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. When the child arrives, she relays how these items will keep the baby connected to their Native identity. “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. A white feather, cedar and sage, a stone from the river. As she waits for the arrival of her new baby, a mother-to-be gathers gifts to create a sacred bundle. A unique baby book sings with Native Cultural detail, while striking a universal chord in its celebration of the blossoming of love that comes with expecting and welcoming a new baby with art by bestselling illustrator Michaela Goade.
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