I Sang You Down from the Stars by Tasha Spillett-Sumner, illustrated by Michaela Goade

Drawing from Indigenous creation stories and traditional teachings and illustrated in dazzling watercolors,I Sang You Down from the Starsis a tribute to the bond between mother and child.

The narrator gathers gifts for a medicine bundle in anticipation of her baby's birth; a fluffy white eagle plume, bunches of cedar and sage, a quilted star blanket, and a small stone from the river. When the baby arrives, the mother shares the bundle with her child and reveals the importance of each item inside. But when her family comes to meet the new arrival, she realizes the baby arrived with gifts of its own and that the baby is also a sacred bundle: a baby bundle.

Writing in simple, lyrical text, author Tasha Spillett-Sumner draws from her cultural heritage in order to celebrate Indigenous traditions and the universal nature of a mother's love, with stunning art by the 2021 Caldecott medal winner forWe Are Water Protectors, Michela Goade. (From Owlkids)

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Tasha Spillett-Sumner is an educator, poet and scholar of Nehiyaw and Trinidadian descent. She is also the author of graphic novelSurviving the City,whichwon the$2,000 Indigenous Voices Award for works in an alternative format in 2019.

Michaela Goade is an American-born illustrator from the Tlingit and Haida tribes. Goadewon the 2021 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations in the bookWe Are Water Protectorsby Carole Lindstrom.

Interviews withTasha Spillett-Sumner

Pandemic parenting the perfect topic for new picture book

4 years ago

Duration 1:30

I Sang You Down From the Stars is Tasha Spillett-Sumner's latest book, one that's for little ones and new parents alike, to help recognize the unique situation of parenting during a pandemic.

Manitoba author's picture book about motherhood, Indigenous tradition makes New York Times bestsellers list

3 years ago

Duration 3:12

Tasha Spillett-Sumner's picture book, I Sang You Down From the Stars, debuted at No. 3 on a New York Times list of bestselling children's picture books.