Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
"That day your spirit came to us rains came in from the Pacific to bless/ Clouds peered over the mountains in response to the singing of medicine plants." In urgent, lyrical lines, U.S. poet laureate Harjo, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, follows an Indigenous family in gathering to welcome an infant. Thickly stroked, muralistic paintings by Garcia (Remembering) open with a figure in the sky smudging a desert house. Within it, a woman labors, while outside, horses--"hundreds of them"--run the land "to accompany you here, to bless." A rainbow soon appears over the home, and family gathers bearing myriad gifts ("tobacco and cedar, new clothes, and joy for you"). As fluid, saturated images dotted with horses and rainbows follow the infant's maturation, refrain-like lines urge the child to remember the source of life's gifts (breathing, walking, running, laughing, crying, dreaming), then offer suggestions for how to move through the world. Visualizing Indigenous traditions and underlining values of family and interdependence, it's a profoundly loving blessing of a book for anyone in a place of becoming. Ages 4--8. (Apr.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-8-This poem in free verse is addressed to a Native American girl about to go out into the world. The writing is lyrical with a natural rhythm and rich imagery. Harjo talks about the gifts the girl receives from her family at birth and her responsibilities as she grows to adulthood. The poem encourages her to share with others and be grateful for the world. It is an interesting and touching mix of modern and ancient ideas, mentioning junked cars and horses, mathematics and moccasins. Some of the text seems deeply personal, even intimate, yet many of the ideas expressed are universal. McDonald's stylized paintings are done in a warm and vibrant palette. Her compositions include symbolic images that swirl across the pages. Sometimes the text appears below the illustrations, sometimes on the opposite page, printed on solid-color backgrounds. The font is small and a little difficult to read when it is printed white on orange or white on olive green. Although in picture-book format, the text is intended to speak to early teens, especially those of Native American heritage.-Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In this new picture-book iteration of a previously published poem by former U.S. Poet Laureate Harjo (Remember, rev. 3/23), verse addressing a young girl offers an intimate portrait of her growing up and of her obligations to self and to the world around her. First, she is ushered into a family with the trappings of her community -- a blessing of tobacco, an ornately adorned cradleboard, handmade moccasins. As she grows and explores, she is reminded that her people's traditions are of utmost importance and that the natural world is paramount. The book provides authentic depictions of contemporary family and tribal life and reflects the Indigenous value of being in harmony with human and nonhuman relatives; it also connects to the value of being a thoughtful contributor, both at home and in the wider world. Harjo's (Mvskoke) detail-rich verse and Garcia's lush, mural-like illustrations are steeped in tradition but firmly grounded in today. Details in the illustrations allow readers to immerse themselves in the girl's world, from the Three Sisters in the garden to the rusted-out truck in the yard to the purposefully chosen objects in a teenager's bedroom. Adding even more meaning is the repeated use of rainbow imagery, a symbol widely regarded in Indigenous communities as representing unity and hope. Jenna WolfJuly/August 2025 p.73 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In this tale from a powerhouse creative team, a family welcomes a child with an empowering and fiercely affectionate blessing to guide her growth. "The day your spirit came to us rains came in from the Pacific… // and all of us who loved you gathered, where / Pollen blew throughout that desert house to bless, / And horses were running the land, hundreds of them, / To accompany you here, to bless." And so a newborn baby girl with "black hair, / Brown eyes," and "skin the color of earth" joins a protective community that spans the heavens and earth. Page turns skillfully capture the passage of time, and as the child grows, she's enjoined to move through the world with compassion and meet both joys and hardships with determination. Former U.S. Poet Laureate Harjo's (Mvskoke Nation) fluid and impassioned second-person text circles back effectively to reiterate its enveloping missive, then appears in full at the book's end. Pura Belpré Award winner Garcia's dynamic and richly layered portraits deftly echo the poem's movement. A palette of vibrant turquoise and leafy green depicts the child maturing and thriving, while immersive double-page spreads in tawny hues seamlessly incorporate Native elements throughout. A standout among affirming picture books, this beatitude-inducing work will quickly become the new go-to baby present. A stunningly illustrated, tender, and tenacious message--a boon to any bookshelf.(Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
