Summary
This is an emotional book about a young girl who has fallen sick, and is hoping that she will be able to dance again. When it is time to go to the Powwow day, she is sad because she can not dance because she is not well enough. She gets even more upset when she sees her family and friends all participating in the ceremony, and she is unable to because she is not well enough. She hopes that her culture and faith will help her one day dance again. She is a brave and optimistic young girl.
Theme(s):
Tradition, Culture, Healing, Family, Community
Personal Response
This book made me emotional. The main character just wanted to be a part of a tradition she usually looks forward to, but because she is not well enough, the joy of the day is no longer there. I admire how she still has hope that she will dance again. It is important to still believe and be positive when times are hard. This is a great message for students to learn about, and may help students if they are going through a hard time in their own personal lives. The illustrations were beautiful.
Teaching Ideas
I would use this as a way for students to work on making self connections with texts. I would have them turn and talk with their partners first to chat about how they can relate or see themselves in this book. After that we can have a whole class discussion about it and have students share their own self connections. Students need to be able to relate their own life events to what we read about, so this activity would help them with that. It is an important skill for them to develop.
Recommended Reading Level
Grade 01, Grade 02, Grade 03, Grade 04
