Why We Dance: A Story of Hope and Healing

From Indigenous creative team Deidre Havrelock and Aly McKnight comes a powerful and exuberant story about the heritage, joy, and healing power of the Jingle Dress Dance--a perfect read-aloud picture book.

It's a special day--the day of the Jingle Dress Dance! Before the big powwow, there's a lot to do: getting dressed, braiding hair, packing lunches, and practicing bounce-steps.

But one young girl gets butterflies in her stomach thinking about performing in front of her whole community. When the drumbeats begin, though, her family soothes her nerves and reminds her why she dances.

Emerging historically in response to the global influenza pandemic of 1918-19, the Jingle Dress Dance is a ceremonial dance of healing and prayer that still thrives today in many Indigenous and First Nations communities across North America.

Lyrically and rhythmically written with lush, full-color illustrations, Why We Dance is a joyous celebration of a proud Indigenous tradition that inspires hope, resilience, and unity.

Author: Deidre Havrelock
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Published: 02/06/2024
Pages: 40
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 8.60h x 11.20w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9781419756672
Audience: Ages 4-8

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.2
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 551371 / Why We Dance: A Story of Hope and Healing


Review Citation(s):
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 12/01/2023
Booklist 02/01/2024 pg. 67
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2024
Horn Book Magazine 03/01/2024 pg. 67
School Library Journal 11/02/2024 pg. 1
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2024 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
Deidre Havrelock is a member of Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Alberta, Canada. She was raised in Edmonton, Alberta, and is the author of the picture book Buffalo Wild!, hailed as an "exuberant celebration," and Indigenous Ingenuity: A Celebration of Traditional North American Knowledge, coauthored with Edward Kay. She lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis, with her family.
Aly McKnight is a self-taught watercolor artist and illustrator whose art features vibrant colors and Indigenous stories. Aly is an enrolled member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and grew up in a small farming community in northern Nevada, She is the second-youngest of eight children and is now based out of Utah, where she lives with her partner, Brockton, of Hawaiian/Samoan descent, and their daughter, Paoakalani.