Dawn Quigley's first teaching job was in an urban Native American housing complex. She was so impressed with her students' creativity and kindness and the warmth with which they welcomed her that she carried their stories for decades. "I wanted to write about amazing Native kids who live in an urban setting, who interact with each other and with their city." Red Bird Danced, told in alternating voices by its two child narrators, beautifully brings her vision to life.
Ariel's beloved aunt is missing like far too many other Native girls and women. Her mother, desperate to find her before it's too late is spending as much as she can on the search instead of on other things such as Ariel's dance classes.
"Dancing is how I connect
my body
and soul
to the earth.
How will I do this now?
No more ballet."
And she is very concerned about her broken hearted mother.
"I just want to
make my
mama
smile again."
For Tomah reading is a losing struggle. He's stayed back once already and is ashamed of being behind his peers. To cover this up he has taken on a class clown persona.
"Making jokes is how I escape
getting caught.
Laughter buys
me
time."
But Tomah is not stupid. He learns beautifully in other ways. He's very in touch with his heritage and community. And when Ariel's aunt is found murdered he knows what to do.
Quigley's lyrical text dances, unconstrained by traditional verse structure, bringing the narrators and their community vividly to life. The characters are vulnerable and authentic. Readers in the book's target demographics and well beyond will be deeply touched by entering their world.
On a purrrsonal note, Eugene and I went to camp for the weekend. His best friend and his wife and older son were at their camp. They invited us to an awesome camp fire.
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene and Brown family.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
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