Windy Girl and her dog Itchy Boy are inseparable. Inside the cab of Uncle’s truck (the best place for stories), Windy Girl listens to Uncle tell about the old days when, the night before the powwow, dancers went from house to house singing, “We are like dogs. We are like dogs.” and people gave them gifts. At a powwow at the end of the summer, Uncle’s story inspires Windy Girl’s dream about an all-dog powwow. Underneath this inventive and humorous fantasy, the text and illustrations give authentic details of what a powwow is like—the dancers, the drummers, the food stands, and the children going to bed early underneath the shooting stars. The text is bilingual in English and Ojibwe. (Ages 4–7)

Windy Girl is blessed with a vivid imagination. From Uncle she gathers stories of long-ago traditions, about dances and sharing and gratitude. Windy can tell such stories herself-about her dog, Itchy Boy, and the way he dances to request a treat and how he wriggles with joy in response to, well, just about everything.



When Uncle and Windy Girl and Itchy Boy attend a powwow, Windy watches the dancers in their jingle dresses and listens to the singers. She eats tasty food and joins family and friends around the campfire. Later, Windy falls asleep under the stars. Now Uncle's stories inspire other visions in her head: a bowwow powwow, where all the dancers are dogs. In these magical scenes, Windy sees veterans in a Grand Entry, and a visiting drum group, and traditional dancers, grass dancers, and jingle-dress dancers-all with telltale ears and paws and tails. All celebrating in song and dance. All attesting to the wonder of the powwow.



This playful story by Brenda Child is accompanied by a companion retelling in Ojibwe by Gordon Jourdain and brought to life by Jonathan Thunder's vibrant dreamscapes. The result is a powwow tale for the ages.