An annotated bibliography of all identifiable novel-length fictional works by and about Native Americans of the United States published between the 1890s and the 1990s. All literary genres have been included, whether contemporary fiction, westerns, romances, mysteries or science fiction. Young adult fiction of interest to adult readers has also been included. If the author is Native American, his or her tribal affiliation is identified. The critical annotations include the time periods, geographical location, and the tribe or band identified in the novel. Reviews of the novels that have been published in standard review sources are cited. The bibliography contains indexes and appendixes of literary criticism, sources consulted, and novels excluded from the work(when they fall outside the scope of the work). For high school, public, and college libraries.
Author Biography: Joan Beam and Barbara Branstad are both Social Sciences and Humanities librarians at the Colorado State University Library in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Anyone who has spent much time searching for Native American fiction has encountered first-hand the difficulty in finding quality books with authentic depictions. This reference work, a guide to more than four hundred novels by or about Native Americans, is a useful-and welcome-bibliography of Native American novels published in the past one hundred years. To be included, the novels had to focus on Native American characters, their history, social life, or culture and be written from a Native American perspective and in a Native American voice. The editors say they limited their review to novels of good literary quality of all genres. The entries are arranged alphabetically by author and contain the tribal affiliation (if any) of the author, a two- to three-hundred word annotation, and references to reviews of the book. The volume contains six helpful indexes: title, time period, tribe, historical persons, historical events, and literary genre. Also featured are lists of books not included-along with the reasons why-and a bibliography of sources on Native American fiction. The work includes fifty-four YA titles, some by well-known authors such as Jamake Highwater, Will Hobbs, Robert Lipsyte, and Scott O'Dell. The annotations are objective, describing literary value and the books' success-or failure-in presenting Native American issues authentically. This book will be a useful reference for librarians and for anyone interested in Native American fiction. Classroom instructors will find it a helpful guide to Native American novels that might be appropriate for school use. Index. Biblio. Further Reading. Appendix.
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