"Moving back to their ancestral land, a joy-filled Cherokee girl draws the changing landscape as they travel along, looking forward to the end of the journey were she’ll be with family and settle into the new rhythm of home. Simultaneous eBook. Illustrations." - (Baker & Taylor)
On a day filled with anticipation, a young Cherokee girl bids farewell to her familiar city life and documents the changing landscape through drawings as her family moves to their ancestral land and embraces their new home. - (Baker & Taylor)
From Sibert Honor–winning author Traci Sorell and Caldecott Medal–winning artist Michaela Goade comes a heartwarming picture book about a Native American family and the joy of moving back to their ancestral land.
Today is a day of excitement—it’s time to move! As a young Cherokee girl says goodbye to the swing, the house, and the city she's called home her whole life, she readies herself for the upcoming road trip. While her mother drives, the girl draws the changing landscape outside her window. She looks forward to the end of the journey, where she'll eat the feast her family has prepared, play in the creek with her cousins, and settle into the new rhythm of home.
With warm, expressive artwork and spare, lyrical prose, the story of a young girl’s move toward rather than away from home unfolds. - (Penguin Putnam)
Best-selling author Traci Sorell writes inclusive, award-winning historical and contemporary fiction and nonfiction in a variety of formats for young people. She is a two-time Sibert Medal and Orbis Pictus honoree and an award-winning audiobook narrator and producer. Eight of her books have received awards from the American Indian Library Association, including At the Mountain’s Base, Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series and She Persisted: Wilma Mankiller. A former federal Indigenous law attorney and policy advocate, Traci is a Cherokee Nation citizen and first-generation college graduate. She lives within her tribe’s reservation in northeastern Oklahoma.
Author Site: https://www.tracisorell.com/ Social: @tracisorell
Michaela Goade is a 2021 Caldecott Medalist and the New York Times bestselling illustrator of We Are Water Protectors, also a 2020 Kirkus Prize finalist. Her other books include Encounter; Shanyaak’utlaax: Salmon Boy, winner of the 2018 American IndianYouth Literature Award for Best Picture Book; and Berry Song, which received a Caldecott Honor. Michaela’s work focuses on Indigenous kidlit, and she is honored to work with Indigenous authors and tribal organizations in the creation of beautiful, much-needed books. She is also an enrolled member of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.
Author Site: https://www.michaelagoade.com/ Social: @michaelagoade - (Penguin Putnam)
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* On the surface, Being Home is a simple story of a small family that leaves one home, takes a long road trip, and settles in a new place. But layered on top of that premise is a message of deep connections felt by the girl and her mother to their ancestors and land. There is the sense that, in the city, this tiny family of a girl, her mother, and their dog have lost that connection to people, animals, and land, and to find it, they must drive back to their home on the Cherokee Nation Reservation. The spare text relies on the lush, detailed illustrations to build context. The girl documents their trip in her sketchbook, laying out the geography they see along the way. Like a palimpsest, the girl's drawings are superimposed onto the illustrations, suggesting the flora and fauna that thrived there before the road cut through it. The girl's imagination is rendered in a vibrant pink hue that is present in one way or another on every page. The family's "new" home is a place of community and warmth, a place where the "rhythm of home" is palpable. Readers young and old will want to linger with these gorgeous pages, noting the rich textures and details. Grades K-3. Copyright 2024 Booklist Reviews.
