Rock Your Mocs

by Laurel Goodluck, Madelyn Goodnight (Illustrator)

Overview

In this happy, vibrant tribute to Rock Your Mocs Day, observed yearly on November 15, author Laurel Goodluck (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Tsimshian) and artist Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw) celebrate the joy and power of wearing moccasins—and the Native pride that comes with them. A perfect book for Native American Heritage Month and all year round!

We’re stepping out

and kicking it up.

Wearing beauty on their feet—

as art, as tradition,

with style, with pride—

kids from different Native Nations know

every day is a day to ROCK YOUR MOCS! 

This book contains an author’s note with additional information about moccasins and Rock Your Mocs day, for readers curious to learn more about intertribal pride and the joy found in different Native identities.

An American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award Honor Book!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063099890
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/10/2023
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	10,992
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Laurel Goodluck is the author of many books for young readers, including the award-winning Forever Cousins, Rock Your Mocs, She Persisted: Deb Haaland, and Too Much: My Great Big Native Family. She comes from an intertribal background of Mandan and Hidatsa from the prairies of North Dakota and Tsimshian from a rain forest in Alaska. Laurel lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her Diné (Navajo) husband, where they raised two sons. Visit her online at laurelgoodluck.com.

Madelyn Goodnight is a member of the Chickasaw Nation. Her work reflects her love of childhood. She holds a degree from Rhode Island School of Design and lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She is the illustrator of The Pear Tree; Look, Grandma! Ni, Elisi!; and Rock Your Mocs.

Editorial Reviews

11/10/2023

PreS-Gr 2—Goodluck and Goodnight highlight a First Nation tradition through their words and whimsical illustrations: "We Rock our Mocs with pride! Kyah strikes a pose in her Yurok mocs. Taktuk, who is Inupiaq, slips on his kamipiak, then gives his dad a high five." Beginning on every November 15th, Rock Your Mocs day is celebrated for a week during Native American Heritage month. Young and old, members of the Indigenous Nations wear moccasins to represent their tribes as well as arts, traditions, and personal style. During this time, the heritage behind the designs on moccasins are shared and celebrated. Goodnight creates relatable school scenes, gatherings of all kinds of children wearing mocs, and shows the versatility, beauty, and care that goes into each pair. Back matter includes a note from Heartdrum founder Cynthia Leitich Smith, plus further notes on the celebration and on the lives of Indigenous children. VERDICT Recommended for cultural studies of the First Nations, especially for those interested in incorporating art, history, and modern life in an always respectful but dazzling display of mocs! A good choice for all picture book shelves.—Brittany McMahon

School Library Journal

2023-07-26
A tribute to moccasins and the Indigenous kids who sport them.

It’s Rock Your Mocs Week! Children from tribes throughout Turtle Island don their moccasins with pride, celebrating their cultures and traditions as they dance, play, and attend school. The diversity of activities that the kids engage in makes it clear that mocs don’t need to be special-occasion footwear donned only for ceremony. With each page turn, readers learn more about the significance of mocs: They are works of art, repositories of cultural knowledge, and, above all, a way to “honor our deep-rooted traditions while adapting to our sacred present.” The book depicts a variety of moccasin styles and materials, worn by children from tribes throughout the United States and Canada. A pronunciation guide at the beginning of the story helps readers work out potentially unfamiliar words from different Indigenous languages. Both informative and inspiring, Goodluck’s (Mandan/Hidatsa) text is concise. The upbeat tone is echoed in Goodnight’s (Chickasaw Nation) bright illustrations, which feature people in urban, suburban, and rural landscapes. The children and adults are diverse in skin tone and hair texture. Backmatter explains the origins of Rock Your Mocs Day (and later Week) and discusses the cultural significance of moccasins. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Joyfully inspiring. (note from editor Cynthia Leitich Smith) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews