MOCCASIN THUNDER: AMERICAN INDIAN STORIES FOR TODAY, edited by Lori Marie Carlson (HarperCollins, 2005). An anthology collection of short stories about contemporary Native American teenagers. A BBYA nominee. Ages 12-up.

Featuring "A Real-Live Blond Cherokee And His Equally Annoyed Soul Mate" by Cynthia Leitich Smith; other contributing authors: Joy Harjo; Sherman Alexie; Richard Van Camp; Linda Hogan; Joseph Bruchac; Louise Erdrich; Susan Power; Greg Sarris; and Lee Francis.

Read The Story Behind The Story from Cynthia Leitich Smith.

Read The Story Behind The Story from Lori Marie Carlson.

Booklist: "[the stories] show teens—lost, loving, funny, uncertain—coming of age on the reservation and in the city."

ITEPP: "a reader could not go wrong when choosing this wonderful book!"

School Library Journal: “Cynthia Leitich Smith shows an example of the everyday struggles Native people have with stereotypes, and the pain it causes on all sides.”

PERIOD PIECES, edited by Erzsi Deak and Kristin Litchman (HarperCollins, February 2003). An anthology collection of short stories. Bank Street Best Book (starred); NYPL Women in Books for the Teenage. Ages 8-up.

Featuring: "The Gentleman Cowboy" by Cynthia Leitich Smith; other contributing authors: Dian Curtis Regan; Linda Sue Park; Jane Kurtz; Rita Williams Garcia; Bobbi Katz; April Halprin Wayland; Johanna Hurwitz; Uma Krishnaswami; Carmen Bernier-Grand; Kristin Litchman; and Erzsi Deak. Read The Story Behind The Story from Erzi Deak and Kristin Litchman and The Story Behind The Story from Cynthia Leitich Smith.

Children's Literature: "Others will laugh at the total embarrassment of Linda Sue Park's girl in the white pants or feel a touch of relief at Cynthia Leitich Smith's Gentleman Cowboy whose many sisters taught him how to treat a girl."

Kirkus: "Cynthia Leitich Smith tells of the kindly cowboy, barely older than she, who rescues her from fear of heights on horseback and from being caught on said horse with no supplies or nearby bathroom."

School Library Journal: "An honest, touching, sometimes hilarious collection."

Booklist: "Whether or not they have experienced the arrival of their first 'George,' 'Auntie,' or 'Dona Rosa,' girls will enjoy these stories—funny and self-deprecating, frank and reassuring—which may encourage them to shed embarrassment and take ownership of their bodies."

IN MY GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE: AWARD-WINNING AUTHORS TELL STORIES ABOUT THEIR GRANDMOTHERS, edited and illustrated by Bonnie Christensen (HarperCollins, 2003). An anthology collection of short stories by authors about their grandmothers. NYPL Books for the Teenage. Ages 8-up. (Out of print but available at libraries and via used bookstores.)

Featuring: "The Naked Truth" by Cynthia Leitich Smith; other contributing authors: Joan Abelove; Alma Flor Ada, Bonnie Christensen; Beverly Cleary; Pat Cummings; Jean Craighead George; Minfong Ho; Ji-li Jang; Gail Carson Levine; Beverly Naidoo; and Diane Stanley. Read The Story Behind The Story from Cynthia Leitich Smith.

Voya: "The most entertaining contributions are Cynthia Leitch Smith's The Naked Truth, in which a granddaughter discovers that the nude figure painted in the basement is her grandmother, and Gail Carson Levine's A Visit to Grandma's, as a granddaughter speaks out about her grandmother and her great aunts' disrespect of her mother."

School Library Journal: "An old painting in the basement allows Cynthia Leitich Smith to see her grandmother for who she really is, and to see herself in a new light as well."

Booklist: "A fine collection that will encourage teens to reflect on their own families and recognize the individuals behind the family roles."