Jingle Dancer

by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu

ISBN: 9780688162429

Bibliography:

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. 2000. Jingle Dancer. Ill by Cornerlius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu. New York: Morrow Junior Books.

Plot:

Jenna, a young, modern-day girl of Muscogee and Ojibway descent wants to dance like her grandmother in the upcoming powwow and needs four rows of jingles for her dress. She visits family and friends in her neighborhood to find enough jingles so that her dress will sing.

Analysis:

This story takes place in a modern-day, intertribal community in Oklahoma. The theme of this story is about sharing with others. Cultural markers are woven throughout this story in the beautiful illustrations and in many motifs of the culture, such as the dress of the characters, the custom of the powwow, the closeness of family, and the food that is eaten by the characters. The watercolor illustrations beautifully illustrate the modern-day images of these Native peoples as well as the traditional dress at the powwow. Bright, colorful dresses with jingles and beaded moccasins adorn the pages depicting the powwow scenes. Smith does an excellent job of depicting this modern-day intertribal neighborhood by describing the homes in which the characters live and by describing their modern-day lives.

The importance of the number four, which is a sacred number to many Native people, is evident throughout the text. Jenna needed four rows of jingles for her dress. She went in search of the jingles in the four directions at four different residences. The author also illustrates the sounds of the story in groups of four to describe the beat of the drum, “brum, brum, brum, brum” and the sounds of the jingles, “tink, tink, tink, tink”.

At the end of the story, Jenna, with her four rows of jingles, dances for all those that have kindly shared their jingles with her: “As the light blurred silver, Jenna danced for Great-aunt Sis, whose legs ached, for Mrs. Scott who sold fry bread, for Elizabeth who worked on her big case, and for Grandma Wolfe who warmed like the sun. Tink, tink tink tink.”

Review Excerpts:

Booklist: “This contemporary Native American tale highlights the importance of family and community through a young girl's dream of joining the dancers at the next powwow. The colorful, well-executed watercolor illustrations lend warmth to the story. A note explaining Jenna's heritage and a brief glossary are appended.”

Library Talk: “Jenna, a young Native American of Muscogee and Ojibway heritage, longs to dance the jingle dance at a powwow. This dance, in which females dance with jingling cones on their dresses, is authentically depicted by Smith, who is herself a member of the Muscogee Nation. Jenna repeatedly watches her Grandma Wolfe dancing on a VCR tape and wishes for a dress full of the jingling cones. Unfortunately, there is no time to order the tin to be rolled into jingles before the powwow. Jenna needs four rows of jingles for her dress, so she borrows jingles from other female family members and friends, taking only one row from each woman because she doesn't want their dresses to "lose their voices."

Connections:

*Check out Cynthia Leitich Smith's Website:

http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/

*Other works by Cynthia Leitich Smith:

Indian Shoes ISBN: 9780060295318

Tantalize ISBN: 9780763640590

Holler Loudly ISBN: 9780525422563 (This books comes out in November.)

Eternal ISBN: 9780763635732