Summer is here and that means I can catch up with my kid lit book pile. To start this summer, I picked up a few books that were rereads for me. Rereading is a great activity for readers because it builds fluency and gives the reader a chance to glean more (and different ideas) from a story, and it builds stronger connections. It also has the benefit of helping you get through any book mourning you may experience when you don’t want a special book to end.

Two books that started my summer reading binge are books that have Native American settings, The Birchbark House and Morning Girl. I had not read either book in several years, but one of the reasons I wanted to reread them is because they have characters who make everything they need to live from scratch. I love the scenes in the story where the author describes the procedures for building a house or hunting for food or making clothing. If you like Little House on the Prairie because of the parts where Laura and her family build a cabin or gather maple syrup, you will enjoy these stories too. I should probably focus more on the results of white settlers claiming American Indian land and the destructive impact it had on these groups. The books include recognition of that topic too. I happen to like the parts that show self-reliance the best since the other parts are so sad.

Chapter Books

• The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
• Morning Girl by Michael Dorris
• Guests by Michael Dorris
• The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
• Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
• The Talking Earth by Jean Craighead George
• Far North by Will Hobbs
• Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison by Lois Lenski
• The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
• Soft Rain: A Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears by Cornelia Cornelissen
• When the Legend Dies by Hal Borland (7th grade+)
• Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen (7th grade+)

Short Story

• A Man Called Horse by Dorothy M. Johnson (7th grade+)

Picture Books

• The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin
• The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble
• Buffalo Woman by Paul Goble
• The Desert is Theirs by Byrd Baylor

There were many more recommendations on THIS AICL WEBSITE dedicated to American Indians in children’s literature.

For more summer reading ideas, my teacher blogger friend, Amy, has posted a new Hidden Gem book that you might not find on your own. CLICK HERE to read her latest recommendation.