I Sang You Down from the Stars by Tasha Spillett-Sumner

And I really just loved that essence or that idea too of the generation, the power of that passing on generational wisdom. Because within this child are the hopes and dreams of culture and of carrying on traditions and connection to everyone who's come before you. But then upon the baby's arrival, she learns that the baby is, in essence, its own sacred object, its own sacred bundle itself. I think Tasha talks about it in the book, in the back matter where the woman, the mother is collecting these objects and gifting them to the her child. On the relationship between the past and present And then even if you're outside of the cultures, I think you can tell that there's, you know, a sense of power and gravity imbued in that swoosh. And I think people from within the culture can look at that and identify things. And a way to communicate that this the stone, this little stone held all of these stories was to create this sort of dreamy swoosh that held symbolism and imagery from both Cree and Tlingit traditional stories. And then I think it just came into being the swoosh when specifically that river stone spread, when Tasha says the land carries stories and so do you. And so each gifting and collecting spread thematically tied together through colors and visuals. And so there was an interesting setup there visually, between collecting and gifting. And then once the baby arrives, the book delves into the gifting of these objects.

The book is sort of separated into what I viewed as more of the gathering and the assembling of the sacred bundle for the baby. On the symbolism in her illustrations - especially the 'swoosh' of stars on each page And then with the author, with Tasha Spillett-Sumner's Cree world view, it lends itself a really beautiful, unique quality to the story.' Interview Highlights

'And it's the sort of magical journey that she goes through as she realizes she's pregnant, as she prepares for this child, and then she welcomes the child into the world.

The beautiful tapestry-like illustrations in the book visualize motherhood in Cree culture.Īrtist Michela Goade, who has Tlingit heritage and just this year won a Caldecott Medal, is the illustrator of “I Sang You Down from the Stars.” She says she was drawn to the story because it focused on the woman's preparation before she becomes a mother. She gathers sacred elements from the Earth into a bundle for her baby, and whispers the protective prayers of her ancestors. With these opening lines, children's author Tasha Spillett-Sumner follows a mother-to-be who prepares for the arrival of her child by following the rites of her Indigenous heritage.

I Sang You Down from the Stars by Tasha Spillett-Sumner