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list price: $22.95
edition:Hardcover
also available: eBook
category: Children's Fiction
published: Jan 2025
ISBN:9781771475662
publisher: Owlkids Books Inc.

Raven’s Ribbons

by Tasha Spillett, illustrated by Daniel Ramirez

tagged: native canadian, dance, grandparents, family life
Description

A joyous celebration of gender expression through an Indigenous lens, by New York Times bestselling author Tasha Spillett and Ojibwe elder Daniel Ramirez

Raven loves round dances. The drums sing to the people, and the people dance to their songs. Raven especially loves dancing with his grandma, sidestepping to the rhythm of the drums. His favourite part of all is watching the ribbon skirts swirl like rainbows.

“Nohkum, do you think a boy could wear a ribbon skirt?” Raven asks his grandmother one day. She tells him she has lived for a long time, but she has never seen it. That evening, she sews late into the night, and Raven awakes to a rainbow skirt of his own. “I’ve lived for a long time,” his grandma says, “and I’m lucky to see beautiful things that I’ve never seen before.” At the next dance, Raven wears the swirl of unique ribbons with pride.

With illustrations infused with joy and colour, this moving intergenerational story celebrates self-expression, honouring traditions, and finding room for reinvention.

About the Authors

Tasha Spillett

TASHA SPILLETT is an Inninewak (Cree) and Trinidadian award-winning poet and author who is also working on her doctoral degree in Indigenous land–based education. She makes her home in Treaty 1 territory, Manitoba, where she raises her daughter, Isabella, with her husband. She is the author of the New York Times best-selling picture book I Sang You Down from the Stars and the award-winning Surviving the City graphic novel series. 


Daniel Ramirez

DANIEL RAMIREZ is a descendant of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan and a much-celebrated fine artist. His award-winning art has appeared in exhibitions and museums across the world, including at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC. He lives between Phoenix, Arizona, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
Age:
4 to 7
Grade:
k to 2
Awards
  • Commended, Loan Stars Jr. Top 10 Selection
  • Commended, 20 Best January Books for Young Readers
Editorial Reviews

"[A] welcome story about an Indigenous child’s gender expression."

— The Horn Book

"Cree author Spillett (I Sang You Down from the Stars) captures the joy of the round dance, and a feeling of belonging and connection offered in intergenerational Indigenous community."

— Publishers Weekly - STARRED REVIEW

"Weaves Two-Spirit self-expression and collective belonging into a beautiful tribute to Indigenous heritage."

— Kirkus Reviews - STARRED REVIEW

"Sennelier acrylic paints on canvas softly depict a world of intergenerational support that swishes with touchable fabric texture ... A recursively powerful narrative of acceptance, tribal community, and empowerment."

— Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Hopeful, heart-filled ... Join Raven and his grandma and stand heart by heart alongside them as they learn that boys, too, can wear ribbon skirts."

— Booklist – STARRED REVIEW
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