Mother’s Love

A wish for a new baby in Tasha Spillet-Sumner’s new picture book, I Sang You Down from the Stars illustrated by Michaela Goade. 

The lyrical, poetic text navigates the reader through the wishes, the hopes, the dreams and the plans for a new baby. The mother goes on a journey and collects items for her child, gathers them together in a bundle to be given to the new baby once they arrive. The medicine bundle is a gift that the baby will carry with them for strength and guidance and a connection to their community. The love that exudes from the text is palpable, as is a mother’s love for her child. It’s difficult to convey just how beautiful and poignant this book is and the effect that it will have on parents and new babies. There is just so much beauty within the pages, from the text to the breathtaking illustrations.

Speaking of the illustrations, the incredible imagery throughout the book by Michaela Goade takes the reader on the journey, from wish to child. In her note at the end, Michaela Goade describes the connecting “swoosh” that flows through the story, that connects mother and child and the gifts the child receives. Her illustrations are full of colour across two page spreads with beautiful imagery from Tasha Spillet-Sumner’s Nation, the Inniniwak, with a few hints of Tlingit, Michaela’s Nation hidden in.

The message of parental love is universal and something, regardless of where you start, all readers will connect with. It's a book that will find its way into many nurseries and a book that will continue to be treasured throughout the child’s life.