Dancing with the Indians [Paperback]

Angela Shelf Medearis (Author), Samuel Byrd (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

While attending a Seminole Indian celebration, a black family watches and joins in several exciting dances.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Based on the author's family history, this intercultural celebration recounts an African American family's participation in a Seminole Indian powwow in 1930s Oklahoma. Though Medearis's four-line verses are awkwardly rhymed and lack proper meter, her commendable work offers glimpses of a rarely explored chapter in the shared histories of two historically oppressed peoples. The strongly colored paintings by first-time illustrator Byrd depict flickering firelit dancers and the area's natural beauty with a certain verve; his human figures, however--particularly the faces--are often distorted and stiff. The one-page afterword provides youngsters with additional information on the historical context for this picture book set in "Okehema"--"red people" in the Seminole language. This book's audience will no doubt forgive its flaws and appreciate the preservation of a neglected bit of history. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-- Simple four-line verses maintain a consistent rhythm as they tell a compelling story of loyalty and joy. The author ri evives her African-American family's memories of celebrating with the Seminole Indian tribe in Oklahoma in the 1930s. Each year, the descendants of her slave great-grandfather honor the people who rescued him and made him a blood brother. Depicted here are parents and two children as they travel by wagon to join the Native Americans for a night of ritual dance. Byrd's heavy watercolors create a setting and realistically render the warm family, the fearful slave in hiding, a buffalo hunt, and then give an impressionistic view of the moods evoked by the dances. Neither the poem nor the illustrations achieve brilliance, but they do the job. The book's strength is that it is so honest and so specific in showing a unique moment of American life from an unusual perspective. --Sally T. Margolis, Park Ridge Public Library, IL
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House (April 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823410234
• ISBN-13: 978-0823410231
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,574,119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great untold history for children, March 9, 2009

By 

T. Simmons "Bhakti Lakshmi" (Florida/California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dancing with the Indians (Paperback)

I was very happy to find this book. My daughter loves it. I wanted to be able to share the history of how Native Americans and African Americans worked together, lived together in this country (US). Thank you for creating this book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Little Seminole on the Prairie?, March 9, 2006

By 

DONALD G. FOX "Santee Sioux" (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dancing with the Indians (Paperback)

This book is beautifully illustrated. It is the story of an African-American who escapes slavery on a plantation and finds a home among the Seminole. The book looks at the ribbon dance, the stomp dance, and the rattlesnake dance. However, there is one picture of a warrior astride a horse in a fringed leather tunic with bow and arrow aimed at bison. I have never heard of the Seminole as a buffalo-hunting people, but life is surprising. Overall, it's a good effort of looking at Seminole cultures and is a great contribution to the history of African-Americans who found a home with the Seminole people.