I Am a Bon Dancer
It’s a young Japanese-American girl’s first time at the “Festival of Souls,” one of the largest Buddhist festivals. It’s just like her grandfather described: the smell of corndogs, the glow of hanging paper lanterns, the beat of taiko drums. But Grandpa Jo didn’t tell her that everyone else already knew how to dance!
Suddenly, the lanterns feel like spotlights. She wish, wish, wishes she could dance, but she can’t bring herself to try… until Grandpa Jo encourages her to remember the meaning of the Obon Festival—celebrating our family members who have passed on—and to imagine her beloved Grandma Nat dancing along with her. Because she is there, and behind her are her parents, sugar-cane cutters, and behind them are their parents, who came to Hawai’I on ships from Japan…
My body moves to the rhythm of the music.
I am a bon dancer, one in a line of dancing ancestors.
Additional information
| Genre | General Fiction |
|---|---|
| Age | Picture Book |
| Publisher | Independent |
| Imprint | Holiday House |
| Language(s) | English |
| Format(s) | Hardcover |
| Author | Brandi-Ann Uyemura |
| Release Date | 17 March 2025 |
| Release Month | March Releases |
| Author Identity | BIPOC |
About the Author
For over 17 years, Brandi-Ann Uyemura has written for national, local, and regional publications and worked as a copywriter for various companies including Hawaii Life, Intuit, Nerd Wallet, Toyota Hawaii, Tiny Prints, WalmartLabs, and Art.com. An award-winning writer, her words have been featured in Blue Mountain Arts, American Greetings as well as in books like, “Tiny Buddha” and “Untangle Your Mind.” Uyemura has been an online columnist for “The Writer” magazine, associate editor for Psych Central, and her articles have been published on various sites including Beliefnet, Spirituality & Health, Yoga Journal, MindBodyGreen, and US News Money. She has a graduate degree in counseling psychology and health, and has a passion for using her storytelling skills to help solve, support and encourage others to heal the earth and write books for kids which you can read more about on her website brandi-annuyemura.com.
