by Moe Zilla

Created on: May 16, 2009

There's dark shadows on a lake in the dim orange of sunset. An Indian raises his fishing spear in a painted canoe. This book's illustrations are lifelike watercolors which bring the Indian tribe to life. And Barbara Mitchell contributes a detailed story about the heritage of a girl named Katie.

Katie lives in the city - which illustrator Todd L. W. Doney acknowledges by drawing a row of tall buildings. The family's camper passes by on the street in front of them. They're heading to a yearly celebration will all the other tribes. "Off to the powwow they go," writes Mitchell cheerily.

"Long before the white man came, Nanticoke held their crab feasts," says Katie's father. The fields are quiet, with crickets chirping, and the Nanticoke beat drums in the pines. The drums seems to call out Katie's Indian name. ("Red Bird! Red Bird!") The day unfolds gradually, as Katie hurries down the sandy road to join the rest of the powwow.

The book seems to be trying to show the feeling that unites the community together. There's hugging and smiling when Katie's family arrives, greeting grandparents, aunts and uncles. They all call Katie "Red Bird," and soon the chief is addressing the gathering. "The drumbeat is our heartbeat," he says, calling out the names of the different tribes. And soon there's tribal dancers who appear in traditional clothes.

I'll have to admit that I learned something about the foods enjoyed by Native Americans. There's a dinner of fry bread puffs, and each family member adds different ingredients. Katie's mother likes it with honey, but her father prefers it with butter. And when Red Bird eats fry bread puffs, she likes it with spicy beans.

The book mentions Katie's scarlet shawl on its very first page, but it's only at the end that Katie dances with it. ("Dipping, gliding, turning, fluttering her shawl like wings - she IS Red Bird, wonderful creature, beautiful bird of the earth.") Her heritage is celebrated - and celebrated - as the author reminds us that this is who she is. The illustrations are colorful and subtle, and the make the family seem real.

Ironically, the illustrator has also done drawings for the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and McDonalds. It's another sign that even in a children's book, the modern world can't be entirely eliminated. "On Monday, Mom puts on her uniform and goes to her work at the hospital. Dad returns to his office," and "Katie is off to school." But as long as she holds her headband, she will hear the drums of her people.

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