Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids Edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, Read by Kenny Ramos and DeLanna Studi

Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens.

Kenny Ramos and DeLanna Studi bring a memorable intertribal powwow to life for listeners with Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly talk about this exciting new audiobook for children, featuring short stories from sixteen Indigenous authors. Diverse stories with overlapping narratives showcase the joys of coming together as a community while also highlighting the kids’ many different personalities and experiences. Ramos narrates with all of the nerves and excitement the boys are feeling over joining the festivities, and Studi captures the energy and emotions of the girl protagonists. The collection highlights for listeners that Indigenous people are still here, and that there’s no one story that represents what it’s like to be a Native kid.

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