FOR A GIRL BECOMING

In this tale from a powerhouse creative team, a family welcomes a child with an empowering and fiercely affectionate blessing to guide her growth.

“The day your spirit came to us rains came in from the Pacific… // and all of us who loved you gathered, where / Pollen blew throughout that desert house to bless, / And horses were running the land, hundreds of them, / To accompany you here, to bless.” And so a newborn baby girl with “black hair, / Brown eyes,” and “skin the color of earth” joins a protective community that spans the heavens and earth. Page turns skillfully capture the passage of time, and as the child grows, she’s enjoined to move through the world with compassion and meet both joys and hardships with determination. Former U.S. Poet Laureate Harjo’s (Mvskoke Nation) fluid and impassioned second-person text circles back effectively to reiterate its enveloping missive, then appears in full at the book’s end. Pura Belpré Award winner Garcia’s dynamic and richly layered portraits deftly echo the poem’s movement. A palette of vibrant turquoise and leafy green depicts the child maturing and thriving, while immersive double-page spreads in tawny hues seamlessly incorporate Native elements throughout. A standout among affirming picture books, this beatitude-inducing work will quickly become the new go-to baby present.

A stunningly illustrated, tender, and tenacious message—a boon to any bookshelf.