Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids

by Cynthia L. Smith Narrated by Kenny Ramos, DeLanna Studi

Overview

Edited by award-winning and bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of intersecting stories by both new and veteran Native writers bursts with hope, joy, resilience, the strength of community, and Native pride.

Native families from Nations across the continent gather at the Dance for Mother Earth Powwow in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

In a high school gym full of color and song, people dance, sell beadwork and books, and celebrate friendship and heritage. Young protagonists will meet relatives from faraway, mysterious strangers, and sometimes one another (plus one scrappy rez dog).

They are the heroes of their own stories.

Featuring stories and poems by:
Joseph Bruchac
Art Coulson
Christine Day
Eric Gansworth
Carole Lindstrom
Dawn Quigley
Rebecca Roanhorse
David A. Robertson
Andrea L. Rogers
Kim Rogers
Cynthia Leitich Smith
Monique Gray Smith
Traci Sorell,
Tim Tingle
Erika T. Wurth
Brian Young

In partnership with We Need Diverse Books

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Editorial Reviews

FEBRUARY 2021 - AudioFile

Kenny Ramos and DeLanna Studi narrate with warmth as they bring a memorable intertribal powwow to life for listeners. Sixteen Indigenous authors weave together diverse stories in celebration of coming together as a community while also highlighting the young protagonists’ many different personalities and experiences. Ramos narrates the boys’ stories in a lively and youthful voice, capturing their nerves and excitement over joining the festivities. Studi expresses the energy and emotions of the girls and is especially skilled at portraying older loved ones. Both smoothly narrate words in multiple Indigenous languages. Listeners hear from kids coming to their first powwow, working at their families’ concession stands, forming new friendships, and dancing and celebrating together. All will find much to love in this collection full of heart. E.E.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"A thoughtful and sometimes funny celebration of a celebration, and whether kids are veteran powwow-goers or new to the experience, they’ll long for the convivial warmth of the festivities."

Shelf Awareness

"This uplifting assembly affirms the vitality of Indigenous life today and offers accessible situations and characters to all young readers."

Booklist (starred review)

"With exceptionally strong writing throughout, and appended with glossary, author notes, and acknowledgements, this makes an appealing choice for those just learning about contemporary Indigenous life as well as readers well versed with the powwow circuit."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A thoughtful and sometimes funny celebration of a celebration, and whether kids are veteran powwow-goers or new to the experience, they’ll long for the convivial warmth of the festivities."

Horn Book Magazine

"This anthology offers readers a variety of images of Native children while also introducing them to vocabulary from several different Indigenous languages, compiled in an appended glossary. According to Rogers’s poem: “A powwow is / friends and family / …a way to remember those / who’ve passed on / …a place for belly-laughing / …healing / and soul-soothing,” and this volume reflects all of those elements and more."

"This uplifting assembly affirms the vitality of Indigenous life today and offers accessible situations and characters to all young readers." %COMM_CONTRIB%Shelf Awareness

School Library Journal

03/01/2021

Gr 3–6—Editor Smith and 16 other authors and artists collaborate in this #OwnVoices short story collection from HarperCollins's HeartDrum imprint, which was created to "highlight the voices of Native creators." Each story focuses on a different character and their experience of an intertribal powwow in Michigan. The stories range from solemn to silly, but each emphasizes the power of the tribal community to support and heal its members. The well-edited volume begins with welcoming and humorous tales before moving into heavier territory. Each creator provides a short biography in the back matter, which includes their tribal affiliation and other works, in addition to their acknowledgements and notes on their contributions to the book. This anthology aims to both increase Native representation in middle grade literature and promote knowledge and understanding in non-Native readers. While not every story will be equally engaging for every reader and some points of overlap might seem a bit redundant, there is still more than enough to recommend this for school and public libraries everywhere. VERDICT All libraries should make room on their shelves for this collection of Native-voiced stories. Recommended.—Taylor Worley, Springfield P.L., OR

FEBRUARY 2021 - AudioFile

Kenny Ramos and DeLanna Studi narrate with warmth as they bring a memorable intertribal powwow to life for listeners. Sixteen Indigenous authors weave together diverse stories in celebration of coming together as a community while also highlighting the young protagonists’ many different personalities and experiences. Ramos narrates the boys’ stories in a lively and youthful voice, capturing their nerves and excitement over joining the festivities. Studi expresses the energy and emotions of the girls and is especially skilled at portraying older loved ones. Both smoothly narrate words in multiple Indigenous languages. Listeners hear from kids coming to their first powwow, working at their families’ concession stands, forming new friendships, and dancing and celebrating together. All will find much to love in this collection full of heart. E.E.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2020-11-27
A groundbreaking Indigenous anthology for young people.

Readers can join the fun in this collection of 18 contemporary stories and poems about loving families from various parts of the U.S. and Canada who travel to meet, dance, sing, socialize, and honor Native traditions at an intertribal powwow. The entries tell of the personal struggles, family joy, belief systems, and stunning regalia of various nations, including the Cree, Ojibwe, Choctaw, Cherokee, Navajo, Abenaki, and Haudenosaunee, through the eyes of the young protagonists. Enrollment issues, Indian wannabes, and veterans’ histories are just a few of the serious themes addressed in these entertaining stories written by familiar and lesser-known writers alike. Senses of goodwill and humor pervade the book as well as the spirit of community, intersection, resilience, and a desire to remember the past. Whether engaging with the quiet spiritual strength displayed in “Fancy Dancer” by Monique Gray Smith or the profound point of view of Brian Young’s “Senecavajo,” the stories are full of surprises. Rebecca Roanhorse writes from a dog’s vantage point, and Dawn Quigley asks about the nature of intelligence. Many other original tales complete this anthology of modern Natives celebrating their diversity together. An especially winning feature is the glossary in which various Indigenous vocabulary words in the stories are defined.

A joyful invitation to celebrate the circle of ancestors together. (about the authors) (Anthology. 10-14)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940177091655
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/09/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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