Small publishing houses have known for years there's an audience for young people's books by and about Indigenous people. The Minnesota Historical Society, for example, published "How the Birds Got Their Songs" recently. But, if this year is any indication, larger publishers are reaching out to that market, too.
Here are four recent books that are worth checking out: 'Where Wolves Don't Die' By Anton Treuer (Levine Querido, $18.99) This book has potential to be a breakout hit. The page-turner by Treuer, an Ojibwe professor at Minnesota's Bemidji State University, is a young-adult title in the sense that Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" also would be categorized as young adult if it were published now.
Ezra, the adolescent hero of "Wolves," lives in northeast Minneapolis but is whisked across the Canadian border when there's an arson fire at the home of a classmate/ enemy that results in two deaths. Ezra's not a suspect exactly, but he keeps getting questioned by police, so his dad (like Treuer, a professor of Ojibwe) sends him to live in Canada with Ezra's grandparents. There, he can help his grandpa with chores and study remotely while also remotely pining for his friend-or-is-she-more Nora.
Initially, "Wolves" seems like it's going to be a mystery, but Ezra's ability to investigate the deaths leaves Minneapolis when he does. At that point, "Wolves" becomes an absorbing primer in the traditions of Ezra's clan, including how they pay respect to the creatures they kill and.