Jingle Dancer

Leitich Smith, Cynthia. 2000. Jingle Dancer. ill. Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu. New York: Morrow Junior Books. ISBN 0688162428.

Summary
Jenna needs four rows of jingles in order to be able to dance at the powwow.  She longs to dance the jingle dance just like her grandmother.  This is a wonderful tradition the women in her family have shared for generations.

Analysis
First, this book is a fun read-aloud for children of many ages.  Children often want to hear about how traditions are passed down through the generations and how the characters come about learning the tradition itself.  In addition, this book shows that the ties of family are important regardless of culture.  This pictures are colorful and detailed and show the different jingle dancers' costumes.  Carol Leitich Smith also includes a glossary and a note in the back of the book describing the trip and the words that they use.

The Jingle Dancer also offers many cultural markers significant to the Native American culture.  First, the pictures themselves demonstrate many cultural aspects of this Native American tribe.  You can see the skin colors, faces, and hair styles.  In addition, the costumes portrayed in the illustrations are fantastic.  They show the "jingles," feathers, scarves, and more.  The illustrations also show that this tribe does not just walk around in these costumes.  Their daily clothing is very typical of the ages portrayed in the book.  Readers can see jeans and t-shirts, jackets, and suits.  It also shows that just because they are Native American, does not mean they all live in tepees.  The illustrations show a traditional suburban neighborhood and talks about Mrs. Scott's new duplex with a dishwasher.

Carol Leitich Smith also makes a point to talk about the food that this tribe.  Fry bread and Indian tacos are mentioned.  In addition to food, the language in the book demonstrates cultural markers.  For example, "As Moon kissed Sun..." Smith uses Moon and Sun as proper nouns, not just objects as in "the sun" or "the moon."  The book also refers to the Muscogee Creek story about Bat and the ball game and refers to the dress's jingling as "its voice."

Review Excerpts
Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2001

"The colorful, well-executed watercolor illustrations lend warmth to the story." -- -- Booklist

"... a welcome addition to stories about traditions passed down by woman of a culture." -- --School Library Journal

"Their easy integration of Native and standard furnishings and clothing gracefully complement Smith's heartening portrait..." -- --Publishers Weekly

Connections
To get the full story of the ball game that Jenna's grandmother talks about, read The Great Ball Game: A Muskogee Story by Joesph Bruchac.  ISBN 0803715390.

For more books about American Indian Dancing:
Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk. Dancing Teepees: Poems of American Indian Youth. ISBN 0823408795

Belting, Natalia. Whirlwind Is a Spirit Dancing: Poems Based on Traditional American Indian Songs and Stories. ISBN 1596871733.