Jo Jo Makoons: The Used-to-Be Best Friend

By: Dawn Quigley

Narrated by: Jennifer Bobiwash

American Indian Youth Literature Award: Middle Grade Honor Book! Hello/Boozhoo—meet Jo Jo Makoons! Full of pride, joy, and plenty of humor, this first book in an all-new chapter book series by Dawn Quigley celebrates a spunky young Ojibwe girl who loves who she is.

Jo Jo Makoons Azure is a spirited seven-year-old who moves through the world a little differently than anyone else on her Ojibwe reservation. It always seems like her mom, her kokum (grandma), and her teacher have a lot to learn—about how good Jo Jo is at cleaning up, what makes a good rhyme, and what it means to be friendly.

Even though Jo Jo loves her #1 best friend Mimi (who is a cat), she’s worried that she needs to figure out how to make more friends. Because Fern, her best friend at school, may not want to be friends anymore…

The Heartdrum imprint centers a wide range of intertribal voices, visions, and stories while welcoming all young readers, with an emphasis on the present and future of Indian Country and on the strength of young Native heroes. In partnership with We Need Diverse Books.

a book to read over and over

my children ask for this book over and over. we have to rewind the rhyming part for lots of laughs. we can't wait to listen to the whole series and have requested our library obtain the series, too. my girls practice the Ojibwe and Michif words aloud. This book brings about lots of important discussion and we've learned a lot about our culture and how we feel about big topics and situations that come up in our daily lives. Thank you for this wonderful book!!!