Secret of the Dance

by Andrea Spalding, Darlene Gait (Illustrator), Alfred Scow

Overview

In 1935, a nine-year-old boy's family held a forbidden Potlatch in faraway Kingcome Inlet. Watl'kina slipped from his bed to bear witness. In the Big House masked figures danced by firelight to the beat of the drum. And there, he saw a figure he knew. Aboriginal elder Alfred Scow and award-winning author Andrea Spalding collaborate to tell the story, to tell the secret of the dance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554690800
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	09/01/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Andrea Spalding is an author, artist, teacher and musician. She has written over 30 books including Secret of the Dance, Solomon's Tree and The Keeper and the Crows. Andrea's books have won and been shortlisted for numerous awards and honors including the BC Book Prize, Blue Spruce Award, Chocolate Lily Award, Rocky Mountain Book Award and the Red Cedar Award. She lives in Pender Island, British Columbia.

Darlene Gait was born on Vancouver Island and began painting as a child. Inspired by nature and by her Coast Salish heritage, Darlene brings a rich understanding of the natural world to her work, which is held in private collections and exhibited worldwide. Darlene lives in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

Judge Alfred Scow, elder of the Kwakwa'wakw Nation, is a member of the Order of Canada. Now retired, Judge Scow and his wife live on Pender Island and in Vancouver.

Read an Excerpt

"Many years ago, when the world and I were younger, my family defied the government."

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4 Up
This picture book is based on an incident from Scow's childhood. In 1935, a Native boy and his family are spirited away by boat to a secret location where he witnesses a Potlatch ceremony-outlawed with severe consequences at that time by the Canadian government. This story gives readers barely a taste of the culture and vast history around the topic. Bold and colorful acrylic illustrations do serve to add drama and interest; they are interlaced with ghostly Native imagery. Names (e.g., "Watl'kina" and "Tlakwetl") and vocabulary are difficult to read and pronounce without a guide. A historical note is included, although it's at the end of the book rather than at the beginning. Younger children who gravitate to picture books may find the abstract concepts of government and prejudice difficult to comprehend. The story is far more suited to older children who would empathize with and appreciate what Native Canadians endured at this challenging time in their history.
—Corrina AustinCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

"The illustrations...strikingly reflect Aboriginal imagery. The voice of the adult recalling a profound and transformative childhood moment is... immediate and credible."

Canadian Literature

"Based upon a true incident, this story provides a discussion venue for discrimination and prejudice."

Tucson USD

"An innocent perspective on a powerful act of defiance...Gait's large-scale acrylic paintings reinforce the religious dimension, infusing magic realism into the landscape and story."

Horn Book

"Powerful aboriginal images and symbols…are incorporated into almost all the acrylic paintings that illustrate this…fictionalized account of a signal event in the life of Alfred Scow...told in simple but evocative prose."

The Globe and Mail

"The child's view of brave adults in secret rebellion will even attract children somewhat older than the target audience."

Booklist

no details

BC Bookworld