Book Description
for When the Stars Came Home by Brittany Luby and Natasha Donovan
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Ojiig moves to the city from the country with his mom (Anishinaabe) and dad (white). He feels uncomfortable and unseen in the urban environment. Ojiig observes that, “His neighbors say ‘hello,’ instead of ‘boozhoo.’ Mostly his neighbors said nothing at all. City folk paid more attention to park ducks than they did to him.” The cultural differences are hard enough, but Ojiig deeply misses the country landscape, specifically the vast night sky full of stars. Lamenting, his parents buy him glow-in-the-dark stars for his ceiling and a star-shaped nightlight, but it’s not the same. In time, his mother begins working on a patchwork quilt, and with each fabric color, she relates a story of Ojiig’s ancestors. Reassured by the stories, Ojiig feels physical and emotional comfort when his mom reveals the completed quilt with a giant star design in the center. Ojiig is doubly surprised when his beloved grandparents, Mishomis and Kookum, arrive for a visit from the country. It is only then that Ojiig begins to warm to his new home. (Ages 6-10)
CCBC Choices 2024. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2024. Used with permission.