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Traci Sorell

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Traci Sorell is a Native American author of fiction and nonfiction works for teens. She is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation.

Personal lifestyle

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Sorell has spent her life with her family living on the Cherokee Nation tribe's reservation in northeastern Oklahoma by Fort Gibson Lake.[1] Her mother's family has lived in the area since 1838 when Cherokee people were removed from their homelands.[2] She has a younger brother and sister.[2]

As a child, Sorell learned about her ancestors from her grandmother, fishing, and caring for animals and the land.[2] She also enjoyed reading, singing, and performing in theater productions.[2]

When Sorell was a teenager, she and her family moved to Southern California, and she became the first person in her family to graduate from college.[3] Her mother, sister, and brother later received degrees, as well.[2]

Sorell's second language is Spanish, though she is trying to learn the Cherokee language.[2]

Education

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Sorell majored in Native American Studies and minored in Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley graduating with a Bachelor Arts in 1994.[1] During her time at Berkeley, Sorell lived in Madrid and taught English and Spanish to children and adults.[2]

In 1996, she received a Master of Arts from the University of Arizona, where she studied American Indian Studies with a concentration in Federal Indian Law & Policy.[1]

Later, Sorell returned to school and received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2001.[1]

Career

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Sorell began her career by helping Native Nations and their citizens by writing "legal codes, testimony for Congressional hearings, federal budget requests, grants and reports."[2]

Since beginning her writing career, Sorell has continued to focus on incorporating culturally accurate books about Cherokee and other Indigenous people for children and young adults.[2]

Sorell is currently a Tulsa Artist Fellow.[1]

Awards and honors

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Four of Sorell's books are Junior Library Guild selections: Powwow Day,[4] We Are Still Here!,[5] We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga,[6] and Classified.[7]

Awards and honors for Sorell's books
Year Title Award/Honor Result Ref.
2018 We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga Reading the West Book Award Winner [8]
2019 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Honor [9][10]
Orbis Pictus Award Honor [11]
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Honor [12]
ALA Notable Children's Books Selection [13]
2020 At the Mountain's Base ALA Notable Children's Books Selection [14][15]
American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor [16][17]
Rise: A Feminist Book List Top 10 [18][19]
Indian No More ALA Notable Children's Books Selection [20]
American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner [16]
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor [16][17]
Audie Award for Young Listeners' Title Finalist [21]
Odyssey Award Honor [22][23]
2022 At the Mountain's Base ALA Notable Children's Recordings Selection [24]
We Are Still Here! ALA Notable Children's Recordings Selection [24]
American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor [25][17]
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Honor [25]
Classified American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor [25][17]
Orbis Pictus Award Honor [26]
Rise: A Feminist Book List Selection [27]
2024 Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series Carter G. Woodson Book Award Winner [28]
American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor [29]
Mascot American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor
She Persisted: Wilma Mankiller Honor

Publications

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Ages 4+

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  • We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, illustrated by Frané Lessac (2019)
  • At the Mountain's Base / ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎤᎾᎢ ᎡᎳᏗᏢ ᎣᏓᎸᎢ, ᎾᎢ, illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre (2019)
  • Pow Wow Day, illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight (2022)
  • Being Home, illustrated by Michaela Goade (2023)
  • Clack, Clack! Smack! A Cherokee Stickball Story, illustrated by Joseph Erb (2024)

Ages 7+

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  • Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer, illustrated by Natasha Donovan (2021)
  • One Land, Many Nations: Volume 1 with Lee Francis IV, illustrated by Jesse Hummingbird (2021)
  • We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know, illustrated by Frané Lessac (2021)

Middle grade

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  • Indian No More with Charlene Willing McManis (2019)
  • She Persisted: Wilma Mankiller with Chelsea Clinton, illustrated by Alexandra Boiger and Gillian Flint (2022)
  • Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series, illustrated by Arigon Starr (2023)
  • Mascot with Charles Waters (2023)
  • Riding the Trail: Cherokees Remember the Removal with Will Chavez (2025)

Anthology contributions

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  • Thanku: Poems of Gratitude, edited by Miranda Paul, illustrated by Marlena Myles (2019)
  • No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History, edited by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, and Jeanette Bradley, illustrated by Jeanette Bradley (2020)
  • The Reluctant Storyteller with Art Coulson, illustrated by Carlin Bear Don't Walk and Roy Boney Jr. (2020)
  • The Talk: Conversations About Race, Love & Truth, edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson (2020)
  • Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith (2021)
  • Wonderful Women of the World, edited by Laurie Halse Anderson (2021)
  • No World Too Big: Young People Fighting for Global Climate Change, edited by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, and Jeanette Bradley, illustrated by Jeanette Bradley (2023)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Traci Sorell". Tulsa Arts Fellowship. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "About". Traci Sorell. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  3. ^ "Traci Sorell". AACRAO. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  4. ^ "Powwow Day by Traci Sorell". Junior Library Guild.
  5. ^ "We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  6. ^ "We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  7. ^ "Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer by Traci Sorell". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  8. ^ Wittenstein, Barry (2019-04-17). "Awards: Reading the West; RBC Taylor Emerging Writer". Shelf Awareness. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  9. ^ "Presenting the 2019 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners". The Horn Book. 2019-05-29. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  10. ^ Holmes, Linda (2019-05-30). "Awards: Boston Globe-Horn Book". Shelf Awareness. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  11. ^ "Announcing the 2019 NCTE Children's Book Awards". NCTE. 2018-11-17. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  12. ^ Morales, Macey (2019-01-28). "Joyce Sidman wins 2019 Sibert Medal". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  13. ^ "ALSC names 2019 Notable Children's Books". American Library Association. 2019-02-25. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  14. ^ "Notable Children's Books: 2020". Booklist. March 15, 2020. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  15. ^ "2020 Notable Children's Books". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). 2021-01-23. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  16. ^ a b c Aase, Lara (2020-01-27). "AILA announces 2020 American Indian Youth Literature Awards". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  17. ^ a b c d "American Indian Youth Literature Award". American Indian Library Association. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  18. ^ "Rise: A Feminist Book Project: 2020". Booklist. March 15, 2020. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  19. ^ "At the Mountain's Base | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. February 6, 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  20. ^ "2020 Notable Children's Books". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). 2021-01-23. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  21. ^ "2020 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  22. ^ "2020 ALSC Book & Media Award Winners". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). 2020-01-27. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  23. ^ Morales, Macey (2020-01-27). "Scholastic Audiobooks wins 2020 Odyssey Award for "Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction"". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  24. ^ a b "2022 Notable Children's Recordings Round 1 Discussion List" (PDF). American Library Association. June 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  25. ^ a b c Morales, Macey (2022-01-24). "American Library Association announces 2022 Youth Media Award winners". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  26. ^ SLJ Staff (2021-11-21). "2022 Orbis Pictus and Charlotte Huck Awards Announced". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  27. ^ "Current Book List". Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0-18. 2020-08-18. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  28. ^ "Carter G. Woodson Book Award and Honor Winners". National Council for the Social Studies. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  29. ^ "American Library Association announces 2024 Youth Media Award winners" (PDF). American Library Association. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
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