The Ones Who Came Before

The Ones Who Came Before - Hardcover

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The Ones Who Came Before
  • The Ones Who Came Before
The Ones Who Came Before - Hardcover

The Ones Who Came Before - Hardcover

by Kevin Maillard
$19.99
$19.99

Book Overview

by Kevin Maillard (Author), Sibu T. P (Illustrator)

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.

Author Biography

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.
Number of Pages: 40
Dimensions: 0.5 x 10.2 x 10.3 IN
Publication Date: October 13, 2026
ISBN9781250821966
Author Kevin Maillard
PublisherRoaring Brook Press
GenreChildren
FormatHardcover
PublishedOctober 2026
LanguageENG- English
Pages40
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceKids
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Juvenile Fiction Kids

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More by Kevin Maillard

And They Walk on

And They Walk on - Hardcover

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About Kevin Maillard

Kevin Maillard is a contributor to the New York Times and a professor of law at Syracuse University. He is the author of 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. Rafael López is a New York Times-bestselling, award winning illustrator who has illustrated numerous acclaimed picture books, including The Day You Begin and The Year We Learned to Fly (New York Times bestsellers), Dancing Hands (Pura Belpré Medal), and Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You (Schneider Award), among others. His illustrations bring diverse characters to children's books, and he is driven to create books that reflect and honor the lives of all young people. Rafael is the recipient of three Pura Belpré medals, the Schneider Family Book Award, the Jane Addams Book Award, and the Tomás Rivera Book Award, as well as the illustrator of three New York Times bestsellers. He was the first guest artist of the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum and founder of the Urban Art Trail, a series of large-scale community murals around the U.S. Rafael lives in San Diego and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

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