Comments on: 10 Thanksgiving books for kids written from the Native perspective, by Native people

By: Christina Refford

Christina Refford — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 12:45:08 +0000

Hi Kelly,

We truly appreciate your insight and comments—the entire post was restructured and rewritten in advance of Thanksgiving 2022. Hoping there will be additional titles released in the near future so we can add on to this post in upcoming years.

Thanks again,
Christina, CMP

By: Kelly Tudor

Kelly Tudor — Sun, 13 Nov 2022 21:41:01 +0000

A lot of people are still sharing this and using these books because of this post. I realize you included a note that says “please read the comments” but people aren’t doing that. These books are harmful and this post continues to cause harm as a result.
I highly suggest editing the actual post and deleting the problematic books. It will continue to cause harm as long as these books are being recommended.
Please either delete the whole post or delete all the bad books.

By: Anjali Jarrett

Anjali Jarrett — Sat, 13 Nov 2021 16:55:30 +0000

This is to Kelly Tudor. You bring up important points that are often forgotten when we view history. Thank you for your candid and kind response.

By: Liz Gumbinner

Liz Gumbinner — Fri, 12 Nov 2021 13:19:33 +0000

In reply to Kelly Tudor. I'm really grateful for this thoughtful comment. There's so much more information, more resources, more books available since this post was first published and we continue to grow and learn through expertise like yours, Kelly.

By: Kelly Tudor

Kelly Tudor — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 16:39:47 +0000

I am an Indigenous educator, curriculum developer, and author. This is not a good list and has several problematic books listed.

Giving Thanks is great and Native authored, but it is not about “thanksgiving.” It is an adaptation of the Mohawk “Thanksgiving Address” that is a means of giving thanks daily. While often used at this time of year for people trying to find decolonized perspectives, it isn’t related to the holiday.

Squanto’s Journey is (potentially) Native authored, but still very bad.
https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2019/11/not-recommended-squantos-journey-story.html

The Very First Americans is not Native authored, not from Native perspectives, and horrible. https://nativecurriculumreview.blogspot.com/2020/07/book-review-very-first-americans-by.html

1621 is good and had Native contributors.

Four Seasons of Corn is good and Native authored, but again…not actually associated with the “thanksgiving” holiday. It’s about the corn harvest traditions of one nation, but not “thanksgiving.”

The Circle of Thanks looks decent (quick read through), but again – isn’t really about “thanksgiving,” just cultural ideas of giving thanks regularly/daily.

Native American History for Kids is not Native authored and isn’t very good.
https://nativecurriculumreview.blogspot.com/2020/06/book-review-native-american-history-for.html

The best way to learn about Natives is by using Native authors. Most of these are not. Also Thanksgiving is not a happy time for most of us, it is a sad reminder of land theft, genocide, colonization, disease, death…the beginning of the end. Native perspectives on “thanksgiving” are often negative. A better approach is to learn about harvest traditions of different Native nations, discuss cultural ideas of giving thanks daily, and tell the truth about the harmful history of colonization and that the “first thanksgiving” story is a myth and not true, instead of looking for Native authored books to celebrate the holiday.

https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2007/11/good-books-about-thanksgiving.html

By: Rosemarie

Rosemarie — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 02:56:53 +0000

The books on the list should all be by Native authors

—

Great point, Rosemarie and thanks for your comment.

All of these authors are Native Americans or have Native ancestry that inspires their writing. There are two exceptions: Gibson, who is a children’s author with long list of books on American history and cultural biographies; and Ashrose, who wrote her book nearly 30 years ago and unfortunately there’s not much info on her. Inclusion in publishing has evolved a lot since 1993, but we’d still like to see more.

Hoping to add some more titles for next year; this post could use a bit of an update since it was published in 2015.

Best, Liz

By: Camille Snyder

Camille Snyder — Thu, 26 Nov 2020 06:06:48 +0000

This is a good start, and certainly some of these books are important. However, Bruchac’s books in particular, has been questioned for its “let’s be friends and share the land” approach to Thanksgiving. It was published in the 90’s.

Debbie Reese is an authoritative voice on the subject. You can check out her comments on his book here. She also has a Pinterest page on recommended Native books.

https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2019/11/not-recommended-squantos-journey-story.html?m=1

By: Kathryn Chapman

Kathryn Chapman — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 13:08:21 +0000

I would recommend to keep looking. There a bunch of new books that have hit the shelves by Native authors. This is one that may also be a good read this time of year; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLD5YbPXSl8

By: Marie Hernandez

Marie Hernandez — Fri, 18 Oct 2019 18:44:02 +0000

Thank you for this list of informative book. I wish more schools took the time to teach the truth to our children.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Thu, 22 Nov 2018 20:28:45 +0000

Thank you for putting this informative list together. Another title young children might enjoy is Thanks to the Animals by Allen Sockabasin. Not specific to Thanksgiving, the book tells a Native American legend of a baby lost in the woods and cared for by animals.