GO TO:
Introduction
Annotated Bibliography
Pathfinder
An
Introduction to Children's Books
created by Jennifer M. Kern | October 17, 2001
Introduction
"Let
us put our minds together, and see what life we will make for our children"
-Tatanka Iotanka (Sitting Bull)*
Historically,
images and stories found in children's books about Native Americans
were written, illustrated and published by non- Native people. Most
of these books inaccurately and inappropriately represented Native American
cultures. More recently with the growing awareness of the necessity
for accurate, truthful representation of world cultures in children's
publishing, there has been an increase in the number of children's books
dedicated to Native American cultures. The goal of this pathfinder is
to provide sources to Native American families that will enable them
to evaluate, select and acquire excellent children's books, both those
that focus on Native cultures and general children's literature as well.
This pathfinder is intended to be incorporated on the website of the "If I Can Read, I Can Do Anything" project, a national reading
promotion program, which strives to encourage literacy within Native
communities. Detailed information about the project can be found at
the following address: http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~ifican.
Although this pathfinder will be accessible to anyone on the World Wide
Web, I have selected most of the sites with the Native community as
an intended audience, particularly adults and children who would like
to learn more about children's books. With the aid of this pathfinder,
patrons will be able to find answers to questions such as: Where can
I find a brief introduction to evaluating children's books that portray
Native Americans? Where can I learn about selecting quality children's
books for my family? Where can I locate electronic sources about Children's
Literature? Where can I search for award-winning children's books? Are
there any sites on the web that could help my child become a better
reader? Can I purchase children's books online?
All the sources included in this pathfinder are available free through
the Internet. The most important evaluation criteria I used in selecting
sources was whether the sites were written by a Native American, endorsed
by a Native American, and/or inclusive of a Native American perspective.
I also selected sources that would be useful to adults and children.
I began my search by visiting the search engine, Google and entering
the search terms <"native american sites">. My first
result was "Native
American Sites", and from this site I was able to subsequently
locate many sites found in this pathfinder.
TOP OF PAGE
Annotated
Bibliography
- Caldwell-Wood,
Naomi and Lisa A. Mitten. "A
Selected Bibliography and Guide for "I" is not for Indian:
The Portrayal of Native Americans in Books for Young People." 29 June 1991. Accessed 1 October 2001.
Naomi Caldwell-Wood and Lisa A. Mitten compiled this selective bibliography
for a program held by the American Indian Library Association at the
American Library Association Annual conference in 1991. Summaries
and criticisms are included for books that they recommend, as well
as for books they suggest to avoid. Guides for selecting books, sources
of current reviews, and places to find books on Indians are also provided.
A list of "things to look for", written in question format,
is very useful for evaluating children's books about American Indians.
This bibliography is cited often on other Native-authored web pages.
- Anthropology
Outreach Office, Smithsonian Institution. "A
Critical Bibliography on
North American Indians, For K-12." 20 August 2001. Accessed
1 October 2001.
Compiled by the Anthropology Outreach Office of the Smithsonian's
National Museum of Natural History, this bibliography is a guide to
choosing "historically accurate and culturally sensitive" books about American Indians and Alaska Natives. Beyond merely describing
the storyline and plots of children's books, this bibliography critically
evaluates illustrations and descriptions of Native people, which is
quite uncommon in mainstream reviews. Over eight hundred books are
reviewed and categorized by geographic region, then by tribe, and
further divided into fiction, non-fiction, biographies and traditional
stories. This is a reliable source to aid in the selection of children's
books that focus on Native Americans.
- Leitich
Smith, Cynthia. "Children's
Books with Native American Indian History, Themes and Characters." Home Page, 5 October 2001. Accessed 1 October 2001.
A children's and young adult book author and enrolled member of the
Muscogee- Creek Nation, Cynthia Leitich Smith hosts an extensive site
dedicated to children's literature. This is a direct link to a section
of her web page that specifically focuses on children's books with
Native American Indian history, themes and characters. Following the
link provided here, you can search through separate categories of
books, such as picture books or short stories for critical reviews
and commentary. Helpful related links are often included at the close
of many annotations. Cynthia Leitich Smith Children's Literature Resources
also publishes a free, quarterly online newsletter that features interviews
with authors and illustrators as well as additional book reviews.
- Whitewolf,
George. "Home
Page." 1998. Accessed 4 October 2001.
The Checklist for Evaluating Native American Children's Books was
written by Dovie Thomason and is published on George Branham-Whitewolf's
home page, a Monacan/Sioux Indian. Written entirely in question format,
this is a clear and concise introduction to evaluating children's
books that portray Native Americans. The checklist is divided into
three sections; the first focuses on illustrations, another deals
with vocabulary issues and the final section discusses other elements
of a story, such as whether the author or reviewer of the book is
Native or knowledgeable about Native peoples. This would be a great
article to share with other families who may not have the time to
read a lengthy book on children's literature. I suggest you print
it out and keep it around for future reference.
- Native
American Authors. The Internet Public Library, 25 July 2001. Accessed
5 October 2001.
The Internet Public Library is a modern, cyber version of the old-fashioned
public library. Originally a student project for the School of Information
and Library Studies at the University of Michigan, this website is
an extensive and thorough resource for investigating Native American
authors. You can search by author's name, title or tribe. Each author
entry notes the culture of the author, suggests online resources available
and provides brief bibliographic details about his/her work. If you
choose to browse by title, you will be provided with basic bibliographic
information, such as publisher name, genre, and intended audience.
A search by tribe will lead you to links of authors of that particular
culture and online resources regarding that tribe. Over 480 authors
and 1500 books are included on this regularly revised and updated
site.
TOP OF PAGE
- Giese,
Paula. "Native
American Books." Native American Indian: Art, Culture, Education,
History, Science, 17 December 1996. Accessed 7 October 2001.
The creator of this substantial site, Paula Giese, an Ojibwa, passed
in 1997, but her work continues to live on the web thanks to her family,
friends and colleagues who maintain her web page. This link directly
escorts you to the "Native American Books" section where
you can access in-depth, critical reviews of nearly three hundred
children's books, organized by age group, subject, tribe, or title.
The author suggests searching by subject. A thumbs-up symbol marks
recommended titles, which are strongly suggested for purchase. A thumbs-down
symbol denotes books that are poorly written, factually inaccurate,
and biased; in general, they are not recommended and should be weeded
from library collections. For direct, honest book reviews from Native
people, visit this site.
- Hurst,
Carol. "Carol
Hurst's Children's Literature Website." Home Page, September
2001. Accessed 5 October 2001.
A well-designed web site, this source contains reviews of books recommended
by Carol Hurst, a storyteller, lecturer, author, consultant, and former
school librarian. Reviews are graded according to a three star method,
one for recommended, two for a highly recommended book, and three
for an outstanding book. An added bonus is a section that follows
the review entitled "Things to Notice and Talk About." You
may search for reviews by author, title or by grade level (Pre-K through
9th). A free monthly newsletter offers news, a featured book review
with suggested activities, related books and links to the Internet.
An additional index groups books according to a particular theme;
please follow this link to an article about Native Americans: http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/nativeamericans.html.
- Brown,
David K. "Children's
Literature Web Guide." Home Page, 22 April 1998. Accessed
5 October 2001.
David K. Brown, Director of the Doucette Library of Teaching Resources
and experienced with children's materials, has compiled and organized
an extensive directory of Internet sources dealing with books for
children and young adults. A simple opening page initially breaks
the resources into categories, such as discussion boards and quick
reference. This site is very thorough in its inclusion of award-related
sites, such as the Newberry award given annually to the best American
children's book author and the Caldecott award for the best American
illustrated book of the year. The link to Stories on the Web under
the More Links category will direct you to a variety of online, "picture
books" and is well worth investigating. An annotated list of
electronic journals and book reviews is a great link to bookmark for
future reading on the subject of children's books. You may also directly
search the entire site by following the "search this site" icon, located at the very bottom of the opening page.
- Bartley,
Lisa R. "Database
of Award-Winning Literature." Home Page, 6 March 2001. Accessed
12 October 2001.
Sometimes we may wander the aisles of our local library and magically
come upon exactly the type of quality book we were searching for.
However, the best books are often not so easy to find and so using
a database that compiles information on hundreds of award-winning
books can make the hunt a lot simpler. Before searching the database,
I recommend reading through some of the Instructions (the third link
below Search Database) to better understand how to create a useful
search. You will be able to limit your search query by age, historical
period, language and ethnicity, to name a few options. You may also
combine those limitations with keywords that you'd like to occur in
the story, such as frog or elk. To read more about the different types
of children's book awards, follow the link, Awards. Once you've organized
a list of books, head down to your library and if they don't currently
hold the title, ask your librarian about Inter-Library loans.
- Ubbes,
Valerie A. Ph.D, CHES. "Children's
Picture Book Database at Miami University." 10 September
2001. Accessed 12 October 2001.
The database, designed by Valerie A. Ubbes, PhD, CHES (Certified Health
Education Specialist), and an assistant professor of health education
at Miami University, contains abstracts of over five thousand picture
books for children. There are three different ways to search this
database: you can search by keyword search, which is broken into categories
such as Social
Studies and Mathematics. You may alphabetically search through keyword
categories and finally, you may search in additional fields, like
author or publisher. This site is particularly useful when searching
for books for children, preschool through grade three. Your child
may be enthralled by snow and you would like to create an exhaustive
list of picture books that concern this topic. Use the keyword search
by category, follow the Nature History and Natural Science category,
enter and then scroll down until you find snow. The abstracts are
brief; however, remember this is not a source for reviews, but rather
a source to use when you are looking for books that focus on a specific
topic.
TOP OF PAGE
- Kennedy,
Elizabeth. "Children's
Books." About - The Human Internet, 13 October 2001. Accessed
13 October 2001.
Your guide to this categorized directory of web sources regarding
children's books is Elizabeth Kennedy, a former elementary school
teacher, museum educator and writer. With so much information available
on the World Wide Web, I recommend searching for areas that interest
you or your child via this "Human Internet." What makes
the entire About.com site unique is that all the links are researched,
evaluated, and compiled by actual humans, as opposed to a computer
generated list of links produced by a common search engine. Use the
side bar of topics to begin your search and then follow the annotated
links to a site that appeals to you. Make note of the bulletin board
feature (click on the Forum link in the top left-hand corner), where
you can connect with other individuals who share an interest in children's
books. Be sure to do a search for "Horn Book Magazine",
an excellent source of book reviews.
- Nativeculture.
Nativeculture.com, 23 September 2001. Accessed 11 October 2001.
Nativeculture.com is a portal communication site, which offers its
patrons an appealing and well-focused path to learn about the vast
offerings on the Internet, with particular emphasis placed on sites
that may be of interest to Native people. The Update category provides
links to online Native American news services, as well as conventional
news services. In the Learn section, you will find helpful links to "tribes and nations", "arts and expression" and
"featured articles," to name just a few categories. You
can relax and listen to music by connecting to AIROS - American Indian
Radio on Satellite while reading summaries of recommended children's
books. I have included this source in my pathfinder because it not
only does serves as a searching tool, but it also helps you locate
cultural events, like Pow Wows, and provides free e-mail and discussion
services. If you would like to "meet" and discuss children's
books with other Native families, this is an ideal place to get started.
- Timmons,
Mary P. "World of Reading." Ann Arbor District Library. Accessed 13 October 2001.
Mary P. Timmons has created a web page that allows children an opportunityto
write book reviews and share them online and/or read other kids' book
reviews. There are numerous sites dedicated to adults and their opinions
about children's books, which indeed serve a valuable purpose, but
the majority of content on this site is by kids and for kids. Children
can search for a book they're interested in reading by title or by
browsing through categories, such as adventure, fantasy or survival.
The reviews are generally brief, but what's more important is the
chance for kids to read what other kids are saying about books. To
submit a review, a child may fill out the online form and ask permission
from a parent, teacher or librarian. I think this site is a great
way to expose children to reading and to encourage them to share their
bright ideas with other kids.
-
Kidbibs. Kidbibs International, 13 October 2001. Accessed 13 October
2001.
Kidbibs is a dynamic and lively site dedicated to helping kids become
better readers. Both children and the adults who care for them can
make use of the varied resources accessible through this site. For
example, the Learning Tips section (click on the pencil icon from
the opening page) provides adults with specific, practical strategies
to motivate their children to read, such as establishing a routine
time to visit the library together or sharing with your child a book
that you absolutely loved when you were a kid. The Grow-A-Reader Booklist
category (click on the leaf icon from the opening page) breaks readers
into age groups, provides an overview of language and literary development,
highlights reading interests for each particular age group and suggests
books that would likely appeal to children of that age group. You
can use this site along with your child to investigate new and enthralling
books before heading to the library. Kids will also find homework
help and safe, cool sites to visit on the
Internet.
- Sylvan
Book Adventure Foundation. Book
Adventure. 2000. Accessed 12 October 2001.
A non-profit organization, The Book Adventure Foundation, offers this
free resource with the goal of encouraging children to read independently
and with great frequency. A child submits their age, reading level,
a preference for fiction or non-fiction and then selects five types
of books they like to read. A list of suggested books is created and
the child can take this list to the library and look for titles which
appeal to him/her. After the child has finished reading a book, he/she
may take a multiple choice exam to test their comprehension. A point
system is employed and once a child has earned enough points, they
can visit the Prize Library where they can select items such as a
free kid's cup from TCBY or temporary tattoos. There are also online
games, awards, and a Tools section that is designed for kids by kids,
which links to online dictionaries, encyclopedias, and news agencies.
This site is a fine example of combining traditional learning (i.e.
reading books) with modern technology. Furthermore, it is a fantastic
companion for children while they read.
TOP OF PAGE
- Oyate.
Oyate.org. Accessed 1 October
2001.
Oyate, the Dakota word for people, is the name of a Native organization
that is dedicated to promoting accurate, truthful portrayals of Native
people in children's literature as well as in materials for teachers.
Oyate's catalog contains reviews of
books by and about Native people and directly allows you to support
this non- profit Native organization by purchasing your children's
books with their service. Teachers and other interested adults may
also attend workshops where they can learn to critically examine books
for an anti-Indian bias. If you are looking for a place to buy reliable
books written by or about Native people, avoid chain stores and support
this site that respects and honors cultural traditions.
- The
North American Native Authors Online Catalog. NativeAuthors.com.
Accessed 11 October 2001.
Here is another alternative to purchasing books from large, chain
stores. The Native American Authors Online Catalog is an extension
of the Native American Authors Distribution Project, which was founded
in 1980 and sells books at Northeastern Pow Wows, book fairs and through
direct mail. On the opening page you will find a search engine where
you can enter the search terms, "children's books", which
will lead you to a list of numerous titles. Just click on the highlighted
link for a brief annotation of the book and an opportunity to add
that title to your virtual "shopping cart." You may read
about featured authors by following the links from the left sidebar.
This site is not for kids literature exclusively, so you may want
to spend some time browsing around and then pick up a book for yourself.
If your child observes you reading, they will follow your lead.
- Morgan,
Robert. "Creative
Ways to Encourage Reading." Creative Teaching Home Page,
22 January 2001. Accessed 11 October 2001.
You may have the most wonderful collection of books assembled for
your child, but what do you do if he/she is not interested in reading
them? Robert Morgan, a teacher with over thirty years experience,
offers twenty-six insightful ideas to stimulate your children's interest
in reading. One idea I particularly like is setting aside a time when
the whole family reads together and of course, remember to establish
a routine of visiting the library.
TOP OF PAGE
Pathfinder
Historically,
images and stories found in children's books about Native Americans
were written, illustrated and published by non- Native people. Most
of these books inaccurately and inappropriately represented Native American
cultures. More recently with the growing awareness of the necessity
for accurate, truthful representation of world cultures in children's
publishing, there has been an increase in the number of children's books
dedicated to Native American cultures. The goal of this pathfinder is
to provide sources to Native American families that will enable them
to evaluate, select and acquire excellent children's books, both those
that focus on Native cultures and general children's literature as well.
Where
can I find a brief introduction to evaluating children's books that
portray Native Americans?
The
Checklist for Evaluating Native American Children's Books
Where
can I learn about selecting quality children's books about Native Americans
for my family?
A
Selected Bibliography and Guide for "I" is not for Indian:
The Portrayal of Native Americans in Books for Young People
A
Critical Bibliography on North American Indians, For K-12
Where
can I search for extensive reviews of Native American children's books?
Native
American Books
Where
can I easily locate electronic resources about Children's Literature?
Carol
Hurst's Children's Literature Website
Children's Literature
Web Guide
Where
can I search for quality children's books?
Children's Picture Book
Database at Miami University
Are there
sites on the Web that could help my children become better readers?
World
of Reading
Kidbibs
Book Adventure
Can I
buy children's books online?
Oyate
The North American
Native Authors Online Catalog
How can
I encourage my children to read and enjoy it?
Creative
Ways to Encourage Reading
Best of
luck! If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask a Librarian!
TOP OF PAGE
*
Oyate. Oyate.org. (16 October 2001).
|
