I Sang You Down from the Stars

An Honor Book in the 2022 American Indian Youth Literature Awards for Picture Books!

Ages 4 to 8, Grades P to 3

This 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.

As she waits for the arrival of her new baby, a mother-to-be gathers gifts to create a sacred bundle. A white feather, cedar and sage, a stone from the river . . .

Each addition to the bundle will offer the new baby strength and connection to tradition, family, and community. As they grow together, mother and baby will each have gifts to offer each other.

Tasha Spillett-Sumner and Michaela Goade, two Indigenous creators, bring beautiful words and luminous art together in a resonant celebration of the bond between mother and child.

About the Author

Tasha Spillett-Sumner is a Cree and Trinidadian award-winning poet and author who is also working on her doctoral degree in Indigenous land-based education. She makes her home in Treaty 1 territory, Manitoba, where she raises her daughter, Isabella, with her husband.

Michaela Goade, of Tlingit descent, is an award-winning designer and illustrator. She has illustrated a number of picture books, including Encounter by Brittany Luby, We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, and Shanyaak'utlaax: Salmon Boy, winner of the American Indian Youth Literature Best Picture Book Award. She lives in Juneau, Alaska.