The Ones Who Came Before - by Kevin Maillard (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

Praise for And They Walk On:

"Stunning and essential." -Kirkus, starred review

"[An] emotionally centered picture book about the Indigenous concept of "walking on." -Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This book has universal appeal for anyone coping with a loss, but by keeping the text centered on the child's feelings and responses, it's particularly useful as a grief resource for a wide range of children." -Booklist, starred review

"And They Walk On provides a compassionate space for children to contemplate loss... Maillard and López remind readers that mourning can coexist with joy and that, even in that absence, presence lingers--like the scent of eucalyptus in a bustling kitchen." -Shelf Awareness

Praise for Fry Bread:
"Through the story and the book's beautiful pictures, Kevin Noble Maillard and Juana Martinez-Neal capture the complexity of native identity." --Graham Lee Brewer, NPR

"A wonderful and sweet book [that] takes a staple food of many tribes across the country and uses it to think about family, history, memory and community. . . Lovely stuff." --The New York Times Book Review

"With buoyant, heartfelt illustrations that show the diversity in Native America, the book tells the story of a post-colonial food, a shared tradition across the North American continent . . . Fry bread is much more than food, as this book amply demonstrates." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

About the Author

Kevin Maillard is a contributor to the New York Times and a professor of law at Syracuse University. He is the author of And They Walk On, illustrated by Rafael Lopez, and Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story, a picture book illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal, which won the Sibert Medal and the American Indian Youth Literature Honor. An enrolled member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, he lives with his family in Manhattan and Vermont.

Born and raised in New York, Sibu T.P. is a first-generation child of immigrants. He spent a great deal of his childhood years scribbling and sketching, dreaming and imagining. Today, he tells stories through picture books. Sibu studied English Lit at SUNY Stony Brook, and illustration at the Hartford Art School. When he's not in front of his drawing board, he's taking pictures while hiking, and running from squirrels.