Stealing Little Moon: The Legacy of the American Indian Boarding Schools (Scholastic Focus)

Stealing Little Moon: The Legacy of the American Indian Boarding Schools (Scholastic Focus)
Author: Dan SaSuWeh Jones
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2024-09-03
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1338889494

"Stealing Little Moon is both a moving family saga and an expertly told true story that all Americans should know." —Steve Sheinkin, New York Times bestselling author of Bomb and Undefeated Scholastic Focus is the premier home of thoroughly researched, beautifully written, and thoughtfully designed works of narrative nonfiction aimed at middle grade and young adult readers. These books help readers learn about the world in which they live and develop their critical thinking skills so that they may become dynamic citizens who are able to analyze and understand our past, participate in essential discussions about our present, and work to grow and build our future. Little Moon There Are No Stars Tonight was four years old when armed federal agents showed up at her home and took her from her family. Under the authority of the government, she was sent away to a boarding school specifically created to strip her of her Ponca culture and teach her the ways of white society. Little Moon was one of thousands of Indigenous children forced to attend these schools across America and give up everything they'd ever known: family, friends, toys, clothing, food, customs, even their language. She would be the first of four generations of her family who would go to the Chilocco Indian Agricultural School. Dan SaSuWeh Jones chronicles his family's time at Chilocco--starting with his grandmother Little Moon's arrival when the school first opened and ending with him working on the maintenance crew when the school shut down nearly one hundred years later. Together with the voices of students from other schools, both those who died and those who survived, Dan brings to light the lasting legacy of the boarding school era. Part American history, part family history, Stealing Little Moon is a powerful look at the miseducation and the mistreatment of Indigenous kids, while celebrating their strength, resiliency, and courage--and the ultimate failure of the United States government to erase them.

Words in the Dust

Words in the Dust
Author: Trent Reedy
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2013-03-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 054557806X

Winner of the Christopher Medal and a "heart-wrenching" Al Roker's Book Club selection on the Today Show. Zulaikha hopes. She hopes for peace, now that the Taliban have been driven from Afghanistan; a good relationship with her hard stepmother; and one day even to go to school, or to have her cleft palate fixed. Zulaikha knows all will be provided for her--"Inshallah," God willing. Then she meets Meena, who offers to teach her the Afghan poetry she taught her late mother. And the Americans come to her village, promising not just new opportunities and dangers, but surgery to fix her face. These changes could mean a whole new life for Zulaikha--but can she dare to hope they'll come true?

Navajo Long Walk

Navajo Long Walk
Author: Nancy M. Armstrong
Publisher: Roberts Rinehart
Total Pages: 130
Release: 1994-07-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1461663911

Navajo Long Walk is the story of Kee, a young boy who traveled this long, arduous route with his mother, grandmother, sister and what few domestic animals they could bring. Over the four-year period, Kee learns to adapt to his inhospitable surroundings. Ultimately, Kee realizes the frailty of his people in the presence of the white soldiers and that to survive, they must find a way to get along with the white man. Ages 9-12

Pipestone

Pipestone
Author: Adam Fortunate Eagle
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2012-11-09
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0806184256

A renowned activist recalls his childhood years in an Indian boarding school Best known as a leader of the Indian takeover of Alcatraz Island in 1969, Adam Fortunate Eagle now offers an unforgettable memoir of his years as a young student at Pipestone Indian Boarding School in Minnesota. In this rare firsthand account, Fortunate Eagle lives up to his reputation as a “contrary warrior” by disproving the popular view of Indian boarding schools as bleak and prisonlike. Fortunate Eagle attended Pipestone between 1935 and 1945, just as Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier’s pluralist vision was reshaping the federal boarding school system to promote greater respect for Native cultures and traditions. But this book is hardly a dry history of the late boarding school era. Telling this story in the voice of his younger self, the author takes us on a delightful journey into his childhood and the inner world of the boarding school. Along the way, he shares anecdotes of dormitory culture, student pranks, and warrior games. Although Fortunate Eagle recognizes Pipestone’s shortcomings, he describes his time there as nothing less than “a little bit of heaven.” Were all Indian boarding schools the dispiriting places that history has suggested? This book allows readers to decide for themselves.

Up, Down, and Around

Up, Down, and Around
Author: Katherine Ayres
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2007
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9780763623784

Sprightly illustrations set the mood for a rhythmic text that follows nature's course as it demonstrates how seeds in a garden grow into a final feast of backyard bounty. Full color.

Murderers in Mausoleums

Murderers in Mausoleums
Author: Jeffrey Tayler
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2009
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 9780618799916

Focuses on the vast expanse of remote, challenging terrain from the steppes of southern Russia and the turbulent Caucasus Mountains to the deserts of central Asia and northern China to reveal the diverse lands and peoples of the region.

The Hired Girl

The Hired Girl
Author: Laura Amy Schlitz
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2015-09-08
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0763679437

Winner of the 2016 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction A 2016 Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Award Winner Winner of the 2016 National Jewish Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz brings her delicious wit and keen eye to early twentieth-century America in a moving yet comedic tour de force. Fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs, just like the heroines in her beloved novels, yearns for real life and true love. But what hope is there for adventure, beauty, or art on a hardscrabble farm in Pennsylvania where the work never ends? Over the summer of 1911, Joan pours her heart out into her diary as she seeks a new, better life for herself—because maybe, just maybe, a hired girl cleaning and cooking for six dollars a week can become what a farm girl could only dream of—a woman with a future. Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz relates Joan’s journey from the muck of the chicken coop to the comforts of a society household in Baltimore (Electricity! Carpet sweepers! Sending out the laundry!), taking readers on an exploration of feminism and housework; religion and literature; love and loyalty; cats, hats, and bunions.

Freedom's School

Freedom's School
Author: Lesa Cline-Ransome
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 34
Release: 2016-08-04
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1368005195

When Lizzie's parents are granted their freedom from slavery, Mama says its time for Lizzie and her brother Paul to go to a real school -- a new one, built just for them. Lizzie can't wait. The scraps of learning she has picked up here and there have just made her hungry for more. The walk to school is long. Some days it's rainy, or windy, or freezing cold. Sometimes there are dangers lurking along the way, like angry white folks with rocks, or mysterious men on horseback. The schoolhouse is still unpainted, and its very plain, but Lizzie has never seen a prettier sight. Except for maybe the teacher, Mizz Howard, who has brown skin, just like her. They've finally made it to Freedom's School. But will it be strong enough to stand forever? Praise for Light in the Darkness "In this tale, [Cline-Ransome] makes the point that learning was not just a dream of a few famous and accomplished men and women, but one that belonged to ordinary folk willing to risk their lives. Ransome's full-page watercolor paintings-in beautiful shades of blue for the night and yellow for the day-are a window, albeit somewhat gentle, into a slave's life for younger readers. A compelling story about those willing to risk "[a] lash for each letter." -- Kirkus Reviews "Told from the perspective of Rosa, a girl who makes the dangerous nighttime journey to the lessons with her mother, the story effectively conveys the urgent dedication of the characters to their surreptitious schooling and their belief in the power of literacy . . .Solid text and soft, skillful illustrations combine for a poignant tribute to the power of education and the human spirit." -- School Library Journal

The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read

The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read
Author: Rita Lorraine Hubbard
Publisher: Anne Schwartz Books
Total Pages: 21
Release: 2020-01-07
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1524768308

Imagine learning to read at the age of 116! Discover the true story of Mary Walker, the nation's oldest student who did just that, in this picture book from a Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator and a rising star author. In 1848, Mary Walker was born into slavery. At age 15, she was freed, and by age 20, she was married and had her first child. By age 68, she had worked numerous jobs, including cooking, cleaning, babysitting, and selling sandwiches to raise money for her church. At 114, she was the last remaining member of her family. And at 116, she learned to read. From Rita Lorraine Hubbard and rising star Oge More comes the inspirational story of Mary Walker, a woman whose long life spanned from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement, and who--with perseverance and dedication--proved that you're never too old to learn.

Living Ghosts and Mischievous Monsters: Chilling American Indian Stories

Living Ghosts and Mischievous Monsters: Chilling American Indian Stories
Author: Dan SaSuWeh Jones
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2021-09-07
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 133868163X

Perfect for fans of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark! A shiver-inducing collection of short stories to read under the covers, from a breadth of American Indian nations. Dark figures in the night. An owl's cry on the wind. Monsters watching from the edge of the wood. Some of the creatures in these pages might only have a message for you, but some are the stuff of nightmares. These thirty-two short stories -- from tales passed down for generations to accounts that could have happened yesterday -- are collected from the thriving tradition of ghost stories in American Indian cultures across North America. Prepare for stories of witches and walking dolls, hungry skeletons, La Llorona and Deer Woman, and other supernatural beings ready to chill you to the bone. Dan SaSuWeh Jones (Ponca Nation) tells of his own encounters and selects his favorite spooky, eerie, surprising, and spine-tingling stories, all paired with haunting art by Weshoyot Alvitre (Tongva). So dim the lights (or maybe turn them all on) and pick up a story...if you dare.