• Age: 4 to 8
• Grade: p to 3

“Noozhishenh, bimadiziwin,” Nookomis says. “My granddaughter, live a good life.”

An Ojibwe grandmother carefully measures and selects just the right colors of fabric, and her sewing machine hums whirr, whirr, whirr late into the night.

In the morning, her growing granddaughter has a beautiful new ribbon skirt to wear, a reminder of her nookomis and the cultural traditions that stitch together her family with love.

This heartwarming story by Marcie Rendon (Ojibwe), with stunning illustrations by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (Ojibwe), celebrates the power of Indigenous craft and community and weaves together the spirit of resilience, female empowerment, and gratitude for the generations that came before us.

Marcie Rendon is an enrolled member of the White Earth Ojibwe Nation, author, playwright, poet, and freelance writer. A community arts activist, Rendon encourages other Native creators to pursue their art and is a speaker for colleges and community groups on Native issues, leadership, and writing. She is an award-winning author of a murder mystery series and has an extensive body of fiction and nonfiction works. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Marcie Rendon's profile page

MANGESHIG PAWIS-STECKLEY is an Anishinaabe illustrator and a member of Wasauksing First Nation. He illustrated the award-winning picture book Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know and Mnoomin maan'gowing / The Gift of Mnoomin, both by Brittany Luby, and is the author and illustrator of Boozhoo! / Hello! He lives in the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples (Vancouver) with his wife Maria and daughter Mino.

Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley's profile page

A radiant and joyful glimpse at an important Native tradition. — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Tradition and love are the core of this picture book...Ojibwe language is seamlessly woven into the dialogue. The digital art fully saturates the pages, layering textures and colors much like the ribbon skirts, and the palette is buoyant and bright, exuding a celebratory feel. — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books