Jingle Dancer

Short stories by well and lesser-known Indigenous writers present a range of tales about contemporary young people from different tribes and regions at a Michigan powwow. They range from humorous to serious, but each provides a glimpse at the power of community support. Created in partnership with We Need Diverse Books (opens in a new window).

When Louise Wolfe’s first real boyfriend mocks and disrespects Native people in front of her, she breaks things off and dumps him over e-mail. It’s her senior year, anyway, and she’d rather spend her time with her family and friends and working on the school newspaper. The editors pair her up with Joey Kairouz, the ambitious new photojournalist, and in no time the paper’s staff find themselves with a major story to cover: the school musical director’s inclusive approach to casting The Wizard of Oz has been provoking backlash in their mostly white, middle-class Kansas town.

Holler Loudly has a voice as big as the southwestern sky, and everywhere he goes, people tell him to “Hush!” From math class to the movies and even the state fair, Holler’s LOUD voice just keeps getting him into trouble. But when a huge tornado comes twisting into town, Holler (with that voice of his!) saves the day. 

What do Indian shoes look like, anyway? Like beautiful beaded moccasins… or hightops with bright orange shoelaces? Ray Halfmoon, a young Cherokee-Seminole boy living in Chicago with his grandpa, prefers hightops, but he gladly trades them for a nice pair of moccasins for his grandpa. After all, it’s Grampa Halfmoon who’s always there to help Ray get in and out of scrapes and share a laugh. 

Lily and Wendy have been best friends since they became stepsisters. But with their feuding parents planning to spend the summer apart, what will become of their family — and their friendship? Little do they know that a mysterious boy has been watching them from the oak tree outside their window. A boy who intends to take them away from home for good, to an island of wild animals, Merfolk, Fairies, and kidnapped children, to a sea of merfolk, pirates, and a giant crocodile. A boy who calls himself Peter Pan.