Celinda McKelvey looks like a typical 13-year-old American, and most of the time she lives like one, but her roots are deep in the Navajo nation, and she returns to the reservation to solemnize and celebrate her change from girl to woman. The ceremony, called Kinaald{ }a, marks the coming-of-age for a Navajo girl. Celebrated outdoors and in the family hogan, it is composed of two days of prayer, ritual, feasting, running, and rejoicing. Celinda wears a new dress woven like a Navajo blanket. She blesses her relatives and is blessed by them. She mixes a huge cake, made in part from cornmeal she has ground herself, dedicated to the sun god, and shared with all who attend the Kinaald{ }a. Roessel's text describes Celinda's preparations and the ceremony itself and relates the ancient myth that gave rise to it. The photographs, which are sharp and beautiful but not slick, are reminiscent of candid shots taken by a very good photographer at a family gathering. Because the subject is unusual, this book may need a little promotion, but it could complement either a Native American collection or a women's studies unit. (Reviewed Jan. 15, 1994)

Foreword by Michael Dorris. The two titles feature adolescent girls participating in their culture. Shannon, an Ojibway, is a fancy shawl dancer who performs at powwows and competitions in the Midwest. For Celinda McKelvey, her Kinaald is her passage to womanhood--a Navajo coming-of-age ceremony. In both books, the text is spare but clear, with sufficient detail to inform general readers; the color photographs are crisp and well composed. Bib., glos.

<p>By a Navajo photographer and writer who specializes in contemporary Native Americans,'' a clear, strikingly photographed account of 13-year-old Celinda McKelvey's coming-of-age ceremony, set in its historical context (such traditions, nearly lost in the 1950s and -60s, are coming back along with renewed Navajo pride). Described are specific details of costume, the making of a corn cake that's cooked overnight in the ground, the gathering of the extended family to help and share the celebration, and the ceremony's symbolic meaning. In glowing color photos, the reservation's natural beauty is represented by such sacred sites as Shiprock, while Navajos are depicted using a mix of new (store-bought clothing) and traditional items (Celinda's hand- woven dress). Unusually authentic and attractive; an interesting comparison to Seymour's The Gift of the Changing Woman, which depicts the similar Apache ceremony. Also just published in theWe Are Still Here'' series: Sandra King's Shannon: An Ojibway Dancer (ISBN: 0-8225-2652-2). Bibliography. (Nonfiction. 8-12)</p>

Gr 4-8-These superb books, written by members of the tribes in question and illustrated with photos by Native photographers, open up the Ojibway and Navajo worlds of two 13-year-old girls to their non-Indian contemporaries. Shannon lives in Minneapolis with her grandmother, sisters, and cousins and is a fancy shawl dancer. Kinaalda centers around Celinda as she undergoes the puberty ceremony among her people. Snippets of family conversation in each book lend an intimacy and familiarity not usually available to non-Indian readers, and Native children will recognize these girls as people they know. A bit of tribal history and culture relevant to the events described, excellent full-color photographs and maps, and up-to-date further reading lists make these titles essential purchases for school, public, and tribal libraries.-Lisa Mitten, University of Pittsburgh, PA