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Jo Jo Makoons: The Used-to-Be Best Friend (Jo Jo, 1) Hardcover – May 11, 2021
Purchase options and add-ons
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.
- Reading age6 - 10 years
- Print length80 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Grade level1 - 5
- Dimensions5.5 x 0.5 x 8 inches
- PublisherHeartdrum
- Publication dateMay 11, 2021
- ISBN-100063015374
- ISBN-13978-0063015371
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Young readers will revel in the humor this chapter book offers: the wordplay, the nicknames, and Jo Jo’s irrepressible narrative voice. A joyful book about growing up Native in a loving community—not to be missed." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"In a winning, straightforward voice, Quigley adeptly creates strong classroom scenes that convey an inclusive student body’s realistic dynamic and an endearing, assured seven-year-old protagonist who appreciates her cultural identity." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Jo Jo's magnetic personality and liberal humor should endear her immediately to readers struggling to sort out their own worlds--she is sure to be young readers' new 'book best friend.'" — Shelf Awareness (starred review)
"In eight brief yet eventful chapters, we follow this seven-year-old Everygirl through a relatable and entertaining series of misadventures and misunderstandings. Through it all, the first-person narrative is consistently engaging, with just the right touch of primary-grade silliness to balance out Jo Jo’s fears about friendship. Audibert’s cartoony illustrations add humorous layers to this exemplary transitional reader." — Horn Book (starred review)
"A sweet, slice-of-life series debut. Readers will love Jo Jo and want to be her friend." — School Library Journal (starred review)
"Funny and smart, with a sly sense of humor that’s entirely its own, prepare for a series that you’ll want to see much more of in the future." — Betsy Bird, A Fuse #8 Production (SLJ blog)
"Readers come to know Jo Jo’s quirky perspective, her insecurities and her cultural identity, which informs how she sees the world. Jo Jo’s sense of humor, playful attitude and frequent misinterpretations of dialogue and body language are sure to lead to plenty of giggles. Jo Jo’s family, teachers and friends keep her on her toes, learning and growing. Quigley’s first-person narration is fast paced, witty and engaging, while illustrator Tara Audibert’s black-and-white cartoon-style illustrations assist with character development and deepen the story’s setting." — BookPage
"A fun and fanciful story... Jo Jo Makoons, the first in a series, provides Indigenous children an opportunity to see themselves in books and teaches non-Indigenous children more about Ojibwe culture." — Quill & Quire
About the Author
Dawn Quigley is a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, North Dakota. Both her first book in the Jo Jo Makoons series, Jo Jo Makoons: The Used-to-Be Best Friend, and her debut YA novel, Apple in the Middle, were awarded American Indian Youth Literature Honors. She is a PhD education university faculty member and a former K–12 reading and English teacher, as well as an Indian Education program codirector. You can find her online at dawnquigley.com.
Tara Audibert is a multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, cartoonist, animator, and podcaster. She owns and runs Moxy Fox Studio, where she creates her award-winning works, including the animated short film The Importance of Dreaming, comics This Place: 150 Years Retold and Lost Innocence, and “Nitap: Legends of the First Nations,” an animated storytelling app. She is of Wolastoqey/French heritage and resides in Sunny Corner, New Brunswick, Canada. You can find her online at moxyfox.ca.
Product details
- Publisher : Heartdrum (May 11, 2021)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 80 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0063015374
- ISBN-13 : 978-0063015371
- Reading age : 6 - 10 years
- Grade level : 1 - 5
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.5 x 8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #577,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #365 in Children's Native American Books
- #3,435 in Children's Chapter Books (Books)
- #8,240 in Children's Friendship Books
- Customer Reviews:
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2022Thank you to Kim --- Native Lady Book Warrior for the Skoden Readathon and to Cozy Reader Kelly for all the Indigenous shout outs on your channel.
I had the audiobook for this, and then kept searching until I found the E-book (Kelly had the physical.).
I enjoyed the story. It starts by explaining JoJo's native language, and gave a word or two that I repeated out loud. In addition, JoJo speaks English. The story is comprised of a 7-8 year olds angst. There were a couple funny moments that I laughed out loud, there were several cute moments as she is learning and growing. Knowing what a friend is and how to be one are the primary focuses.
Her language and a scene with a teepee are all I noticed marking this as an indigenous author read.
I did find the E-book and the illustrations are minimal, and are black and white only.
I thought the audiobook stood at five stars on its own. While the narrator performed I looked at the adorable cover.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2021My first grader and I read this together and it was perfect! It was silly and interesting because Jo Jo was so relatable. The book makes sure that my son grows up with a better understanding of native culture. I plan on starting a book club with this book next year with my second graders. Highly recommend!
- Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2021Jo Jo Makoons is a little bit different from everyone else on the Ojibwe reservation, and right now she has lots of friendship troubles. Is her best friend still her best friend? Humorous quirky, and highly relatable for anyone who has every wondered if they're doing this people-thing right.
An early chapter book intended for ages 6 to 8.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2023“If you can say Tyrannosaurus Rex, you can say nindizhinikaaz”. Thank you Little Free Library’s Indigenous Library Program, Heartdrum Press, and Dawn Quigley for this free book!
“Jo Jo Makoons: The Used-To-Be Best Friend” (Jo Jo #1) by Dawn Quigley. Illustrated by Tara Audibert ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Children’s Cultural Identity fiction. Location: The fictional Pembina Ojibwe Reservation. Time: Present.
THE SERIES: Josephine Makoons Azure (Jo Jo) lives on the Pembina Ojibwe Reservation. She’s a student at Little Shell Elementary School. She’s good at cleaning up, being friendly, jumping rope, being helpful, and she’s learning to rhyme. She loves her home best friend Mimi (a gray cat), and she’s proud of her Ojibwe culture and language.
THIS BOOK: Jo Jo Makoons (7) is feeling insecure. She’s worried because she thinks Fern (her school best friend) may not want to be friends anymore. She’s taking Kokum’s advice (her grandmother): She doesn’t have to try to be friends with everyone, but she should be friendly with everyone. The book showcases misunderstandings and misadventures so typical of second grade children.
Author Quigley (PhD) is a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, North Dakota, USA, and an Assistant Professor in Education. She has created a book about growing up Native in a loving community. It’s full of educationally-sound classroom scenes. She has Jo Jo explain and sound out Ojibwe and Michif words for us in her delightfully fresh voice. In addition to wonderful cartoon-style illustrations, illustrator Audibert created a page with drawings of Jo Jo, her friends and relatives. And Quigley includes ‘Jo Jo’s Glossary’ at the end. There‘s such fun in the wordplay, nicknames, and humor when seeing the world through a 7-year-old’s eyes, and it’s 5 stars from me🌵📚💁🏼♀️
- Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2023My 5yo son and I stayed up late one night reading this books and the next night Fancy Pants. We laughed together. The story was so relatable to us, but maybe that’s because we are Indigenous. My son asked if there were more Jojo books, and we were excited to find one more! Can’t wait until that one comes in!
- Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2021Jo Jo Makoons is a delightful and relatable book and protagonist. The writing is a perfect voice of a young child’s steam of consciousness view of the world, and it’s both subtle yet poignant in how it shows what the adults around Jo Jo both do and don’t see. Likewise, it has a simple but genuinely heartwarming culmination to her problem of believing her friends do not like her anymore. The writing is both the perfect level of simple to be approachable for younger readers but also full of presence in how it paints us a picture of Jo Jo and her world.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2022I haven’t read it, but my 7 year old stayed up “late” the last two nights reading this. I could hear her giggling at points and she came to tell me about some parts too. It seems like a very sweet book and has captured her attention. She’s a big fan. I’m ordering the second book!
- Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2022Difficult to enjoy the story line - disappointing