Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story

· Roaring Brook Press
4.8
12 reviews
Ebook
48
Pages
Eligible
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More

About this ebook

Winner of the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
An American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honor Winner

“A wonderful and sweet book . . . Lovely stuff.” —The New York Times Book Review


Told in lively and powerful verse by debut author Kevin Noble Maillard, Fry Bread is an evocative depiction of a modern Native American family, vibrantly illustrated by Pura Belpre Award winner and Caldecott Honoree Juana Martinez-Neal.

Fry bread is food
.
It is warm and delicious, piled high on a plate.

Fry bread is time.
It brings families together for meals and new memories.

Fry bread is nation.
It is shared by many, from coast to coast and beyond.

Fry bread is us.
It is a celebration of old and new, traditional and modern, similarity and difference.

A Charlotte Huck Recommended Book
A Publishers Weekly Best Picture Book
A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book
A School Library Journal Best Picture Book
A Booklist Editor's Choice
A Shelf Awareness Best Children's Book
A Goodreads Choice Award Semifinalist

A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book
A National Public Radio (NPR) Best Book
An NCTE Notable Poetry Book
A NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People
A ALA Notable Children's Book
An ILA Notable Book for a Global Society
Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year List
One of NPR's 100 Favorite Books for Young Readers
Nominee, Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award
Nominee, Illinois Monarch Award

Ratings and reviews

4.8
12 reviews
A P
July 30, 2025
Such a beautifully written and illustrated book teaching not just the recipe, but history, culture and personal story. Thankful.
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November 26, 2021
Help children with understanding their ethnicity: Native American culture 🙏
2 people found this review helpful
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About the author

Kevin Noble Maillard is the debut author of Fry Bread, published by Roaring Brook/Macmillan. He is also a regular writer and former contributing editor to the New York Times, with additional writings in The Atlantic, Essence, and The Week. He has provided on-air commentary for MSNBC, CNN, ABC, and Al Jazeera. Currently based in Manhattan, New York, he splits time between the city and upstate New York, where he is a tenured professor of law at Syracuse University. A graduate of Duke University and Penn Law School, he also earned a PhD in Political Theory from the University of Michigan. Originally from Oklahoma, he is an enrolled citizen of the Seminole Nation.

Juana Martinez-Neal is an illustrator of books for children, including the Pura Belpre Award winner La Princesa and the Pea. She made her authorial debut in 2018 with Alma and How She Got Her Name, which was awarded the Caldecott Honor. Juana was born in Lima, Peru, where she grew up surrounded by amazing meals prepared by her mom and amazing paintings made by her dad and grandad. She now lives, eats, and paints in Scottsdale, Arizona, surrounded by her amazing children.

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