"At the weekend powwow,
Becca watches
Grandma dance Fancy Shawl
with many other dancers
who are half her age.
She wins the grand prize!
More than anything
Becca wants to be
just like Grandma."
In this warm and wonderful story of love and traditions, we meet Becca. She is a young girl who wants nothing more that to be just like her grandma. They sit outside on the house steps together while Grandma beads buckskin moccasins. Becca would like to try her hand at beading. Grandma shares her needle and thread. While they work, Grandpa cooks corn soup for sharing when the sun sets.
Becca loves every tradition her grandmother shares. They love to dance barefoot while Grandpa cooks fried chicken for supper. On another day they paint the sunrise until Grandpa calls them in for pancakes. On the weekend at the powwow, Becca watches in wonder as Grandma dances in her spectacular shawl. Grandma helps Becca learn the dance moves before Grandpa calls them in for beans and frybread. And so it goes: Becca watching and learning while Grandma indulges her many requests and Grandpa keeps them fed.
It is a lovely surprise to see Grandma watching Becca as she practices her basketball moves.
"More than anything,
Grandma wants to be
just like Becca."
When Becca tries out for the team, Grandma and Grandpa are waiting outside the gym door, quietly cheering her on, and then rejoicing when she makes the team!
What a joyous book this is! Repetitive language carries the story along, all the while showing readers how much the two are alike. Julie Flett's familiar palette and gentle style perfectly complements the tale being told.
Back matter includes a letter about the Heartdrum imprint, new from Harper books. It also adds an author's note, some information about beadwork, and a useful glossary.
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