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Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Ones Who Came Before

The Ones Who Came Before

Hardcover

General Juvenile Fiction

Publisher Price: $19.99

ISBN10: 1250821967
ISBN13: 9781250821966
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Published: Oct 13 2026
Pages: 40
Weight: 1.10
Height: 0.50 Width: 10.30 Depth: 10.20
Language: English

A Native American city kid explores the idea of belonging and who came first after a surprising encounter with a country bear, from the award-winning author of Fry Bread.

Every year, Aabanya visits her grandfather Big Jimmy at his cottage on Early Mountain.

During the day, they gather corn, beans, and squash to make stew. In the evenings, Aabanya listens to her grandfather's tales of the mountain and of Turtle Island.

When they venture into town, Aabanya feels out of place. The Earlies, a family who named Early Mountain generations ago, seem to look at her with questions in their eyes.

Who are you? Where are you from? Why are you here?

Her grandfather tells Aabanya that these are the very same questions her family and their people asked when the Earlies first came.

One night, Aabanya wakes to a scratch at her window and discovers... a bear! Fearful, she runs to her grandfather, who helps her remember that the bears... are the ones who came before.

Interwoven with indigenous concepts about land and the natural world, Fry Bread author Kevin Maillard's thought-provoking story and artist Sibu T. P.'s rich, vibrant illustrations come together in this contemplation of heritage, ancestry, sharing space, and belonging.

Also from

Maillard, Kevin

Also in

General Juvenile Fiction