When the Stars Came Home

Written by Brittany Luby, a history professor at the University of Guelph and the great-granddaughter of the Anishinaabe leader, Chief Kawitaskung, When the Stars Came Home is a beautiful story about displacement, yearning for home, and the sense of belonging that comes with learning family history.

After moving away from home when his father got a new job in the big city, Ojiig feels alone and misses the night sky. The family’s search for the stars starts in simple glow-in-dark stickers and night-lights, but understanding the depth of Ojiig feelings and what the stars mean to him, Mama knows exactly how to help. By making a star quilt, Mama brings the stars back to Ojiig’s life, and his family history, now physically represented in the embrace of the quilt, will make sure he feels like home wherever he goes.

The illustrations, created by the Métis illustrator Natasha Donovan, were made in pencil and digitally, and they deliver the feeling of the big city through strongly hued images of the busy city landscapes. The use of purple throughout the book also aligns with Ojiig’s constant yearning for the night sky, bringing together the text and illustration as one.

When the Stars Came Home also contains a note from the author about the significance of the star blanket in Indigenous culture, holding families together with love, even when apart from each other; and a note on pronunciation of Anishinaabemowin words.