Dance on a Sealskin

In today s Alaskan Yup'ik Eskimo communities, the villagers still gather in the kashim to sing, drum, and dance, carrying forward their forebears traditions. DANCE ON A SEALSKIN is the heartwarming story of Annie s first dance, a coming-of-age ceremony that signifies a young person s official entry into the Eskimo community. As northern lights dance above Annie with the spirit of her recently departed grandmother, she prepares to honor the living and the dead in her first dance at potlatch. Inside the kashim, she listens to the drums and songs of the others. Soon, when Annie s father places a silvery sealskin at her feet, it is her turn to dance out a story for family and friends. Barbara Winslow, author of DANCE ON A SEALSKIN, has now turned from Alaska to rural Maine for inspiration. She taught school in Alaska and Maine for thirty-six years. Now retired, she and her husband live on an old farm. Teri Sloat is the author of THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A TROUT! and BERRY MAGIC, as well as the author and/or illustrator of many other books for children. A former teacher, she lives with her husband north of San Francisco. www.terisloat.com