Description
Hello/Boozhoo—meet Jo Jo Makoons! Full of pride, joy, and plenty of humor, this first book in an all-new chapter book series by Dawn Quigley celebrates a spunky young Ojibwe girl who loves who she is.
Jo Jo Makoons The Used-to-Be Best Friend is written by Dawn Quigley, a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, North Dakota and illustrated by Tara Audibert, Wolatoqiyik and a multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, cartoonist, animator, and podcaster. Jo Jo Makoons Azure is a spirited seven-year-old who moves through the world a little differently than anyone else on her Ojibwe reservation. It always seems like her mom, her kokum (grandma), and her teacher have a lot to learn—about how good Jo Jo is at cleaning up, what makes a good rhyme, and what it means to be friendly. Even though Jo Jo loves her #1 best friend Mimi (who is a cat), she’s worried that she needs to figure out how to make more friends. Because Fern, her best friend at school, may not want to be friends anymore…
Dawn Quigley's debut YA novel, Apple in the Middle, was awarded an American Indian Youth Literature Honor. She is a PhD, education university faculty member, and a former K–12 reading and English teacher, as well as Indian Education program codirector.
2022 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book Middle Grade