It was cho­sen for its abil­i­ty not just to enter­tain, but also enlighten.

The stereo­type-smash­ing graph­ic nov­el Moon­shot: The Indige­nous Comics Col­lec­tion (AH Comics, 2015) has been anoint­ed, tak­ing its place on the School Library Jour­nal​’s pres­ti­gious Best Books list for 2015.

“Moon­shot is a won­der­ful teach­ing tool,” said Pamela Van­der­berg, Métis, Native Stud­ies teacher at East Northum­ber­land Sec­ondary School, in Brighton, Ontario. ​“We need more up-to-date resources like this.”

School Library Jour­nal is the world’s largest review­er of children’s and young adult books, and when it speaks, schools and libraries pay atten­tion. The pub­li­ca­tion has been eager to include books with indige­nous authors and sub­ject mat­ter in its reviews and lists, accord­ing to edi­tor Shel­ley Diaz. As such, the jour­nal fea­tures arti­cles on Native books by Nambe Pueblo schol­ar and crit­ic Deb­bie Reese, among oth­ers. In the Foot­steps of Crazy Horse (Abrams/​Amulet, 2015) by Joseph Mar­shall III also made the list.

After Diaz learned about Moon­shot on social media, she con­tact­ed AH Comics, a small Toron­to pub­lish­er, for a review copy. How­ev­er, when she and oth­er SLJ review­ers decid­ed Moon­shot was one of 2015’s best books, it was more than a nod to the usu­al def­i­n­i­tion of diver­si­ty, Diaz said.

“The book is so refresh­ing,” she said. ​“It shows us the diver­si­ty of the many Native trib­al cul­tures, and it has an excep­tion­al­ly diverse range of sto­ry­telling styles.”

Not only that, but also ​“the sto­ries and the art — start­ing with the cov­er — are so arrest­ing,” Diaz added.

To view the full sto­ry on Indi­an Coun­try Today Media Net­work, click here.

(Image: Cour­tesy of AH Comics)