Winddancer

by Ashley Hopgood, Tanya Stewart (Illustrator)

Saje is a young Indian girl who cherishes the memory of her late mother and lives with her father and two brothers on a reservation. One day their father announces some quite unexpected a woman and her son will be coming to their reservation to teach the three children because if they learn the ways of "the white man," they will be able to do many things. So begins an exciting new chapter in the world of Saje, as eloquently told by author Ashley Hopgood. In just a brief time, Saje gets to know Andrew and his mother, and Saje and her brothers initially resistant to the strangers' presence gradually discover what a positive addition Andrew and his mother can be to their family's future. Winddancer also tells the moving story of how Saje copes with the painful loss of her mother and what Saje learned from her mother about the Great Eagle the "Winddancer" of the title who may be able to take Saje to the land of her ancestors, "the land of the Great Spirit." Ashley Hopgood, in her fiction debut for young readers, weaves a concise, engaging, and powerful narrative about family bonds, tribal beliefs, and the challenging quest by young people to broaden their knowledge.

27 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I give it one star bc there’s no option to give it 0. Terrible author, odd book. If the author paid me to read it I still wouldn’t.