WHEN THE STARS CAME HOME

An Anishinaabe boy finds his North Star in a new city.

When Ojiig’s father gets a new job and the family must move to the city, Ojiig struggles to adapt. Without the customs—like fishing and stargazing—and extended family who had previously oriented his life, he feels “like a stranger in his own skin,” alienated and alone. His parents announce that they’re going to make the city feel like home: They will look for stars. They buy glow-in-the-dark stars and a star-shaped night light, but they are poor substitutes for the Milky Way. One morning, Ojiig finds his mother preparing fabric for a quilt. As he helps her piece it together, she tells him stories about his ancestors. When she unveils the finished quilt, he’s surprised to see that its pattern is a giant star. With the quilt draped over his shoulders, he remembers all the ancestors represented within it and how their stories live on inside him. Home, he realizes, is learning about the people you come from, discovering who you are, and imagining who you might become. Told by an omniscient narrator, with limited dialogue, Luby's (Anishinaabe) story echoes some traditional tales, increasing the impact of its poignant ending. Donovan's (Métis) illustrations are vividly realized with rich color and compositions that reflect Ojiig’s emotional landscape.

A moving portrait about discovering what home means.