Finding My Dance

by Ria Thundercloud, Kalila J. Fuller (Illustrator)

Overview

In her debut picture book, professional Indigenous dancer Ria Thundercloud tells the true story of her path to dance and how it helped her take pride in her Native American heritage.

At four years old, Ria Thundercloud was brought into the powwow circle, ready to dance in the special jingle dress her mother made for her. As she grew up, she danced with her brothers all over Indian country. Then Ria learned more styles—tap, jazz, ballet—but still loved the expressiveness of Indigenous dance. And despite feeling different as one of the only Native American kids in her school, she always knew she could turn to dance to cheer herself up.    
 
Follow along as Ria shares her dance journey—from dreaming of her future to performing as a professional—accompanied by striking illustrations that depict it while bringing her graceful movements to life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593093894
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/13/2022
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Ria Thundercloud (she/her) is from the Ho-Chunk Nation and Sandia Pueblo. She holds strong ties to her kinship in the Southwest and North, practicing both styles of traditional dance. She started training in classical dance at the age of thirteen, went professional at sixteen, and has traveled internationally as a cultural ambassador and professional dancer. Ria is a 2019 graduate from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Indigenous Liberal Studies and is a holistic yoga teacher from the Healing Lotus Center. Her art is influenced by the women who came before her, reclaiming stories of matriarchs that highlight the resilience and knowledge of Indigenous women.

Kalila J. Fuller (she/her) was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, where she continues to draw inspiration from her childhood amongst the fir trees. She graduated from the Pacific Northwest College of Art with a degree in illustration. She loves dogs, watching cartoons, and drinking chai lattes.

Editorial Reviews

10/03/2022

“My name is Waka˛ ja haja pj˛j˛wi˛ga, which means ‘Beautiful Thunder Woman.’ I am from the Ho-Chunk Nation in Wisconsin and Sandia Pueblo in New Mexico,” which “value an important part of my life: dance” begins Thundercloud’s autobiographical picture book, tracing the protagonist’s experience as a dancer, starting with the gift of an orange jingle dress at age four. At her first powwow, Thundercloud leads her family into the arena, “a circle to symbolize unity, where there is no beginning and no end, just infinite connections to the spirit world and the earth.” Each summer for years, “my older brothers and I would hit the ‘powwow trail,’ ” until joining a dance team leads to a professional career that takes her all over the world. But “no matter how far I went, I would always return.” In a heartfelt, personal-feeling narrative, Thundercloud encapsulates many Indigenous traditions; Fuller’s unlined graphic art employs warm, rich colors that align with the narrator’s heart, determination, and love of dance. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

A School Library Journal Best Nonfiction Book of the Year!

★ "A warmly illustrated memoir of dance and culture, this will have broad appeal about using art for expression and to overcome difficulties." —School Library Journal, starred review

"A moving picture book about the resilience one can find in one’s cultural inheritance." —Kirkus Reviews

"An inspiring story about following one's passion." —Booklist

"In a heartfelt, personal-feeling narrative, Thundercloud encapsulates many Indigenous traditions..." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

★ 09/01/2022

Gr 3–5—The artist known as "Beautiful Thunder Woman" chronicles her career, beginning with a jingle dress her mother made for her. She traveled across the country with her family dancing the "Pow Wow Trail." Beautiful Thunder Woman explored other forms of dance, but found "classical dance is rigid and structured, while [her] traditional dance is more grounded and expressive." Beautiful Thunder Woman pushed through, joined a dance group, and won prizes. As the only Native American in her school, she was too shy to correct people who mispronounced her name, but "I could always dance it out and feel better." Eventually, she danced her way around the world. The tale comes full circle when Beautiful Thunder Woman has her daughter, and corrects people who say her name wrong, "so she will correct them also. Every time someone says our names, they are speaking a language that still exists, and a culture we still honor, despite many attempts to wipe it out forever." The text is in a different font and color when she explains something of importance to her. Richly colored illustrations convey movement, from the shawl's fringe to the eagle wings. Native American art motifs are woven throughout, including patterns on the end pages. With so little on this subject available outside of Indigenous communities, and even less written down, this is a compelling volume of a life and the importance of self-expression, as well as the protection of custom. VERDICT A warmly illustrated memoir of dance and culture, this will have broad appeal about using art for expression and to overcome difficulties.—Tamara Saarinen

School Library Journal

2022-07-13
A renowned Indigenous dancer tells her story.

At 4 years old, author Thundercloud, of the Ho-Chunk Nation and Sandia Pueblo, received her first jingle dress—an intricate, hand-sewn garment worn by Indigenous dancers. When she performed for the first time at a powwow, her spirit soared. This feeling never left Thundercloud, and as she grew up, she began dancing in the Native “fancy shawl” tradition as well as in contemporary, jazz, tap, ballet, and modern styles. Despite her meteoric rise in numerous dance communities (which eventually led to her becoming an internationally renowned professional dancer), Thundercloud was a “shy” kid who “didn’t fit in.” She was perpetually “the only Indigenous girl in class,” no one pronounced her name—Wakąja haja pįįwįga, or “Beautiful Thunder Woman”—correctly, and the timid girl “never corrected them.” As Thundercloud reached adulthood, she found strength through her ancestral dance and the birth of her daughter. Empowered by her heritage, Thundercloud now corrects those who mispronounce her daughter Yelihwaha•wíhta’s name (“She Brings Good Energy”), lifting up “a language that still exists, and a culture that we still honor, despite many attempts to wipe it out forever.” Accompanied by Fuller’s evocative illustrations that fill pages with bright colors and dynamic figures, Thundercloud’s rousing story of an uncertain child who grows to take pride in her identity will resonate with readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A moving picture book about the resilience one can find in one’s cultural inheritance. (Picture-book autobiography. 5-10)

Kirkus Reviews