From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4?Katie and her parents live in the city. When September arrives, her mother takes a trunk out of the attic and gathers up Katie's dance regalia for the family trip to the annual Nanticoke Powwow near Millboro, DE. As their car draws near the farm where the powwow is held, Katie hears the drums and begins to feel more like Red Bird, which is her Indian name. Camping next to grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles, Red Bird joins in the dancing and listens to her grandparents' stories before heading home at the end of the weekend. Although several photo essays of contemporary powwows (usually in the West) have been published in recent years, this title is unique because it is about an Eastern powwow, and because the illustrations are accurate oil paintings rather than photos. The warm and woodsy double-page art is right on target in conveying the sights of powwows along the East coast. This wonderful offering captures the setting, style of dress, and even the frequent multiracial makeup of many of these nations. Despite one oddly off-base illustration of Nanticokes fishing for crabs that includes Plains tipis instead of longhouses, this book is a fine addition.?Lisa Mitten, University of Pittsburgh, PA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
