New & Notable: Building Your Classroom Library with Contemporary Indigenous Authors
Published Monday, November 9, 2026
Advancing Literacy
Estimated read time: 7 minutes
November is Native American Heritage Month, making for a good moment to look closely at the Indigenous voices on your classroom shelves. Last year we shared five chapter books to celebrate the month. This year we're widening the lens to preschool through high school. Every title below is new to our lists, by a Native or First Nations author, and published between 2024 and 2026. Many were honored this January by the American Indian Youth Literature Awards.
The list is organized by grade band and mixes picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, verse, nonfiction, and genre fiction. Most center Native kids and teens living full, present-day lives.
A note on content: several titles for older readers address residential schools, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis, and the foster care system. We've flagged these below and recommend previewing any book before sharing it with students.
Preschool and Lower Elementary
Chooch Helped by Andrea L. Rogers (Cherokee Nation), Illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz (Cherokee Nation) (Levine Querido, 2024)
Sissy's little brother Chooch isn't a baby anymore, but their parents still say he's just "helping" no matter what he does. When he helps with Sissy's clay pot, she yells, and Chooch bursts into tears. Kunz's art shows one Cherokee family practicing their traditions. The book won the 2025 Caldecott Medal and the 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award for best picture book.
Raven's Ribbons by Tasha Spillett (Cree and Trinidadian), Illustrated by Daniel Ramirez (Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan) (Little, Brown, 2025)
Raven loves watching ribbon skirts swirl at round dances, but his grandmother has never seen a boy wear one. That night she sews late, and Raven wakes to a rainbow skirt of his own. He wears it with pride at the next dance. The book earned three starred reviews and a 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor.
Fierce Aunties! by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Tsimshian), Illustrated by Steph Littlebird (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde) (Simon & Schuster, 2025)
This celebration of aunties honors the women kids turn to for advice, support, adventure, and courage. They might be a parent's sisters, older cousins, or family friends. Pair it with Here Come the Aunties! and invite students to name the aunties in their own lives. It received a 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor.
Here Come the Aunties! by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee), Illustrated by Aphelandra (Oneida) (Heartdrum, 2026)
Aunts by kinship, family friends, neighbors, and community members all step up to fill the role of "auntie" in this joyful picture book. They show up for life's joys, sorrows, and celebrations. Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal each gave it a starred review.
Order from HarperCollins/Heartdrum
A Good Hide by Karina Iceberg (Aleut/Unangax̂ and Alutiiq/Sugpiaq), Illustrated by Natasha Donovan (Métis) (Heartdrum, 2026)
In Alaska, fall is moose season. After the hunt, an intertribal Alaska Native community works together to tan the hide, from stretching and scraping to making brain stew. Iceberg's step-by-step structure makes this a strong model for procedural writing. Kirkus and Publishers Weekly both gave the debut a starred review.
Order from HarperCollins/Heartdrum
Jo Jo Makoons: The Super-Scary Sleepover by Dawn Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe), Illustrated by Tara Audibert (Wolastoqey/French) (Heartdrum, 2025)
Ojibwe first grader Jo Jo Makoons is invited to her very first friend sleepover, and it's her turn to be brave. That's hard when scary puppets and dolls hide around every corner. Students who met Jo Jo in the series opener on last year's list will be glad to see her again and the growing series is a must have for transitional chapter book readers. It received a 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor.
Order from HarperCollins/Heartdrum
Upper Elementary
The Ribbon Skirt Written and Illustrated by Cameron Mukwa (Anishinaabe) (Graphix, 2024)
Ten-year-old Anang, who is Two-Spirit and nonbinary, wants to make a ribbon skirt for an upcoming powwow. In the Anishinaabe tradition, ribbon skirts are typically worn by girls. With help from family, friends, the crows, and even the lake, Anang gathers the materials and new confidence. The graphic novel earned three starred reviews and a 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor.
Lost at Windy River: A True Story of Survival by Trina Rathgeber (Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation), Illustrated by Alina Pete (Little Pine First Nation) and Jillian Dolan (Kapawe'no Cree First Nation) (Orca Book Publishers, 2024)
In 1944, thirteen-year-old Ilse Schweder got lost in a snowstorm while checking her family's trapline. She survived nine days alone in the northern Canadian barrens, relying on Traditional Indigenous Knowledge to find her way home. Her granddaughter tells the story in this nonfiction graphic novel, a 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor. Hand it to fans of Hatchet.
Order from Orca Book Publishers
Outfoxed: A Wish Novel by Elise McMullen-Ciotti (Cherokee Nation) (Scholastic, 2025)
Twelve-year-old Skye and her park ranger cousin find a baby fox injured in a trap. Skye names it Kitkat and sets out to find the poacher with Ivy, a standoffish girl she meets at the vet. The two bond over the Cherokee and Nakota fox stories their uncles tell. It received a 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor.
Middle School
Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan (Plains Cree and Taino, Kehewin Cree Nation) (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2024)
Summer spends every summer on the Alberta reservation where her mom's family lives. This year she begins dreaming of running away from a residential school. Soon after, unmarked children's graves are found at the school her grandpa attended. Based on Duncan's own family history, the novel faces this history directly while holding on to hope, so plan time for discussion. It was a 2024 National Book Award finalist and won the 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award for middle grade.
Order from Penguin Random House
Red Bird Danced by Dawn Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe) (Heartdrum, 2024)
Ariel and Tomah have grown up in the same intertribal housing complex. Since her Auntie Bineshiinh went missing, ballet no longer feels like flying for Ariel. Told in verse through both voices, the story follows the two from autumn into spring. It raises awareness of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis without graphic detail, though it includes the death of a family member. It earned four starred reviews and a 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor.
Order from HarperCollins/Heartdrum
Where Wolves Don't Die by Anton Treuer (Ojibwe) (Levine Querido, 2024)
Ezra Cloud hates living in Northeast Minneapolis and misses the rez at Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation. After he fights the bully Matt Schroeder to defend his friend Nora, Matt's house burns down, and Ezra becomes a prime suspect. His family sends him to run traplines with his grandfather in remote Canada. This thriller works for strong eighth grade readers and high schoolers and received a 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor.
High School
Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories Edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee) (Heartdrum, 2025)
Sandy June's Legendary Frybread Drive-In sits beside every rez and urban Native hangout, serving live music, movie nights, and unexpected reunions. Contributors include Angeline Boulley, Darcie Little Badger, Eric Gansworth, and Brian Young. Each piece stands on its own, so it's easy to assign a single story. The anthology won the 2026 Printz Award and the 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award for young adults.
Order from HarperCollins/Heartdrum
Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) (Henry Holt, 2025)
Since her father died five years ago, Lucy Smith has stayed on the run to avoid becoming a ward of the state. Then Mr. Jameson, who has an interest in her case, finds her. He and his ally tell Lucy what her father hid: she is Ojibwe, with family who would love her. But Lucy is being followed. This thriller centers the Indian Child Welfare Act and is best suited to older high school readers. It earned a 2026 Printz Honor.
The Unfinished by Cheryl Isaacs (Kanyen'kehá:ka/Mohawk) (Heartdrum, 2024)
Avery's morning run leads her to a strange pond deep in the forest, where she awakens a horror the town of Crook's Falls has long forgotten. Soon people begin to go missing. Avery has never felt connected to her Kanien'kéha:ka culture, but the Elders she has avoided may have the answers she needs. This horror debut earned two starred reviews and a 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor.
Order from HarperCollins/Heartdrum
Keep Building
A strong classroom library grows a few titles at a time. These are good places to look for more:
The full list of 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award winners and honor books, which includes several titles we didn't have room for here
American Indians in Children's Literature, Dr. Debbie Reese's long-running site of reviews and annual best-books lists
Heartdrum's free educator guides, by Indigenous educators, for many of the Heartdrum titles above
As you add books, spend time with the author's notes and back matter. Many include glossaries, language guides, and notes on tradition from the authors themselves.
A note on language: teachers often ask which term is correct: Native American, American Indian, Indigenous, or something else. We find this guidance from the National Museum of the American Indian helpful. Throughout this post, we refer to authors and characters using the terms the authors use for themselves and their tribal communities.