Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults
Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
Drawing from her experiences as an Indigenous scientist, botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer demonstrated how all living things—from strawberries and witch hazel to water lilies and lichen—provide us with gifts and lessons every day in her best-selling book Braiding Sweetgrass. Adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith, this new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth’s oldest teachers: the plants around us. With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults brings Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation.
| Format | Your Price | Add |
|---|---|---|
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978-1-7284-5898-4
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$29.99 | |
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978-1-7284-5899-1
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$17.99 | |
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978-1-7284-6064-2
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$44.99 |
| Interest Level | Grade 7 - Grade 12 |
|---|---|
| Reading Level | Grade 8 |
| Genre | Science, Young Adult |
| Category | 5 Kinds of Nonfiction, 5KN: Narrative Nonfiction, Diverse Books: #OwnVoices, Diverse Books: Race & Ethnicity, Diverse Books: Social Justice, Diversity, SEL: C Social Awareness, SEL: E Responsible Decision-Making, Social Emotional Learning |
| Copyright | 2022 |
| Publisher | Lerner Publishing Group |
| Imprint | Zest Books ™ |
| Language | English |
| Number of Pages | 304 |
| Publication Date | 2022-11-01 |
| Text Type | Narrative Nonfiction |
|---|---|
| BISACS | YAN038010, YAN050040, YAN038210 |
| Dewey | 305.8 |
| Dimensions | 5.5 x 8.25 |
| Lexile | 980 |
| Features | Author/Illustrator biography, Awards, Bibliography/further reading, Endnote, Glossary, Index, Original artwork, Photo captions, Reviewed, Starred Reviews, Table of contents, Teaching Guides, and eSource |
Author: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Her first book, Gathering Moss, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing. Her writings have appeared in Orion, Whole Terrain, and numerous scientific journals. She lives in Syracuse, New York, where she is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology and the founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment.
Author: Monique Gray Smith
Monique Gray Smith is a mom, an award winning, bestselling author, and professional consultant. Her recent writing includes Speaking our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation, My Heart Fills with Happiness, You Hold Me Up, Lucy and Lola, Tilly: A Story of Hope and Resilience, When We Are Kind, I Hope, and Tilly and the Crazy Eights. Monique is Cree and Scottish and lives in Victoria, Canada.
Illustrator: Nicole Neidhardt
Nicole Neidhardt is a Diné (Navajo) artist of Kiiyaa’áanii clan. She received her MFA from OCAD University in Toronto, Ontario, and a bachelor of fine arts with a business minor from the University of Victoria. She is the cofounder of the Innovative Young Indigenous Leaders Symposium, alongside Gina Mowatt, and is the cofounder of Groundswell Climate Collective, a group that is fighting the climate crisis through resiliency and artwork. She currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Lerner eSource™ offers free digital teaching and learning resources, including Common Core State Standards (CCSS) teaching guides. These guides, created by classroom teachers, offer short lessons and writing exercises that give students specific instruction and practice using Common Core skills and strategies. Lerner eSource also provides additional resources including online activities, downloadable/printable graphic organizers, and additional educational materials that would also support Common Core instruction. Download, share, pin, print, and save as many of these free resources as you like!
Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults
Drawing from her experiences as an Indigenous scientist, botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer demonstrated how all living things—from strawberries and witch hazel to water lilies and lichen—provide us with gifts and lessons every day in her best-selling book Braiding Sweetgrass. Adapted View available downloads →
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Awards
- Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List
- Green Earth Book Award Recommended Reading
- Nautilus Book Award Winner
- Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
- NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12
- The Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids and Teens
- Riverby Award
- CYBILS Award Finalist
- Parents Magazine Best Children's Book Awards
- Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award Winner
- Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year for Young Adults
- Kirkus Best Teen Books of the Year
Reviews
School Library Journal
“A book that is entirely in a class of its own, this belongs in every collection for teens.”—starred, School Library Journal
Booklist
“[F]illed with legends, reminiscences, bits of history, sidebars, drawings, and gentle challenges to readers, encouraging them to consider making changes in their actions, beliefs, and values. Truly, a lovely, calming addition for collections.”—Booklist
Publishers Weekly
“Smith smartly streamlines language while staying true to the narrative’s core concepts by adding brief sidebars that explain featured terminology, pose reflection questions, and highlight important passages, inviting collaborative discussion and acting as a call to action.”—starred, Publishers Weekly
Foreword Reviews
“Urging a look toward history and tradition to teach us how to answer the questions of the future, Gray Smith adapts Wall Kimmerer’s wisdom for a new, hungry audience.”—Foreword Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
“Both an urgent, essential call to action and an uplifting love letter.” –starred, Kirkus Reviews
Diane Wilson
“This beautiful, imaginative revisioning is a gift to our children that teaches them how to follow the path of our ancestors.”—Diane Wilson, author of The Seed Keeper
Jeffrey Canton
“Gray Smith’s adaptation makes this visionary exploration of Indigenous connections to the land, to plants and to storytelling and story-making accessible to a whole new readership and hopefully will inspire young people to rise to the challenges of the Climate Crisis.” –Jeffrey Canton, Children’s Book Columnist, The Globe and Mail
Shelagh Rogers, OC
“Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults is a book to grow up with and grow into. It is both medicine and a loud and urgent call to honour the gifts of the earth and the responsibility to give gifts to the earth in return.”—Shelagh Rogers, OC, host and producer of CBC Radio One’s The Next Chapter, and former chancellor of the University of Victoria
Angeline Boulley
“Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults is my new favorite book! What a great way for young people (and anyone, really) to learn about our healing medicines. Chii miigwech!”—Angeline Boulley, #1 NYT Bestselling author of Firekeeper’s Daughter