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A review by jennifermreads
Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith
4.0
Published stories about Native/Indigenous Americans are hard to find. With a culture whose traditions were oral, it isn’t surprising that transferring the tales to the page can be an extra challenge. Luckily, this book’s author, Cynthia Leitich Smith, has started an imprint, Heartdrum (Harper Collins) in order to help bring more Indigenous stories to bookshelves.
This was a beautiful story of family and culture. My heart warmed seeing Jenna’s grandmother passing on their history and traditions. {A similar heart-warming occurred when my husband’s grandmother showed him how to cook a traditional Norwegian dish, one that no one else in the large family desired to learn.} Not only does the book trumpet the importance of traditional family, it exhibits a larger family within a community. Not only does the book teach Jenna about the powwow, the dress, and dancing, it opens the eyes of readers not brought up in this culture. This was a treasure. I look forward to seeing what Ms. Smith puts forth under her new label.
This was a beautiful story of family and culture. My heart warmed seeing Jenna’s grandmother passing on their history and traditions. {A similar heart-warming occurred when my husband’s grandmother showed him how to cook a traditional Norwegian dish, one that no one else in the large family desired to learn.} Not only does the book trumpet the importance of traditional family, it exhibits a larger family within a community. Not only does the book teach Jenna about the powwow, the dress, and dancing, it opens the eyes of readers not brought up in this culture. This was a treasure. I look forward to seeing what Ms. Smith puts forth under her new label.