Also: take a moment to check out Debbie Reese’s review at American Indians in Children’s Literature blog as she will interact with the book in a different way and offers insight on the book’s significance for Native readers. “There’s many points in Bowwow Powwow where the words or art tell us that this is an #OwnVoices story! The three people who gave us this book know what they’re doing. I highly recommend it for every school and public library. I know–I’m going on a bit about its significance to Native readers–but non-Native readers will enjoy it, too.”
Bowwow Powwow: Bagosenjige-niimi’idim by Brenda J. Child (Red Lake Ojibwe).
Illustrated by Jonathan Thunder (Red Lake Ojibwe)
Translated by Gordon Jourdain (Lac La Croix First Nation)
Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2018.
Bilingual: Ojibwe/English hardcover Picture book, 32 pages.
Windy Girl talks about the things she loves and they lead us to the end of summer and a powwow where she eventually falls asleep and dreams of a bowwow powwow. Her dreams are inspired by her relationship with her dog Itchy Boy and a traditional dance she’d learned about from her Uncle that day, as well as all the stories she’s collected over time.
I can’t say I’m loving the style of illustration, but I find the color palate appealing, and I am interested in where finer details show up: flags, clothing, ornament… I do love the way the author uses the dreamscape to continue in a storytelling that is appealing and educational. We are invited into another way Windy Girl participates in her inheritance and and how she is able to imagine what she’s seen and heard for herself. That we can share in that meaning-making is a gift that resonates with the whole of the book. Where her Uncle and the Elders may guide her, Windy Girl (and Itchy Dog) becomes the reader’s guide.
Child offers a lot of opportunity for further exploration. I’m intrigued by a tradition that asks someone “to dance for those unable to dance,” and the one the author returns to in a note on the last page. There is a dance that was “inaccurately designated as the ‘Begging Dance’ by anthropologists.” Child explains that the “performances were not considered ‘begging’ but instead displays of generosity in which friendship was enacted among extended families, clan relatives, and visitors. Songs were part of the performance and recognized the relationship between people and animals.” Her explanation is emphasized by the story you just read as you notice the interplay between Windy Girl and Itchy Dog and the incorporation of animals in the imagery and the dreamscape.
Brenda Child’s Bowwow Powwow celebrates powerful traditions and a dynamic culture in a deceptively straightforward manner. Bowwow Powwow is fun and inviting, depicting the very generosity of spirit and connection Child describes in her note.
Recommended for the classroom, because it is not only educational, but entertaining. I think it could inspire a student to dream what their traditions could look like with the participation of their own experience driven imaginations.
leslie d. 
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