D Is for Drum: A Native American Alphabet by Michael and Debbie Shoulders (published 2013) is an alphabet book that provides a depth of understanding to dozens of Native American groups and cultures. To be a read-aloud book, each page has a short rhyming stanza about each letter of the alphabet. Then, for the more attentive reader, each page also has a detailed sidebar explaining the concept in more detail, sharing the different tribes and cultures that the item relates to.
Some of the letters, such as I is for Indigenous and D is for Drum, represent a general concept for Native Americans, while other letters, like K is for Kachina and Kiva and U is Umiak, are related to a specific tradition. Overall, D Is for Drum works as either a read-aloud story or as a instructional book about the variety of Native American cultures today.
