Alaska Children's Literature

Told from the perspective of a little girl, we learn about what goes into and what happens at the Celebration that occurs in Juneau every other year. They prepare dances and regalia and attend the many events including the traditional foods contest, the artisan market, and the fashion show. The illustrations are bright and realistic, with detail to convey the feeling of attending Celebration.

A short non-fiction book briefly describing the historical and modern Tlingit peoples. Subtopics in the book include daily life, tools (including boats), hunting, arts and culture, dancing, community, spiritual beliefs, and language. There are many photos of modern Tlingit peoples.

Many animals come visit an infant named Kulu and bestow gifts upon him to help him grow. The gifts include swiftness, patience, self confidence, tenderness, thoughtfulness, joyfulness, and many others. The illustrations are somewhat magical, bold watercolor and pencil.

An autobiographical story about the author attending one year at a residential school near Vancouver. She details some of the cruelties she faced as well as how she felt to be attending public school with children who didn’t live in the residential school and how she felt being so far from her family and community. The book also includes additional information about residential schools in Canada. The illustrations are realistic oil paintings.

A book of poetry about magical women in Haida mythology. Each poem is accompanied by graphic illustrations, with qualities of pencil and watercolor, and a more detailed description of the woman in Haida stories and histories. The book also includes a Haida glossary as well as a pronunciation guide.

This story follows Jake, a young Inuit boy who wants to learn how to run a sled dog team. Over a year, his uncle, Akkik in Inuit, teaches him how to prepare a dog team for a race. The story is accompanied by soft, realistic digital drawings.

An anthology with five separate Inuit folktales telling how several native animals came to be and how they got certain characteristics. The stories include owl, siksik, caribou, walrus, raven, loon, snow bunting, and ptarmigan. Each story is accompanied by striking, dramatic digital illustrations.

A folktale describing why wolves howl at the full moon. Two wolf brothers are separated and they call to each other once a month to wake up the moon. The story is accompanied by beautifully integrated realistic and Native art.

A pair of greedy twins are turned into a two headed snake by Thunderbird. They go on a journey to expel the killer whale from the village of the salmon so they can go upstream to feed their village. They succeed and are returned to their human form. The story is accompanied by beautifully integrated realistic and Native art.

A slightly scarier, mysterious folktale describing the origin of the mosquito. A young boy gets lost in the woods and, in an effort to lead him home, his mother accidentally attracts a bloodthirst creature. They push it into the fire and the ashes turn into thousands of mosquitos. The story is accompanied by beautifully integrated realistic and Native art.

A folktale detailing the origin of the first beaver. A brown haired baby is born into a village and the villagers are surprised that she doesn’t have black hair. As she gets older, she begins to go into the woods in the middle of the night. Her father follows her and finds that she has turned into a beaver and dammed the lake so the village can have food and water. Accompanied by realistic marker-like drawing as well as traditional First Nations Art.

This tale, told in a folktale-esque way, describes, and embellishes, the true story of the author’s grandfather traveling from Sitka to Kechikan to settle a dispute between two clans. We follow Keet, the son of the Sitka clan leader as he sneaks on his father’s boat to prove he is no longer a little boy. He learns many lessons throughout the story and experiences some good karma, with the help of a little bit of magical realism. There are a few pencil illustrations done by the author, artist, and son of Roy and Elizabeth Peratrovich.

Taking place between Alaska, Washington, Colorado, and Wyoming, we follow several characters through their own and each other’s stories. The themes of the stories vary greatly; from sexual abuse, teen romance, friendship, LGBTQ relationships and homophobia, and familial relationships and their difficulties. The stories are mostly dark, but there are a few lighter moments. Though the stories are interesting and somewhat intertwined, the complexity and care with which The Smell of Other People’s Houses is missing.

The second book about Shi-shi-etko, including her brother, Shin-chi. The book describes a year at the residential school where they must speak English, must learn gender normative skills and tasks, and cannot speak to each other. Another respectful, somber book is bookended by happy moments and is accompanied by much more drab, lifeless illustrations.

The story of a young Indigenous girl who is preparing to go to her residential school for the first time. She explores with her family, father, mother, and grandmother, to attempt to not forget her land, language, and culture while she is away. The tone is somber and the story is very poignant, knowing what likely awaits her when she arrives at her school. The sadness of the story is juxtaposed and complemented by warm, simple illustrations.