The first AILA American Indian Youth Literature Awards were presented during the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color in 2006. Awarded biennially, the AIYLA identifies and honors the very best writing and illustrations by Native Americans and Indigenous peoples of North America. Books selected to receive the award present Indigenous North American peoples in the fullness of their humanity. In odd-numbered years, nominations are encouraged in fiction or nonfiction and may include graphic novels; for picture books, the award is for both author and illustrator. Awards are granted in even-numbered years. Authors/illustrators may win the American Indian Youth Literature Award in the categories Best Picture Book, Best Middle Grade Book, and Best Young Adult Book. In addition, up to five awards may be selected as Honors books in each category.
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Contact: aiyla@ailanet.org
Picture Book
Chooch Helped
Written by Andrea L. Rogers (Cherokee Nation) illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz (Cherokee Nation) and published by Arthur A. Levine, an imprint of Levine Querido.
Middle School
Buffalo Dreamer
Written by Violet Duncan (Plains Cree and Taino from Kehewin Cree Nation) and published by Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Picture Book
Braided Roots
Written by Pasha Westbrook (Chickasaw Nation and Choctaw
Freedman), illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw Nation), and published by
Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book
Fierce Aunties
Written by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Tshimshian),
illustrated by Steph Littlebird (Oregon’s Grand Ronde Confederate Tribes) and published
by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon and Schuster
Children’s Publishing Division.
Picture Book
For a Girl Becoming
Written by Joy Harjo (Mvskoke Nation), illustrated by Adriana
Garcia and published by Norton Young Readers, an imprint of W.W. Norton & Company.
Picture Book
Raven’s Ribbons
Written by Tasha Spillett (Cree and Trinidadian), illustrated by
Daniel Ramirez (Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan) and published by Little, Brown
and Company.
Picture Book
We Weave
Written by Daniel W. Vandever (Navajo and Irish), illustrated by
Deonoveigh Mitchell (Navajo and Black American) and published by South of Sunrise
Creative.
Middle School
Outfoxed
Written by Elise McMullen-Ciotti (Cherokee Nation), and published by
Scholastic Inc.
Middle School
Red Bird Danced
written by Dawn Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe), and
published by Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Middle School
The Summer of the Bone Horses
written by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve (Rosebud
Sioux Tribe), illustrated by Steph Littlebird (Oregon’s Grand Ronde Confederate Tribes),
and published by Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams Books for Young Readers, an
imprint of ABRAMS.
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Young Adult
Man Made Monsters
Written by Andrea L. Rogers (Cherokee Nation)
Illustrations by Jeff Edwards (Cherokee Nation)
Published by Levine Querido, distributed by Chronicle Books 2022
Middle School
She Persisted: Deb Haaland
Written by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan & Hidatsa and Tsimshian)
Illustrated by Alexandra Boiger and Gillian Flint
Publisher Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House 2023
Picture Book
Remember
Written by Joy Harjo (Mvskoke Nation)
Illustrated by Michaela Goade (Tlingit Nation)
Publisher Random House Studio, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House 2023
Picture Book
Berry Song
Written and Illustrated by Michaela Goade (Tlingit Nation)
Publisher Little, Brown and Compan, a division of Hachette Book Group 2022
Picture Book
Contenders
Written by Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation)
Illustrated by Arigon Starr (Kickapoo Tribe)
Publisher Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House 2023
Picture Book
Celebration
Written by Lily Hope (Tlingit)
Illustrated by Kelsey Mata Foote (Tlingit)
Publisher Sealaska Heritage Institute
Young Adult
Warrior Girl Unearthed
Written by Angeline Boulley (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians)
Jacket illustrations by Michaela Goade (Tlingit Nation)
Published by Henry Holt and Company, a trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group 2023
Middle School
Eagle Drums
Written and illustrated by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson (Iñupiaq)
Publisher by Roaring Brook Press 2023
Picture Book
Rock Your Mocs
Written by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan & Hidatsa and Tsimshian)
Illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw Nation)
Publisher Heartdrum, an imprint of HaperCollins Publishers 2023
Middle School
Mascot
Written by Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation) and Charles Waters
Jacket Illustration by Nicole Neidhardt (Navajo)
Publisher by Charlesbridge 2023
Middle School
Jo Jo Makoons: Snow Day
By Dawn Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe)
Illustrated by Tara Audibert (Wolastoqey)
Publisher Heartdrum, An Imprint of HaperCollins Publishers 2023
Middle School
Jo Jo Makoons: Fancy Pants
By Dawn Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe)
Illustrated by Tara Audibert (Wolastoqey)
Publisher by Heartdrum, An Imprint of HaperCollins Publishers 2022
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Picture Book
Bowwow Powwow: Bagosenjige-niimi’idim
Bowwow Powwow: Bagosenjige-niimi’idim
Written by Brenda J. Child (Red Lake Ojibwe)
Translated into Ojibwe by Gordon Jourdain (Lac La Croix First Nation)
Illustrated by Jonathan Thunder (Red Lake Ojibwe)
Published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2018
http://www.mnhs.org/mnhspress/books/bowwow-powwow
Middle School
Indian No More
Indian No More
Written by Charlene Willing McManis (Umpqua/Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde) with Traci Sorell (Cherokee) cover art by Marlena Myles (Spirit Lake Dakota, Mohegan, Muscogee Creek)
Published by Tu Books / Lee & Low, 2019
Picture Book
Birdsong
Written and illustrated by Julie Flett (Cree-Métis)
Published by Greystone Kids, 2019
Picture Book
At the Mountain’s Base
Written by Traci Sorell (Cherokee)
Illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre (Tongva/Scots-Gaelic)
Published by Kokila / Penguin Random House, 2019.
Picture Book
Raven Makes the Aleutians
Adapted from a traditional Tlingit story
Illustrated by Janine Gibbons (Haida, Raven of the Double-Finned Killer Whale clan, Brown Bear House)
Published by Sealaska Heritage, 2018
Middle School
The Grizzley Mother
The Grizzly Mother, written by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (“Bret D. Huson,” Gitxsan), illustrated by Natasha Donovan (Métis Nation of British Columbia), and published by Highwater Press.
Young Adult
Surviving the City
Written by Tasha Spillet (Nehiyaw-Trinidadian)
Illustrated by Natasha Donovan (Métis Nation of British Columbia)
Published by Highwater Press, 2018
Read more...