Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids

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

Author: Cynthia L. Smith
Publisher: Heartdrum
Published: 02/09/2021
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.83lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.50w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9780062869944
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5
Point Value: 9
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 511393 / Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 12/15/2020
Publishers Weekly 12/21/2020
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 02/01/2021
Booklist 02/01/2021 pg. 49
Shelf Awareness 11/23/2021
Horn Book Magazine 03/01/2021 pg. 100
School Library Journal 03/01/2021 pg. 98

About the Author
Smith, Cynthia L.: -

Cynthia Leitich Smith is the bestselling, acclaimed author of books for all ages, including Rain Is Not My Indian Name, Indian Shoes, Jingle Dancer, and Hearts Unbroken, which won the American Indian Library Association's Youth Literature Award; she is also the anthologist of Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids. Most recently, she was named the 2021 NSK Neustadt Laureate. Cynthia is the author-curator of Heartdrum, a Native-focused imprint at HarperCollins Children's Books, and serves as the Katherine Paterson Inaugural Endowed Chair on the faculty of the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation and lives in Austin, Texas. You can visit Cynthia online at www.cynthialeitichsmith.com.