"I Sang You Down From the Stars," by Tasha Spillett-Sumner, illustrated by Michaela Goade. (Little, Brown, $18.99, ages 4-8. In stores April 6.)
Inniniwak (Cree) and Trinidadian writer Tasha Spillett-Sumner draws on her Native heritage to tell a loving story of a mother and infant. "I loved you before I met you," she says. As the baby grows inside of her, the mother gathers significant objects — a feather, a pebble, a quilt — to give to her child. In January, Michaela Goade, who is Tlingit, became the first Native artist to win the prestigious Caldecott Medal (for "We Are Water Protectors"). Her dreamy watercolor and mixed media illustrations for this book swirl and sparkle with violet and blue swooshes and recurring patterns of stars. It is a gorgeous celebration of Native traditions.
"Me + Tree," by Alexandria Giardino and Anna and Elena Balbusso. (Creative Editions, 18.99, ages 6 and up, March 2.)
To most of the children in the playground, the tree stump was just that — an old, dead stump. It had once been a "tall tree with apples to eat, branches to swing from and a trunk to climb." But no one gives it a second glance until a young girl comes by. As she rests on the stump, she begins to imagine the vibrant life the tree once had. "I see you," she whispers. And under the little girl's attention, it turns out the stump isn't dead at all. Alexandria Giardino's story celebrates the importance of friendship and of recognizing the overlooked. Anna and Elena Balbusso's illustrations are lively, but tinged with sepia, as if from long ago.
"Hello, Earth! Poems to Our Planet," by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Miren Asiain Lora. (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, $18.99, ages 5-9.)
Joyce Sidman's keen eye for the natural world informs her many books of poetry, such as "Swirl by Swirl," and "Dark Emperor," a Newbery Honor book. Her latest, "Hello, Earth!," is framed as a conversation between a curious person and the planet itself, and it explores the mind-boggling concept that our solid Earth is actually one tiny rock hurtling through space. The Wayzata poet's poems — coupled with artist Miren Asiain Lora's stark but lovely watercolor and acrylic paintings — emphasize the tininess of humans in comparison to the vastness of space. Text at the end of the book gets less poetic, more science-y, with facts, suggested projects and other resources. This is a book to fill you with awe.
"Yang Warriors," by Kao Kalia Yang, illustrated by Billy Thao. (University of Minnesota Press, $16.95, ages 5 and up, April 13.)
"Yang Warriors" is a breathtaking book, all the more impressive because the story it tells is true. In the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp in Thailand, where thousands of Hmong families lived following the Vietnam War — and where St. Paul author Kao Kalia Yang was born — a band of children work to become warriors. They meditate. They practice martial arts. They prepare physically and mentally for battle. And then one morning they slip out of the camp to forage for greens for their hungry families. The children suffer the consequences of their illegal act, but for that day, thanks to them, their families have enough to eat. "Before lunch they had been naughty children, playing a game," Yang writes, "but after that meal all of us saw that they were brave and powerful." The cheerful graphite pencil and digital illustrations by Minnesota Hmong artist Billy Thao depict the children as tiny and fierce against a backdrop of barbed wire and distant mountains. His illustrations keep this inspiring story about courage from feeling dark.
