Opening the door to cross-cultural understanding
Debbie Reese offers this list of American picture books and novels (for both Middle and High School) that speak to the experience, lives and culture of American Native peoples. Some titles may also work well in a Canadian context.
"At a conference [...] in the early 1990s, James Ransome was asked why he had not illustrated any books with American Indian characters. His response, in short, was something to the effect of, "I haven't held their babies." He captured what it means to really engage with a people whose history and culture are not one's own. [...]. In this column, I've made an effort to include non-Native authors who have succeeded in forging the meaningful bonds to which Ransome alluded.[...] Real relationships with American Indians are vital in order to avoid romanticizing or denigrating various groups through stereotypical ideas and characters."
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