Josie Dances

Sweetly demonstrates how this traditional dance links the generations.

Two Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa citizens join forces to showcase Josie, a dark-haired, light brown-skinned Ojibwe girl hoping to dance in her first powwow. Relying on her matrilineal family to help make her debut a reality, Josie asks her mother to sew her dress and shawl; her aunt to bead her cape; her grandmother to bead her moccasins and leggings; and tribal elder Grandma Greatwalker to dream her spirit name. Inspired by memories of preparing her daughter for powwows, Lajimodiere pens a well-paced, if dialogue-heavy, tale that seamlessly interweaves and contextualizes Ojibwe language. While the visualizations of human characters have a hand-drawn feel, fine-lined watercolor art by Erdrich offers detailed close-ups of hands, beadwork, fry bread, and garb, elegantly portraying animals and nature. Closing with an impactful note ("Listen to the drum, the heartbeat of Aki. You are dancing for the ancestors and all the people you see"), this resonant modern-day Native narrative highlights the warmth of one girl's family, the pride of traditions, and the beauty of finding a place in the world, themes as contemporary as they are ancient. Back matter includes an Ojibwe glossary. Ages 3-7. (May)

Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

I'll just say it: I love Josie Dances. That sense of love that readers experience with some books, is where I'll start. Why, I wonder, does this book give me that feeling? . . . I think what I'm trying to get at is this: the story given to us by Denise Lajimodiere and Angela Erdrich — both, citizens of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe — is so real, and so full of Native life and love.
Debbie Reese, American Indians in Children's Literature

If you don't have a child to read this book with, borrow one. Go see your niece or your cousin or the neighbor. Ask the kids to put down their phones and prepare to be dazzled. Let them hear and see and imagine how Josie learns to dance.
The Circle: Native American News & Arts

Josie Dances is, at its core, two things: one, an invitation for children to imaginatively enter a powwow and a young Ojibwe girl's life; the other, an invitation for adults to glimpse powwow culture more broadly. Look carefully at particular pages and you'll see things like the cradleboard Lajimodiere hand-beaded with Ojibwe floral designs and used for all her kids and grandkids, paintings made by the Erdrich sisters' mother, and important people in the northern powwow community, like Dakota dancer Emmet 'His Many Lightnings' Eastman.
MplsStPaul Magazine 

This intergenerational story reveals the extensive preparation undertaken by the fancy dancer's entire family to get ready for the biggest event of the year. . . . Colorful illustrations rendered in watercolor show the beauty and intricate patterns of traditional beadwork, birchbark baskets, and fine regalia. . . . Sweetly demonstrates how this traditional dance links the generations.
Kirkus