A Special Bundle. [I Sang You Down From the Stars by Tasha Spillet-Sumner]

A love letter from an Indigenous mother to her new baby.

Drawing from Indigenous creation stories and traditional teachings and illustrated in dazzling watercolors, I Sang You Down from the Stars is 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.

Tasha Spillet-Sumner's I Sang You Down From the Stars, illustrated by Michaela Goade, is a wonderfully illustrated ode, celebrating the bond between mother and child. Highlighting and referencing Inniniwak and Tlingit cultural practices respectfully, Spillet-Sumner and Goade convey a heartfelt story and authentic representations of their respective cultures. The quick read is an emotionally moving one, calling for reflection on maternal bonds. The brevity of the story was perfect for the child reader, but as an adult I would have loved more. 4 stars from me.

                                                                                        I Sang You Down From the Stars is due for publication April 15, 2021.