Review by Booklist Review
In lyrical text, a young mother addresses her unborn child, sharing the traditional beliefs of her Inniniwak heritage. As her pregnancy progresses, she collects items for the baby's sacred medicine bundle: a white feather, cedar and sage, a handmade star blanket, and a small stone from the river. After the child arrives, the mother explains the significance of each object, emphasizing the child's connection to her Native identity, the community, and their traditional territory. Caldecott-winner and Tlingit illustrator Goade's ethereal watercolor-and-mixed-media artwork favors deep blues and purples (suggesting the night sky) accented in greens and rosy hues. Of particular note is the "swoosh," a starry white energy-flow appearing in every spread that provides continuity and connects the story's themes of land, culture, family, and identity. Her style mixes realism (for the contemporary locations) with muted colors that suggest the past. She also skillfully incorporates traditional Indigenous symbols into the northern Manitoba landscape. While this is culturally specific, motherhood is universal; this story will be appreciated wherever newborns are celebrated.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
"I loved you before I met you./ Before I held you in my arms,/ I sang you down from the stars," begins Spillett-Sumner's gentle tale, which shares, per an author's note, "the traditional understanding of my Nation, the Inniniwak, and many other Indigenous peoples globally: that babies choose their parents." As an Indigenous woman sings to the sky, a shooting star leads her to a white eagle feather, beginning her journey to create a "sacred medicine bundle" for her unborn child that's filled with items from nature--a feather, sage and cedar, a "star blanket," and a smooth stone from the river. When the child arrives, she relays how these items will keep the baby connected to their Native identity. Caldecott Medalist Goade (who is Tlingit) contributes enchantingly expansive, star-stippled landscapes done in watercolor and mixed media, with a semi-translucent ribbon of stars tracing the connection between "all living things." A tender celebration of parenthood that will resonate with Native and non-Native readers alike. Back matter includes an author's and an artist's note. Ages 4--8. (Apr.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Anticipation, pregnancy, and the birth of a baby are celebrated in this story from Spillett-Sumner (Inniniwak) and Caldecott medalist Goade (Tlingit). When a baby chooses its mother, special gatherings of family and community are held to prepare for the child's arrival. Sacred items are collected and placed in a medicine bundle to be given to the baby at birth. These items will keep the growing child's connection to their identity strong. Spillett-Sumner's lyrical text begins as an Indigenous mother plans the journey with her unborn child. "Before I held you in my arms, I sang you down from the stars." When she finds a white eagle plume, it becomes "the first gift in a bundle that will be yours." The young mother finds more items for her child's bundle: cedar, sage, a "star blanket," and a special river stone "so that you always remember that you belong to this place." The baby arrives in the spring, "with the waters that come when the ice breaks and the rivers flow again." Goade uses a white "swoosh" of stars throughout the illustrations to intertwine traditional origin stories with a family's experience of "love and joy" upon the arrival of the new baby, in scenes that pulse with both emotions. Author and illustrator each contribute a note describing how they drew upon their respective cultural traditions to inform their work, which will open the book up to a wide range of readers. Gorgeous, shimmering, heartfelt. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
