Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
Poetry and Short Stories
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Additional recommendations are available from the American Indians in Children's Literature blog and Oyate website.
These poetry and short story collections include pieces about the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries and feature works by a wide variety of American Indian authors such as Sherman Alexie, Cynthia Leitich Smith, and Simon Ortiz.
Adventure on Thunder Island
In this book, the supernatural is everywhere, and children of the Ojibwe First Nation learn the stories of their culture by living them — on a raft, catching a bird, or meeting a mysterious girl in the forest.
Men on the Moon: Collected Short Stories
In this collection of 26 short stories, Ortiz, best known for his poetry, again carries his readers to the worlds of the Pueblo, whether on the reservation or in cities, VA hospitals, or boarding schools. The stories are about the land and about those who are or are not a part of the land. — Library Journal
Moccasin Thunder: American Indian Stories for Today
Product Description: The ten stories that make up this collection edited by Lori Carlson (Cool Salsa) are raw, original, and fresh. A supermarket checkout line, a rowboat on a freezing lake at dawn, a drunken dance in the gym, an ice hockey game on public-access TV. These are some of the backgrounds against which ten outstanding authors such as Sherman Alexie, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Linda Hogan, and Lee Francis have created their memorable characters.
Stories for a Winter's Night
Product Description: This anthology is a portable lodge of stories meant to enchant, teach, and excite our imaginations with tales by contemporary Native American writers including Silko, Harjo, Blue Cloud, Rose, Williams, and other established and emerging writers.
The Girl Who Married the Moon: Tales from Native North America
What sets this book apart from other collections of Native American tales is its focus on women. Of the 16 stories (4 from each corner of the U.S.), most are relatively unknown…Several selections involve abduction; there is a bit of cruelty and gore; and one romantic story ends tragically. Edging toward nonfiction, two pieces reflect actual coming-of-age ceremonies, and another celebrates the courage of a woman during the historical battle of Rosebud Creek. — School Library Journal
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
Product Description: In this darkly comic collection, Alexie brilliantly weaves memory, fantasy, and stark realism to paint a complex, grimly ironic portrait of life in and around the Spokane Indian Reservation. These twenty-two interlinked tales are narrated by characters raised on humiliation and government-issue cheese, and yet are filled with passion and affection, myth and dream.
Walking the Choctaw Road: Stories From Red People Memory
In this collection, Tingle reaches far back into tribal memory to offer this deeply personal collection of stories woven from the supernatural, mythical, historical and oral accounts of Choctaw people living today. The stories span a number of historic periods, from the Trail of Tears all the way through the Vietnam War.
When the Rain Sings: Poems by Young Native Americans
A range of poets in grades 2 to 12 from eight nations write compellingly of their personal reactions and experiences as Native Americans. Photographs from the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian are included in this unique collection.
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