For a Girl Becoming

K-Gr 3–A newborn baby’s family gathers to welcome her to the world in the opening stanzas of the U.S. Poet Laureate Harjo’s titular poem. Harjo ruminates on the sacred traditions that usher an Indigenous child into the world, traditions that bless the baby’s birth and the life that awaits. Encircled by rainbows, family, and ancestors long gone, the girl’s entrance into the world is marked by a galloping herd of wild horses “running the land, hundreds of them/ To accompany you here, to bless.” As she grows from a child to a teen to a woman, her plentiful and painful becoming is anchored by her ancestral legacy and Indigenous community. Harjo’s emotive refrain to “remember the source of the gift of all” emphasizes the privilege of growth and reminds readers that all roads lead back to home. Garcia’s delineated hues take many forms as curls of smudging smoke, tendrils of hair, and ceremonial dance shawls. The swirling linework feels like connective tissue unifying the illustrations and accentuating the poetic text. Each spread celebrates Native cultural identity and brings form to the metaphysical.