*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Loved the artwork and idea behind this book! Really awesome and beautiful book!

I Sang You Down from the Stars is about an indigenous woman who is gathering materials for a special traditional gift for her child and explaining the importance of the items to her baby when he is born. But perhaps the greatest gift of all was not in the medicine bundle after all. I loved this book, from the gorgeous watercolor illustrations down to the education about Indigenous culture and traditions.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

This book is interesting because it gives the read a view into traditions of a indigenous peoples, in this case the Nation of Inniniwak. It’s a different type of story about how heritage and traditions are passed from family member to family member, and how stars chose their family to become babies. And lets not forget about the amazing illustrations also done by an indigenous person of the Tlingit Nation, also known as People of the Tides.

This story is from Indigenous creation stories and is truly a beautiful tale. The heartwarming words nestle in stunning, magical illustrations that weave a spiritual aura when read. The pictures are created with watercolours and are rich, meaningful and full of detail.

An expectant mother gathers a sacred bundle of gifts for her newborn's birth. She includes a white feather, cedar and sage, a gorgeous hand-made quilt that she lovingly stitches together, and a small stone from the river. The items she adds will offer the little one strength and connection to tradition, family and community.

Her mother's heart is overflowing with love for her child as the baby is welcomed into the world and that joy is magnified even more when the extended family comes to meet their newest member. The unleashed happiness and sacredness of the event all revolves around that precious baby bundle. I love this story and the illustrations. It is highly, highly recommended not only to read to your own child but to give as a gift. Very well done!

A touching and heartwarming story of a mother's love for their child. The story is told from an Indigenous point of view- the author is of the Inniniwak Nation, and the illustrator the Tlinget Nation- and so has an Indigenous flavor, but the feelings are universal, and any mom will know the emotions expressed. In the story, a woman tells her newborn of singing the child down from the stars, and finding a white eagle feather, the first item to go in the baby's medicine bundle. The woman tells of learning she is pregnant and feeling the child growing inside her, adding cedar, sage, a river stone, and a star quilt to the bundle. When the child is born, she wraps the baby in the quilt, shows the child the other items, explaining what they represent, and introduces baby to their family who have come to welcome baby into the world. The mother sees that the baby is a sacred bundle too, one that bring the promise of carrying on the traditions of their people, and brings hope for the future. An author's note and illustrator's note follow the text, giving more insight into this lovely book. The art is absolutely beautiful, and conveys the spirit of life flowing through the world and all that's in it, and the spirit of family and tradition baby has been born into. The illustrations are magical and so fitting, and the story! Oh my heart! A perfect gift for a new mother, or any mother really.

#ISangYouDownFromtheStars #NetGalley

I don’t think there is anything more beautiful than the love between a mother and a child... and then I saw this book. It captures that connection and love so well. With soft images and a beautiful connection to Indigenous traditions I want all moms to read this.

Every page of, I Sang You Down From the Stars, is a celebration of the emotions involved in expecting and welcoming a new baby. The lyrical text is complemented by sumptuously detailed illustrations, rich in symbolism. and drawing inspiration from global indigenous people, specifically the Inniniwak Nation (people of stars) and the Tilingit Nation (people of tides. This timely and much-needed selection is the perfect baby gift, but also a great addition to school libraries and early elementary classes.

Thank you NetGalley and OwlKids Books for this e-arc.

I Sang You Down From the Stars combines exquisite, serene water color illustrations with a gently sweet, lyrical text, drawing on Indigenous creation stories and traditional teachings (specifically, the author is part of the Inniniwak Nation, while the artist belongs to the Tlingit Nation, and both serve as inspirations), to celebrate the love between mother and child. It's a beautiful book on a beautiful subject, perfect for a bedtime readaloud.

Thank you to NetGalley and Owlkids Books for the advance review copy!

I love this sweet and stunning picture book. The art is beautiful and the message is both loving and empowering. Both the author and the illustrator are the Indigenous artists, and the text tells of some of the ways the author prepares to welcome her baby. While these are Inniniwak customs, the love and the messages are universal for parents welcoming any new child. The art is really beautiful and this would be a really lovely gift for a new parent and a sweet bedtime book.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

This is a lyrical story told from the view of an expectant mother. While the mother is preparing for the baby she collects several items to put into the baby's medicine bundle that will help connect the baby to the Earth and their culture.

The main thing that attracted me to this book was the illustration on the cover. I think it’s absolutely gorgeous and I loved that it continued throughout the book. Each page felt connected just like how the baby is connected to their culture. The illustrations were done using watercolor and I think it was an excellent choice.

I really liked reading the author's note at the end where she told us more about her Nation, the Inniniwak, and explained what a medicine bundle was.

I think this would be a cute gift for expectant mothers. It feels like a book you would read to your child as they grow.

When I first opened this book I was stunned by its beauty, then utterly captivated by its story. A tale of an indigenous mother-to-be who surrounds herself with the power of nature, and gathers items for her new baby. This is a story of bonding, heritage, and love that all mothers can relate to. A must buy book for all mothers-to-be, and seasoned parents alike.

What a lovely, warm, enchanting picture book! Drawing on her own experience as an Indigenous mother, the author has written a lyrical love letter to her young child. The gifts she gathers and prepares in anticipation of the baby's birth are simple: a stone, a feather, a hand-sewn quilt, etc. But they are the gifts that will connect baby to the earth and her people's and her own stories.

The illustrations capture the magic of the text beautifully. There's movement in them that mimics the flowing of nature and the gathering and sharing of gifts and love. The book will be a great gift for new families and perfect for preschool classrooms and anywhere young children need to be reminded they are wanted and loved.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for making this book available in exchange for an honest review. It was a treat!
#NetGalley

The illustrations were lovely. For a short children's; book I felt I got a solid sense of Inniniwak cultural practices. I would have loved more, but again that's my adult perspective.

<i>arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review</i>

This was absolutely stunning! Every single page was gorgeous and entrancing and I had my breath taken away multiple times because of just how beautiful this story and this art was.

I loved that this was by an Indigenous author and they showed us a glimpse into their life as they went through the journey of pregnancy and preparing for their new baby.

I loved every single moment of this book and I can’t wait for everyone to have a chance to buy and read it not only for their children but for themselves too. So so beautiful!

5/5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read and review.

Oh my heart cannot stand the beauty of this book! It is a love letter from a mother to her unborn child. It connects with Indigenous culture and the land and is just so perfectly perfect. This gem of a book is perfect for any mother and child as the love and bond between them is known the world over and is so true for all cultures.

Beautiful book, beautiful message, and a beautiful prayer for a new life. This own-voices author and illustrator team captures the beauty of preparation for the birth of a child. The seamlessness of the artwork and the words capture the emotions of the writer. What a wonderful way to commemorate a child's journey into the world, and instead of the western influence of preparing the nursery and buying, buying, buying, the mother prepares for her coming child by gathering sacred herbs and stories to gift.

Although the artist isn't from the same nation as the author, she was careful to study and understand the stories of the author's people to connect the words and the pictures. Having put her own fingerprints in the story enriched the experience.

Such a beautiful book, words and all. And so much needed Native representation in picture books. This story has universal appeal while honoring the people whose story it is while educating the colonial world about this nation's traditions and practices.

A must-have for your collection and a staple for baby gifts for years to come.

There are many baby books out there, but this one is uinuqe in that it not only wishes love to the baby, but tells how the mother collected items for the babies medicine pouch, and why each item is important.

From the smooth stone in the river, to the star quilt that she will wrap the child in, to the egle feather she finds while seeing a shooting star in the sky, these are all things that will be special to the child, because the mother found them while looking for the child's spirit .

The author said that it follows the traditions of her Nation, the Inniniwak, and many other Indigenous peoples.

The pictures are lovely, and this would be a good book for a new mother, as a story about the gifts that are from and to the baby.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.