Sky Dancers

Children's Literature

Young John Cloud, a Mohawk Indian, misses his father, who each week leaves the reservation for New York City, where he is a steelworker helping to build the Empire State Building. John Cloud is thrilled when, with his mother and grandfather, he travels to the city by train to visit his father and uncle. The city, with its hustle, bustle, sights and sounds, is amazingly different for him. When they arrive at the site of the Empire State Building, he proudly locates his father on one of the top beams, walking as if his feet "clung to the steel." Kirk has captured the boy's longing for his father when he is gone and the closeness between them while also conveying the family's sense of tradition as they enter a new era. Hale's bold, full-page illustrations contrast the quiet life on the reservation to the energy of city life. Her use of line and angles in the scenes showing the steelworkers is striking. Text and illustration combine to give an authentic and moving glimpse of life for a twentieth-century Mohawk family. 2004, Lee & Low Books, Ages 6 to 9.
—Peg Glisson

Kirkus Reviews

Set in the 1930s, nonfiction author Kirk's debut picture book tells the story of John Cloud, a young Mohawk boy, and his relationship with his steelworker father, who is helping to build the Empire State Building. One weekend, John Cloud, his mother, and grandfather travel from the reservation upstate to visit John Cloud's father in New York City. In full-bleed spreads, Hale captures the energy and excitement of the trip, from the train ride to the family's arrival to the moment John Cloud spots his father working way up high. Gouache illustrations draw on period influences such as the Depression-era city scenes of Edward Hopper and Art Deco angles and lines. Kirk's research into Mohawk culture and the experience of Native steelworkers adds authenticity, making this a true-to-life portrait of family life and traditions. (Picture book. 7-10)