It’s been some years since I lived in Oklahoma, but I visit when I can and hold the place dear in my heart. My first three books and most recent short story all are somehow connected to the state in part because I want young readers there to see themselves as heroes.
The Giveaway: An autographed copy of Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith. Jingle Dancer, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying Hwa-Hu (Morrow/HarperCollins, 2000) is set in Oklahoma.
Jingle Dancer
Jenna’s heart beats to the brum, brum, brum, brum of the powwow drum as she daydreams about the clinking song of her grandma’s jingle dancing.
Jenna loves the tradition of jingle dancing that has been shared by generations of women in her family, and she hopes to dance at the next powwow. But she has a problem–how will her dress sing if it has no jingles?
The warm evocative watercolors of Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu compliment author Cynthia Leitich Smith’s lyrical text as she tells the affirming story of how a contemporary Native American girl turns to her family and community to help her dance find a voice.
Cynthia Leitich Smith
The Author: Cynthia Leitich Smith is the award-winning author of JINGLE DANCER (Morrow, 2000), INDIAN SHOES (HarperCollins, 2002), and RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME (HarperCollins, 2001)(Listening Library, 2001). Her more recent titles include two young adult gothic fantasy novels, TANTALIZE (Candlewick, 2007, 2008) and ETERNAL (Candlewick, 2009). She’s a tribal member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and makes her home in Austin, Texas. Learn more about Cynthia.
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