring, eleven-year-old Jimmy McClean travels with his maternal grandfather, Nyles High Eagle, to learn about his Lakota heritage while visiting places significant in the life of Crazy Horse, the nineteenth-century Lakota leader and warrior, in a tale that weaves the past with the present. Includes historical note and glossary.
Book cover for "Indigenous Peoples' Day"
Star rating for Indigenous Peoples' Day
Description:
"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"--
Book cover for "Man made monsters"
Star rating for Man made monsters
Description:
Haunting illustrations are woven throughout these horror stories that follow one extended Cherokee family across the centuries and well into the future as they encounter predators of all kinds in each time period.

14. Mascot

Book cover for "Mascot"
Star rating for Mascot
Description:
"Six eighth graders outside Washington, DC, navigate through conflict and division focused on their school district's Native American mascot"--Provided by publisher.
Book cover for "Remember"
Star rating for Remember
Author:
Description:
"Picture book adaptation of the renowned poem that encourages young readers to reflect on family, nature, and their heritage. In simple and direct language, Harjo, a member of the Mvskoke Nation, urges readers to pay close attention to who they are, the world they were born into, and how all inhabitants on earth are connected. Michaela Goade, drawing from her Tlingit culture, has created vivid illustrations that make the words come alive in an engaging...
Book cover for "Rez ball"
Star rating for Rez ball
Description:
These days, Tre Brun is happiest when he is playing basketball on the Red Lake Reservation high school team, even though he can't help but be constantly gut-punched with memories of his big brother, Jaxon, who died in an accident. When Jaxon's former teammates on the varsity team offer to take Tre under their wing, he sees this as his shot to represent his Ojibwe rez all the way to their first state championship. This is the first step toward his...
Book cover for "Rock your mocs"
Star rating for Rock your mocs
Description:
"This picture book by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Tsimshian) and illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw) is a joyful and colorful introduction to the annual celebration of Rock Your Mocs DayNovember 15because moccasins and Native pride shouldnt be saved just for ceremonies and powwows but celebrated all year round!"--Provided by publisher. "This picture book by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Tsimshian)...
Book cover for "Snow day"
Star rating for Snow day
Series:
Jo Jo volume 3.
Description:
"Jo Jo Makoons has noticed that the family members she loves most--Mama, Kokum, and even her cat, Mimi--all have their own ways of being healthy. So when Teacher says that their class will be learning about healthy habits, Jo Jo is ready to be neighborly by helping everyone around her be healthy, too. After a snowstorm shuts down her Ojibwe reservation, Jo Jo uses her big imagination and big personality to help both Elders and classmates alike. Because...
Book cover for "We are grateful"
Star rating for We are grateful
Description:
The word otsaliheliga is used by members of the Cherokee Nation to express gratitude. Beginning in the fall with the new year and ending in summer, follow a full Cherokee year of celebrations and experiences. Written by a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, this look at one group of Native Americans is appended with a glossary and the complete Cherokee syllabary, originally created by Sequoyah.
Book cover for "We still belong"
Star rating for We still belong
Description:
"Wesley's hopeful plans for Indigenous Peoples' Day (and asking her crush to the dance) go all wrong-until she finds herself surrounded by the love of her Indigenous family and community at the intertribal powwow"--