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Native American Legends
Dancing Drum: A Cherokee Legend
Retells the Cherokee legend in which Dancing Drum tries to make Grandmother Sun smile on the People again, and describes the history, culture, and fate of the Cherokee Indians.
47 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 23, 2019
Grandmother Sun becomes angry with the People of the Mountain in this Cherokee folktale, believing that they prefer her brother, the Moon. The unrelenting heat and light that she directs at the earth, in consequence, cause such suffering amongst the People, that a young boy named Dancing Drum sets out for the Land of the Sky People, determined to put an end to it. His efforts backfire, however, when his attack (in snake form) inadvertently targets the Sun's daughter, rather than the Sun herself. Now, with the Sun in mourning for her slain daughter, and refusing to leave her dwelling, the People suffer from the cold. Can Dancing Drum set things right, by retrieving the Sun's daughter from the Land of the Spirits...?
I had mixed feelings about this folkloric adaptation - the second title by Terri Cohlene, following upon Clamshell Boy: A Makah Legend , that I have read - and am starting to feel a little dubious about the series, Native American Legends, in general. As with the other books in the series, the tale itself is followed by a factual introduction to the people from which it comes (the Cherokee, in this case). I was happy to see that, unlike Clamshell Boy , this one included a section on the people of today, rather than consigning them entirely to history (as is so commonly done with Native Americans, in children's books).
Unfortunately, Cohlene provided no source material for her story, and after reading a scathing review of another entry in the series ( Sunflower's Promise: A Zuni Legend , admittedly by a different author) which appears to have factually incorrect information in the afterword, and a distorted telling of the tale itself, I'd really like to know where Cohlene got her version of this tale. Also, I was rather irritated at the continued use of the word 'shaman' in the story, to describe the Cherokee elder who advises Dancing Drum, as I know it is a problematic term, in this context, and offensive to many Native Americans. I do intend to read the rest of Cohlene's folkloric retellings (she penned six altogether), but my skepticism as to their authenticity is growing with each title.
I had mixed feelings about this folkloric adaptation - the second title by Terri Cohlene, following upon Clamshell Boy: A Makah Legend , that I have read - and am starting to feel a little dubious about the series, Native American Legends, in general. As with the other books in the series, the tale itself is followed by a factual introduction to the people from which it comes (the Cherokee, in this case). I was happy to see that, unlike Clamshell Boy , this one included a section on the people of today, rather than consigning them entirely to history (as is so commonly done with Native Americans, in children's books).
Unfortunately, Cohlene provided no source material for her story, and after reading a scathing review of another entry in the series ( Sunflower's Promise: A Zuni Legend , admittedly by a different author) which appears to have factually incorrect information in the afterword, and a distorted telling of the tale itself, I'd really like to know where Cohlene got her version of this tale. Also, I was rather irritated at the continued use of the word 'shaman' in the story, to describe the Cherokee elder who advises Dancing Drum, as I know it is a problematic term, in this context, and offensive to many Native Americans. I do intend to read the rest of Cohlene's folkloric retellings (she penned six altogether), but my skepticism as to their authenticity is growing with each title.
January 15, 2011
A story of a young man who grieved then appeased Grandmother Sun. The colorful illustrations lend themselves well to the story (although one page had white text on pale green that was a bit hard to read for me). The factual info in the back of the book was interesting.
October 24, 2014
Dancing Drum is sent to kill the sun, a plan that's sure to end in disaster whether he succeeds or not. Love the story, the way it's presented, and the information given at the back. I love folktales that are a bit unusual and this one really fits the bill.
September 25, 2017
I love the color of the feather on his wrist!
I worried I wouldn't like these illustrations though. I prefer realistic-looking.
I like the Cherokee letters as soon as you open the book, which says "They say this was the way it was...a long time ago..."
-'One day long ago, when souls could still return from the Land of the Spirits, the Sun looked down upon the Earth.'
She tells her brother Moon that People of the Mountain don't like her, because their faces twist when they look up at her. I like that they're called People of the Mountain.
Her brother Moon says they love him, they smile when they see him and make music and dance, and send him songs.
The Sun talks to her daughter& plans to send scorching hear to the land.who is her daughter?
Of course the crops no longer flourished, and the children didn't laugh, the old women didn't gossip, and the river, Long Man, was drying up. There wouldn't be water to drink.
Dancing Drum noticed this suffering, and went to the Shaman. He called the sun "Grandmother Sun." I liked that the shaman was a woman, because that's never done, and I found out there were women shamans recently. The shaman said a woodpecker came to her in a dream and told her to go to the little men in the wood.
I like the patterns of both their clothing. Like I said, I wish they were realsitic though. Slits for eyes. No mouth.
I didn't like how quickly it captured his finding the little people. I wish it had showed his journey through the woods& how you find the little people.
They told him to go to the Land of the Sky People and kill the sun before she destroys them. And to take the snake rattles and tie them to his moccasins.
He turns into a snake and they tell him he'll be human again when his task is complete. He has to follow the path to the house of the Sun's daughter. When the sun comes out in the morning, he should bite her.
He goes up the tallest mountain, through the mist to the clouds themselves. There again, it skips the journey. It makes it sound so easy to just travel to the sky. There's a domed house of mud and cane.
He hid behind pots outside the door, ready to strike the sun in the morning. When the door opens, she rushed by him so quickly he didn't have time to strike. How is it possible for the sun to rush past him?
He says "forgive me, grandmother Sun" and bites her ankle. It turned out to be the daughter, who lay dead on the ground. I thought oh no, this isn't good.
I was surprised dancing drum turned into a boy, because technically he didn't complete his task; he didn't bite the sun.
Over sadness of her daughter, the sun didn't leave her house. The People were cold and in the dark.
Dancing Drum said he was the cause of this, and that he'd go to the Land of the Spirits and bring the Daughter of the Sun, so their grandmother would smile on them again.
The adults had these weird X's on their faces, going from their ears to their nose.
The shaman told him to get 6 others and a large basket and find the Dayghter of the Sun dancing with the ghosts in Tsusgina'i. They each had to touch her with a sourwood rod. When she falls, put her in the basket and bring her back.
The 6 warriors looked too much like Dancing Drum, as in I thought it was him. They've got the same lock of hair falling to the right, the same hairstyle. the exact same clothing. It would have been nice to see different hairstyles and colors of clothing.
I like that he chose 6 of the swiftest stickball players in the village; another aspect of their culture.
When they leave the Darkening-land, the Shaman said not to lift the lid.
-'For days, the runners followed the path to the Land of the Spirits.' here again, I'd like to know how they're doing that.
They see the ghosts dancing around the fire. Those ghosts were gross-looking, like aliens. Blue, with big black eyes and their ribs showing. Wish they hadn't been so ugly.
The sun's daughter still looked normal though.
She says she can't breathe, and afraid she'll die he cracks the lid and a cardinal flies out.
When the shaman said he disobeyed and that "for this, souls can no longer be returned from the Land of the Spirits" I felt bad for Dancing Drum. He just wanted to do the right thing, and almost tried too hard.
The Sun hears and cries so much the river runs over.
Dancing Drum plans to sing, so the People put their most beautiful clothes of embroidered buckskins on, necklaces of deer and panther teeth, and painted their faces white. They lifted their faces to the sky and chanter to Grandmother Sun. They drummed and kept rhythm with their gourd rattles.
I like the way they look with their white faces, clothing and jewelry on.
Dancing drum goes back to his lodge for his own drum, fills it with water and dampens the groundhog skin. Returning, he played his own song.
Grandmother Sun heard the new music, stopped crying and looked down to see her beautiful ppl smiling up at her. She saw them offering their special dances, and heard their special song.
-the picture from the cover is on this page. I love those blue feathers. The blue diamond design, the blue claws on his neck.
He played from his heart for his ancestors, for his people, and for his land. Grandmother Sun came out of the house to once again smile down on her Children of the Mountain. I like that term.
I like on the page how it's him alone, with his drumstick held up to the sky, honoring the sun. But the sun just looks flat and red. She visits her daughter, leaves through the door, I expected it to look real. It's just a flat, 2-D ball. I wish it had a face at least, and was smiling down, like the last line said.
The book had info on the Cherokee at the end:
The villages were surrounded by palisades, consisting of 3 rows of upright poles. A large round council
House occupied the center; and was located near the chief's dwelling.
These were surrounded by the dozen or so domed houses belonging to the rest of the people. Several families occupied each house, which was circular and 25 ft across. Walls were made of mud and grass, topped by a basket-woven roof. In the winter, mats of cattails, branches, and cornhusks were added to the outside walls for extra protection.
-it's amazing that the ones who escaped or avoided capture hid in their taints and were later able to purchase land and establish the Eastern Cherokee Band, and those r who we see today.
Cherokee chiefs wore cloaks of turkey feathers and headdresses of Sean and white crane feathers only for special meetings or occasions.
-The Cherokee were farmers. The men worked the soil, while the women and children planted, tended and harvested the crops.
Important occupations for a Cherokee male were ball player and warrior. Ball play was an important way for Cherokee men to show their speed and endurance. Each player used two sticks to catch and throw the deerskin ball. Some games had over a hundred players each.
-the people had great respect for nature. With the help of their shamans, they looked for guidance from the spirits of the sun, moon and stars, as well as plants, animals and elements. Each year, several festivals were held to celebrate planting and harvesting of the corn. The People made drums and rattles and painted their faces. White, for example, showed happiness. Good! Like the story we just read.
The Cherokee were known as one of the "Five Civilized Tribes." This is because of their early adaptation of the ways of the European settlers.
-the pic shows a Cherokee woman in traditional deerskin at Oconaluftee Indian Village in NC. Boy, you don't see that now! That's how I want to see them.
They relied on wild fruits like grapes, berries, crapapples, persimmons and maple sugar.
Like today, favs were corncskes, corn mush, parched corn and roast turkey.
Cherokee men and boys wore deerskin breechclouts and moccasins. Women and girls wore short, deerskin skirts. In cold weather, everyone wore rabbit fur capes, or shawls tied over the left shoulder. They decorated their clothing with dyed porcupine quills, and wore jewelry made of bones and teeth.
Shows a woodchuck fur mask. Many Cherokee masks were originally used for hunting.
Many today work in tourism, timber, farming, art or oil.
Choctaw was also one of the 5 civilized tribes.
Tsusgina'i means "the ghost country."
In 1799, they had log cabins instead of thatched houses.
1924: NA's born in US declared citizens. I can't believe it took so long!!
1968: Indian civil rights Act gives NA's the right to govern themselves on their reservation.
This was pretty good, but not what I expected. When I read a title, I assume the book is going to be about one thing, and it turned out to be a very different story.
Based on the title, I thought this would be a story about a drum, maybe the first drum. The cover makes him look like a giant, too. He was just a boy, so I don't know why he's so large on the cover. What wasn't so great about the story was that the parts that weren't realistic, like how easy it was for Dancing Drum to find the little people and travel to the sky, and how the sun could walk in someone's house, that the boy was expected to bite the sun, and how the sun could have a human daughter. However, this is for kids, so they'd find it more believable and might not question the story.
This was a lot more involved than I thought it would be, with more words on the page than is typical for a children's book. I also wasn't expecting the info at the back, but it's nice if you don't know much about the Cherokee, you can learn more about them after reading this legend.
I worried I wouldn't like these illustrations though. I prefer realistic-looking.
I like the Cherokee letters as soon as you open the book, which says "They say this was the way it was...a long time ago..."
-'One day long ago, when souls could still return from the Land of the Spirits, the Sun looked down upon the Earth.'
She tells her brother Moon that People of the Mountain don't like her, because their faces twist when they look up at her. I like that they're called People of the Mountain.
Her brother Moon says they love him, they smile when they see him and make music and dance, and send him songs.
The Sun talks to her daughter& plans to send scorching hear to the land.who is her daughter?
Of course the crops no longer flourished, and the children didn't laugh, the old women didn't gossip, and the river, Long Man, was drying up. There wouldn't be water to drink.
Dancing Drum noticed this suffering, and went to the Shaman. He called the sun "Grandmother Sun." I liked that the shaman was a woman, because that's never done, and I found out there were women shamans recently. The shaman said a woodpecker came to her in a dream and told her to go to the little men in the wood.
I like the patterns of both their clothing. Like I said, I wish they were realsitic though. Slits for eyes. No mouth.
I didn't like how quickly it captured his finding the little people. I wish it had showed his journey through the woods& how you find the little people.
They told him to go to the Land of the Sky People and kill the sun before she destroys them. And to take the snake rattles and tie them to his moccasins.
He turns into a snake and they tell him he'll be human again when his task is complete. He has to follow the path to the house of the Sun's daughter. When the sun comes out in the morning, he should bite her.
He goes up the tallest mountain, through the mist to the clouds themselves. There again, it skips the journey. It makes it sound so easy to just travel to the sky. There's a domed house of mud and cane.
He hid behind pots outside the door, ready to strike the sun in the morning. When the door opens, she rushed by him so quickly he didn't have time to strike. How is it possible for the sun to rush past him?
He says "forgive me, grandmother Sun" and bites her ankle. It turned out to be the daughter, who lay dead on the ground. I thought oh no, this isn't good.
I was surprised dancing drum turned into a boy, because technically he didn't complete his task; he didn't bite the sun.
Over sadness of her daughter, the sun didn't leave her house. The People were cold and in the dark.
Dancing Drum said he was the cause of this, and that he'd go to the Land of the Spirits and bring the Daughter of the Sun, so their grandmother would smile on them again.
The adults had these weird X's on their faces, going from their ears to their nose.
The shaman told him to get 6 others and a large basket and find the Dayghter of the Sun dancing with the ghosts in Tsusgina'i. They each had to touch her with a sourwood rod. When she falls, put her in the basket and bring her back.
The 6 warriors looked too much like Dancing Drum, as in I thought it was him. They've got the same lock of hair falling to the right, the same hairstyle. the exact same clothing. It would have been nice to see different hairstyles and colors of clothing.
I like that he chose 6 of the swiftest stickball players in the village; another aspect of their culture.
When they leave the Darkening-land, the Shaman said not to lift the lid.
-'For days, the runners followed the path to the Land of the Spirits.' here again, I'd like to know how they're doing that.
They see the ghosts dancing around the fire. Those ghosts were gross-looking, like aliens. Blue, with big black eyes and their ribs showing. Wish they hadn't been so ugly.
The sun's daughter still looked normal though.
She says she can't breathe, and afraid she'll die he cracks the lid and a cardinal flies out.
When the shaman said he disobeyed and that "for this, souls can no longer be returned from the Land of the Spirits" I felt bad for Dancing Drum. He just wanted to do the right thing, and almost tried too hard.
The Sun hears and cries so much the river runs over.
Dancing Drum plans to sing, so the People put their most beautiful clothes of embroidered buckskins on, necklaces of deer and panther teeth, and painted their faces white. They lifted their faces to the sky and chanter to Grandmother Sun. They drummed and kept rhythm with their gourd rattles.
I like the way they look with their white faces, clothing and jewelry on.
Dancing drum goes back to his lodge for his own drum, fills it with water and dampens the groundhog skin. Returning, he played his own song.
Grandmother Sun heard the new music, stopped crying and looked down to see her beautiful ppl smiling up at her. She saw them offering their special dances, and heard their special song.
-the picture from the cover is on this page. I love those blue feathers. The blue diamond design, the blue claws on his neck.
He played from his heart for his ancestors, for his people, and for his land. Grandmother Sun came out of the house to once again smile down on her Children of the Mountain. I like that term.
I like on the page how it's him alone, with his drumstick held up to the sky, honoring the sun. But the sun just looks flat and red. She visits her daughter, leaves through the door, I expected it to look real. It's just a flat, 2-D ball. I wish it had a face at least, and was smiling down, like the last line said.
The book had info on the Cherokee at the end:
The villages were surrounded by palisades, consisting of 3 rows of upright poles. A large round council
House occupied the center; and was located near the chief's dwelling.
These were surrounded by the dozen or so domed houses belonging to the rest of the people. Several families occupied each house, which was circular and 25 ft across. Walls were made of mud and grass, topped by a basket-woven roof. In the winter, mats of cattails, branches, and cornhusks were added to the outside walls for extra protection.
-it's amazing that the ones who escaped or avoided capture hid in their taints and were later able to purchase land and establish the Eastern Cherokee Band, and those r who we see today.
Cherokee chiefs wore cloaks of turkey feathers and headdresses of Sean and white crane feathers only for special meetings or occasions.
-The Cherokee were farmers. The men worked the soil, while the women and children planted, tended and harvested the crops.
Important occupations for a Cherokee male were ball player and warrior. Ball play was an important way for Cherokee men to show their speed and endurance. Each player used two sticks to catch and throw the deerskin ball. Some games had over a hundred players each.
-the people had great respect for nature. With the help of their shamans, they looked for guidance from the spirits of the sun, moon and stars, as well as plants, animals and elements. Each year, several festivals were held to celebrate planting and harvesting of the corn. The People made drums and rattles and painted their faces. White, for example, showed happiness. Good! Like the story we just read.
The Cherokee were known as one of the "Five Civilized Tribes." This is because of their early adaptation of the ways of the European settlers.
-the pic shows a Cherokee woman in traditional deerskin at Oconaluftee Indian Village in NC. Boy, you don't see that now! That's how I want to see them.
They relied on wild fruits like grapes, berries, crapapples, persimmons and maple sugar.
Like today, favs were corncskes, corn mush, parched corn and roast turkey.
Cherokee men and boys wore deerskin breechclouts and moccasins. Women and girls wore short, deerskin skirts. In cold weather, everyone wore rabbit fur capes, or shawls tied over the left shoulder. They decorated their clothing with dyed porcupine quills, and wore jewelry made of bones and teeth.
Shows a woodchuck fur mask. Many Cherokee masks were originally used for hunting.
Many today work in tourism, timber, farming, art or oil.
Choctaw was also one of the 5 civilized tribes.
Tsusgina'i means "the ghost country."
In 1799, they had log cabins instead of thatched houses.
1924: NA's born in US declared citizens. I can't believe it took so long!!
1968: Indian civil rights Act gives NA's the right to govern themselves on their reservation.
This was pretty good, but not what I expected. When I read a title, I assume the book is going to be about one thing, and it turned out to be a very different story.
Based on the title, I thought this would be a story about a drum, maybe the first drum. The cover makes him look like a giant, too. He was just a boy, so I don't know why he's so large on the cover. What wasn't so great about the story was that the parts that weren't realistic, like how easy it was for Dancing Drum to find the little people and travel to the sky, and how the sun could walk in someone's house, that the boy was expected to bite the sun, and how the sun could have a human daughter. However, this is for kids, so they'd find it more believable and might not question the story.
This was a lot more involved than I thought it would be, with more words on the page than is typical for a children's book. I also wasn't expecting the info at the back, but it's nice if you don't know much about the Cherokee, you can learn more about them after reading this legend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2014
The book, Dancing Drum, is a Cherokee legend that has been passed on and retold many different times. This book would be wonderful to use in a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade classroom. It would also be perfect to use if you are doing a Native American project, as for it tells so much about the Cherokee tribe.
The story starts out with the sun and moon talking to one another. The sun is not happy that the people do not like her because "they twist up their faces when they look to the sky." The moon then says that people like him because they smile, make music, dance, and send him songs. This made the sun jealous and mad, making her seek revenge on the people by scorching heat onto the land.
The story continues with the sun being angry and a Cherokee village boy named, Dancing Drum was trying to figure it out. He went to see the Shaman, who it was Dancing Drum who had to go out and make the sun stop. Dancing Drum went on this important mission, meeting many people along the way. He was turned into a snake, to make his journey easier. In the end, the sun was very hard to get to, so Dancing Drum went after her daughter instead. Because Dancing Drum hurt the sun's daughter, she cried rain, until the people of the tribe asked for forgiveness. They sang to the sun and the sun stopped the rain. In the end, the sun and the people had a mutual respect.
At the end of this book, there are many pages that the author included on the Cherokee tribe. There are actual pictures, stories, and facts. This would be a great tool to use in the classroom, especially when teaching a lesson on this tribe. Children receive everything they need from this book! A great Cherokee story and more, true information on the tribe! Even in the story, children can see the ways of the tribe, such as the illustrations show the clothes the Cherokee people wore, tools or weapons used, symbols of the tribe, musical instruments used, and how the people looked: painted faces and symbols. You could definitely use all of these in a classroom lesson because they are important to understand about the tribe. I would highly recommend this book.
The story starts out with the sun and moon talking to one another. The sun is not happy that the people do not like her because "they twist up their faces when they look to the sky." The moon then says that people like him because they smile, make music, dance, and send him songs. This made the sun jealous and mad, making her seek revenge on the people by scorching heat onto the land.
The story continues with the sun being angry and a Cherokee village boy named, Dancing Drum was trying to figure it out. He went to see the Shaman, who it was Dancing Drum who had to go out and make the sun stop. Dancing Drum went on this important mission, meeting many people along the way. He was turned into a snake, to make his journey easier. In the end, the sun was very hard to get to, so Dancing Drum went after her daughter instead. Because Dancing Drum hurt the sun's daughter, she cried rain, until the people of the tribe asked for forgiveness. They sang to the sun and the sun stopped the rain. In the end, the sun and the people had a mutual respect.
At the end of this book, there are many pages that the author included on the Cherokee tribe. There are actual pictures, stories, and facts. This would be a great tool to use in the classroom, especially when teaching a lesson on this tribe. Children receive everything they need from this book! A great Cherokee story and more, true information on the tribe! Even in the story, children can see the ways of the tribe, such as the illustrations show the clothes the Cherokee people wore, tools or weapons used, symbols of the tribe, musical instruments used, and how the people looked: painted faces and symbols. You could definitely use all of these in a classroom lesson because they are important to understand about the tribe. I would highly recommend this book.
December 6, 2015
The telling of why the sun scorched the earth and how a tribe made Grandmother Sun shine down on them again. This book is cute, educational, and very interesting.
The illustrations in this book are very well done, they have lots of color and detail, and even show some of the native Cherokee patterns. The content of this book is also great, and would be awesome to have in a classroom. It would be good to have a book about native legends to read to a class and have them compare it to other legends of different tribes, or our legends nowadays. This book could help get a conversation started about more native american tribes, where they live, what they wear and eat, and even their histories. The back of the book gives good information about a little piece of Cherokee history and describes where they lived, things they did, and lots of other things the kids would find interesting. This book would also be great if you had a Cherokee student in our class, this could give them a chance to bring their culture into the classroom and share with their peers more about themselves, their beliefs, and if they have any legends of their own their parents or grandparents may have told them.
The illustrations in this book are very well done, they have lots of color and detail, and even show some of the native Cherokee patterns. The content of this book is also great, and would be awesome to have in a classroom. It would be good to have a book about native legends to read to a class and have them compare it to other legends of different tribes, or our legends nowadays. This book could help get a conversation started about more native american tribes, where they live, what they wear and eat, and even their histories. The back of the book gives good information about a little piece of Cherokee history and describes where they lived, things they did, and lots of other things the kids would find interesting. This book would also be great if you had a Cherokee student in our class, this could give them a chance to bring their culture into the classroom and share with their peers more about themselves, their beliefs, and if they have any legends of their own their parents or grandparents may have told them.
July 8, 2014
Yum, I love me some mythology, and this collection of Native stories is well-produced. I like the stories and the art, and the long afterward section with additional information and resources. Great for the kid who wants to learn about all the North American tribes.
February 10, 2020
This retelling and modification of a legend of the Cherokee tribe is interesting on several levels. First and foremost, it gives an insight into the Cherokee beliefs regarding death and the structure of the spirit world. Secondly, when it opens, it was possible for spirits of the dead to travel back to the land of the living and it explains how that was changed. Finally, one of the fundamental premises is that the energy output of the sun is not constant over time. The last premise is known to be true; the sun’s output does vary slightly over time with occasional massive bursts of radiation capable of frying modern electronics and damaging satellites.
When Grandmother Sun begins burning up the land, a young man named Dancing Drum is tasked with traveling to the residence of the sun’s daughter so that he can perhaps alter the situation. Wrapped in the skin of a snake, Dancing Drum accidently kills the sun’s daughter.
This mistake must be fixed, so Dancing Drum and a band of the six fastest stickball players set off on an expedition to recover the sun’s daughter from the spirit world and return her to the living. It is a difficult task and they almost are able to be completely successful.
The Cherokee were one of the “Seven Civilized Tribes” in what were the original American colonies. They were farmers and quickly adapted to the ways of the European settlers and many were educated. These features did them no good when they were forcibly removed from their native lands and force marched to the alien environment of Oklahoma in what is now known as “The Trail of Tears.” This book is an excellent retelling of one of their important legends and gives insight into their culture.
When Grandmother Sun begins burning up the land, a young man named Dancing Drum is tasked with traveling to the residence of the sun’s daughter so that he can perhaps alter the situation. Wrapped in the skin of a snake, Dancing Drum accidently kills the sun’s daughter.
This mistake must be fixed, so Dancing Drum and a band of the six fastest stickball players set off on an expedition to recover the sun’s daughter from the spirit world and return her to the living. It is a difficult task and they almost are able to be completely successful.
The Cherokee were one of the “Seven Civilized Tribes” in what were the original American colonies. They were farmers and quickly adapted to the ways of the European settlers and many were educated. These features did them no good when they were forcibly removed from their native lands and force marched to the alien environment of Oklahoma in what is now known as “The Trail of Tears.” This book is an excellent retelling of one of their important legends and gives insight into their culture.
January 8, 2018
The illustrations were bold and eye-catching. I really liked how all of the colors on the adjoining pages matched. I liked the story of the Sun being jealous that the People liked the moon more than her, that they sang songs for him. There were details that I enjoyed learning, like rivers were called Long Man.
It was odd how the people had lines on their bodies, down their arms and across their wrists and forearms and elbows. Also, their clothing was so unrealistic with all those patterns and colors. They didn't wear clothes with those designs, but I did like them despite being inaccurate.
The little men in the woods were cute, with their long hair and beards growing down to cover their bodies. The tale took a turn as Dancing Drum turned into a snake and was supposed to bite Grandmother Sun. I appreciated that the first time he tried she left the house too fast, and the second he was blinded by her brilliant light.
I didn't expect this story. The tales are never what I expected based off the name. I thought this was going to be a tale about their drums, not the sun. It was cool when he took the six fastest stickball players from the village to being back the Daughter of the Sun after he accidentally killed her. Their culture was cool to learn about, that dead people go to the Darkening-land and that she would be dancing with the ghosts in Tsusgina'i.
I liked the detail that the Daughter of the Sun danced heel-toe, heel-toe. That let on to their way of dancing. The scene of her dancing with the three skeletons around a pale fire with the big white moon was cool, cuz I'm into ghosts and things like that.
For some reason the close-up image of the hand holding the stick reaching out to her foot struck me as funny. Each warrior was supposed to poke her with the stick, so she was being poked 7 times before she would pass out so they could carry her back.
In every story where someone is told not to do something, they always do it, so that predictability is old. I could understand why Dancing Drum opened the basket, because she said she couldn't breathe and he didn't want her to die. It was odd that she suddenly turned into a cardinal when it had never been mentioned that she was a bird.
I liked the explanation for why souls can't be returned from the Land of the Spirits. Because he opened the basket and let the Daughter of the Sun out like the Shaman told him not to do, no more spirits could come back. I liked the illustration with the 4 Indians with their faces painted white and holding rattles. One had a turtle shell rattles. Another had what looked like maracas suited to a Latin culture and not the Cherokee.
It's cool that they wore necklaces of deer and panther teeth. And they put on their best fringed buckskin to sing to the sun, and beat their drums and shake their rattles.
I liked the image of Dancing Drum down on one leg playing his drum. I thought it was odd how she said he filled the hollow log with water and dampened the groundhog skin. She hadn't told us the top of the drum was made of groundhog skin and I wondered how he filled it with water when surely the top of the drum was already sewn on tightly. It was sweet tho that he played a special song for the sun and she stopped crying and smiled down on her Children of the Mountain. He fixed his mistake and made everything right again for his people.
Like with all of the legends you don't want to delve too deeply and think too hard about anything. I know it's a made-up tale to account for things, but it does take away from the story. Like how easy it was to travel to the sky. Even in snake form that doesn't account for him being able to make it. And that the sun lived in a house. The biggest thing that stood out to me was that the sun had a daughter that was a cardinal. I immediately started thinking of why that was, if they thought cardinals were the color of the sun or something like that that showed a connection to the two. But it was completely random and not another word was said about it. And now I'm wondering what kind of cardinal she was, like the mother of all of them or just one little cardinal of many, because she died and that seems like a big deal but nothing was mentioned of the effect she had on the world. It would have been better had she never turned into the bird and just remained a woman. The bird threw me for a loop and I couldn't find a place for her in the story.
I liked that there was a real image of the Smokey Mountains with misty clouds hangings over them. It's such a cool sight.
I certainly wasn't expecting the wealth of information that came after this story was over. I would have never expected that with such a small little book especially with the childlike and simple illustrations. And I didn't expect so much writing. It's not simple writing that's for sure.
I had never heard that their villages were surrounded by palisades, and they had 3 rows of poles. They used mats of cattail, branches and corn husks to the outside of their homes for protection in the winter.
They painted their faces for celebrations and the color white represented happiness.
I was blown away by the picture of the girl from the Oconaluftee Indian village because that's in Cherokee, NC and I've been there. No one in Cherokee has ever worn deerskin before so I've never seen that. I've only seen them in the European clothing they adapted into their own culture. I've never seen them in the garb they wore from pre-European contact.
In the winter they wore rabbit fur capes or shawls over one shoulder. I never knew they wore fur masks, especially when they hunted. Trust was such a surprise to see a woodchuck face without the eyes so they could wear them as a mask.
It was interesting to hear that many work in the oil, tourism, timber, farming or art industries.
It was odd how the people had lines on their bodies, down their arms and across their wrists and forearms and elbows. Also, their clothing was so unrealistic with all those patterns and colors. They didn't wear clothes with those designs, but I did like them despite being inaccurate.
The little men in the woods were cute, with their long hair and beards growing down to cover their bodies. The tale took a turn as Dancing Drum turned into a snake and was supposed to bite Grandmother Sun. I appreciated that the first time he tried she left the house too fast, and the second he was blinded by her brilliant light.
I didn't expect this story. The tales are never what I expected based off the name. I thought this was going to be a tale about their drums, not the sun. It was cool when he took the six fastest stickball players from the village to being back the Daughter of the Sun after he accidentally killed her. Their culture was cool to learn about, that dead people go to the Darkening-land and that she would be dancing with the ghosts in Tsusgina'i.
I liked the detail that the Daughter of the Sun danced heel-toe, heel-toe. That let on to their way of dancing. The scene of her dancing with the three skeletons around a pale fire with the big white moon was cool, cuz I'm into ghosts and things like that.
For some reason the close-up image of the hand holding the stick reaching out to her foot struck me as funny. Each warrior was supposed to poke her with the stick, so she was being poked 7 times before she would pass out so they could carry her back.
In every story where someone is told not to do something, they always do it, so that predictability is old. I could understand why Dancing Drum opened the basket, because she said she couldn't breathe and he didn't want her to die. It was odd that she suddenly turned into a cardinal when it had never been mentioned that she was a bird.
I liked the explanation for why souls can't be returned from the Land of the Spirits. Because he opened the basket and let the Daughter of the Sun out like the Shaman told him not to do, no more spirits could come back. I liked the illustration with the 4 Indians with their faces painted white and holding rattles. One had a turtle shell rattles. Another had what looked like maracas suited to a Latin culture and not the Cherokee.
It's cool that they wore necklaces of deer and panther teeth. And they put on their best fringed buckskin to sing to the sun, and beat their drums and shake their rattles.
I liked the image of Dancing Drum down on one leg playing his drum. I thought it was odd how she said he filled the hollow log with water and dampened the groundhog skin. She hadn't told us the top of the drum was made of groundhog skin and I wondered how he filled it with water when surely the top of the drum was already sewn on tightly. It was sweet tho that he played a special song for the sun and she stopped crying and smiled down on her Children of the Mountain. He fixed his mistake and made everything right again for his people.
Like with all of the legends you don't want to delve too deeply and think too hard about anything. I know it's a made-up tale to account for things, but it does take away from the story. Like how easy it was to travel to the sky. Even in snake form that doesn't account for him being able to make it. And that the sun lived in a house. The biggest thing that stood out to me was that the sun had a daughter that was a cardinal. I immediately started thinking of why that was, if they thought cardinals were the color of the sun or something like that that showed a connection to the two. But it was completely random and not another word was said about it. And now I'm wondering what kind of cardinal she was, like the mother of all of them or just one little cardinal of many, because she died and that seems like a big deal but nothing was mentioned of the effect she had on the world. It would have been better had she never turned into the bird and just remained a woman. The bird threw me for a loop and I couldn't find a place for her in the story.
I liked that there was a real image of the Smokey Mountains with misty clouds hangings over them. It's such a cool sight.
I certainly wasn't expecting the wealth of information that came after this story was over. I would have never expected that with such a small little book especially with the childlike and simple illustrations. And I didn't expect so much writing. It's not simple writing that's for sure.
I had never heard that their villages were surrounded by palisades, and they had 3 rows of poles. They used mats of cattail, branches and corn husks to the outside of their homes for protection in the winter.
They painted their faces for celebrations and the color white represented happiness.
I was blown away by the picture of the girl from the Oconaluftee Indian village because that's in Cherokee, NC and I've been there. No one in Cherokee has ever worn deerskin before so I've never seen that. I've only seen them in the European clothing they adapted into their own culture. I've never seen them in the garb they wore from pre-European contact.
In the winter they wore rabbit fur capes or shawls over one shoulder. I never knew they wore fur masks, especially when they hunted. Trust was such a surprise to see a woodchuck face without the eyes so they could wear them as a mask.
It was interesting to hear that many work in the oil, tourism, timber, farming or art industries.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 3, 2019
I enjoyed reading this folktale with my son. I don’t think I can comment on the story itself. It’s so far outside of my cultural understanding that anything I’d have to say would be inappropriate. Stories like this help me see what is lacking in the white/American/European-colonizer point of view. I have no framework to fit this story into my understanding of the world, but it enriches me.
March 27, 2022
A traditional legend told and retold by the Cherokee. The moral is to be obedient, and also to show respect. I liked that there was a mini history of the Cherokee at the back with pictures. Also, illustrations throughout are well done.
July 16, 2018
A boy goes on a journey to save his village.
October 19, 2018
How to handle the problem of an angry sun!
January 3, 2015
I am part Cherokee so I was excited when I found this book. Taken from an old Cherokee legend, this book tells the tale of how one young man seeks to keep Grandmother Sun from burning the land.
I loved reading this legend as I never had heard it before. The words are lovingly weaved together to tell the legend as it might have been handed down word of mouth. I loved how the young man made up for each deed or misdeed he did and eventually used his drum in thanksgiving. A beautiful testament to the people and the sky.
The pictures in the book are bold and beautiful. However, this book is certainly to be read by an older child as there are complex sentences. The pictures only enhance the words.
In addition to the legend, the author included in the back of the book about the Cherokee people including tragic circumstances and overcoming. Those pages even talk about the Cherokee of today, what they do and how they live. I think this is also a beautiful testament.
I would be amiss if I gave this book anything but a 5 star. Well, done!
Disclosure: I purchased a copy of this book for my own collections. The views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ with yours. ~Naila Moon
I loved reading this legend as I never had heard it before. The words are lovingly weaved together to tell the legend as it might have been handed down word of mouth. I loved how the young man made up for each deed or misdeed he did and eventually used his drum in thanksgiving. A beautiful testament to the people and the sky.
The pictures in the book are bold and beautiful. However, this book is certainly to be read by an older child as there are complex sentences. The pictures only enhance the words.
In addition to the legend, the author included in the back of the book about the Cherokee people including tragic circumstances and overcoming. Those pages even talk about the Cherokee of today, what they do and how they live. I think this is also a beautiful testament.
I would be amiss if I gave this book anything but a 5 star. Well, done!
Disclosure: I purchased a copy of this book for my own collections. The views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ with yours. ~Naila Moon
October 25, 2012
This story is a folktale. The main charcter is a little boy named Dancing Drum. He tries to help his people by killing Grand,other Sun. His people wanted Grandmother son to die because she was scorching heat down upon them. With his attempt to kill Grandmother Sun, he fails and kills her daughter. Grandmother Sun becomes very sad and showers rain upon the people for days. He tried to bring her daughter back, but he failed again. He constantly tried to fix his first mistake and make his people. Fortunately he had help along the way. Will he prevail in the end?
I would not use this book in my class with a read aloud and discussion, but I would however, have this book in my classroom library. Its a nice book to have the students exposed to, but it didn't strike me hard enough to build a lesson around it.
I would not use this book in my class with a read aloud and discussion, but I would however, have this book in my classroom library. Its a nice book to have the students exposed to, but it didn't strike me hard enough to build a lesson around it.
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December 27, 2011Dancing Drum, a Cherokee boy, is sent to kill the sun who is beating down on the Earth. Unfortunately, Dancing Drum is inept in the task. He kills the daughter instead. That causes the sun to hibernate, thus making the earth dark and cold.
Trying to correct that, he captured the sun but was told not to peek into the basket. He did and the sun escaped and returned serve with downpours.
Eventually Dancing Drum played music, which pleased the sun. She came out at that point.
Then there were several pages about the Cherokee indians. Interesting.
Trying to correct that, he captured the sun but was told not to peek into the basket. He did and the sun escaped and returned serve with downpours.
Eventually Dancing Drum played music, which pleased the sun. She came out at that point.
Then there were several pages about the Cherokee indians. Interesting.
July 15, 2018
Dancing Drum: A Cherokee Legend
Cohlene, Terri
This is an edition in a collection of Native american legends books. The books feature a collection of legends, history and art work from various tribes. The idea of Dancing drum is from the Cherokee about connecting to the great spirit. This is a great introduction of the culture, and stories for young children and a great multi lingual book
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October 29, 2014Dancing Drum is a Cherokee Legend about a boy, named Dancing Drum, who goes on a quest to save his people from drought and scorching heat.
I view this story to be appropriate for all ages, even pre-reading children would enjoy this legend. The text is written around a second grade level.
I view this story to be appropriate for all ages, even pre-reading children would enjoy this legend. The text is written around a second grade level.
May 21, 2012
i think this book is a amazing cherokee legend.it is intertaning to readers and i feel the author Terri Cohlene did a great job on hooking the reader and with the illistrations.
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September 11, 2016A Cherokee Legend about why there are droughts, dark & coldness, rain, and nice days.
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