Where We Come From

by John Coy, Shannon Gibney, Sun Yung Shin, Diane Wilson, Dion MBD (Illustrator)

Overview

In this unique collaboration, four authors lyrically explore where they each come from—literally and metaphorically—as well as what unites all of us as humans.

Richly layered illustrations connect past and present, making for an accessible and visually striking look at history, family, and identity.

We come from stardust / our bodies made of ancient elements. / We come from single cells / evolving over billions of years. / We come from place, language, and spirit. / And each of us comes from story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541596122
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/04/2022
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	121,916
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	1000L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 8 Years

About the Author

John Coy is the author of young adult novels, the 4 for 4 middle-grade series, and nonfiction and fiction picture books including Hoop Genius, Game Changer, Their Great Gift, Dads, and If We Were Gone. He has received numerous awards for his work including a Marion Vannett Ridgway Award, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor, a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year, and the Burr/Warzalla Award for Distinguished Achievement in Children's Literature. John lives by the Mississippi River in Minneapolis.

Shannon Gibney is a writer, educator, activist, and the author of See No Color (Carolrhoda Lab, 2015), and Dream Country (Dutton, 2018) young adult novels that won Minnesota Book Awards. Gibney is faculty in English at Minneapolis College, where she teaches writing. A Bush Artist and McKnight Writing Fellow, her speculative memoir, The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be (Dutton, 2023), was named a 2024 Printz Honor Book. She lives in Minneapolis with her family.

신 선 영 Sun Yung Shin is a Korean American poet, fiction writer, nonfiction writer, editor, and educator. Her books include four collections of poetry: The Wet Hex (Coffee House Press, 2022); Unbearable Splendor (Coffee House Press, 2016, Minnesota Book Award winner); Rough, and Savage (Coffee House Press, 2012); and Skirt Full of Black (Coffee House Press, 2006, Asian American Literary Award). Her poetry has been supported with fellowships and grants from the MacDowell Residency, the Archibald Bush Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, and the Minnesota State Arts Board. She lives in Minneapolis near Minnehaha Creek.

Diane Wilson is an award-winning writer, speaker, and editor. Her work includes Spirit Car: Journey to a Dakota Past (2006), Beloved Child: A Dakota Way of Life (2011), and The Seed Keeper (2021) which won the Minnesota Book Award. Her essays have been featured in many publications, including We Are Meant to Rise; Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations; and A Good Time for the Truth. Wilson is a Mdewakanton descendent, enrolled on the Rosebud Reservation.

Dion MBD, because Dionisius Mehaga Bangun Djayasaputra is way too long to remember, is an Indonesian illustrator/designer who lives and works between Brooklyn and Bandung. Dion received his Illustration BFA from Ringling College of Art Design in Florida where he grew his fascinations with clouds. In his down time, Dion is either cooking, listening to John Mayer, or cloud watching.

Editorial Reviews

"Outstanding in all ways, this title deserves a place in most collections and adds a wonderful opportunity for upper elementary students (and higher!) to unpack our complicated histories."—starred, School Library Journal

From the Publisher

★ 12/01/2022

Gr 1–5—This title captures the universal and individual stories of four authors and their ancestors, both distant and recent. The authors identify as Dakota, Korean American, Black and Irish American, and Irish and Scottish American. Together they present the story of humanity and its development and struggle up to today. Readers will find myriad connections with their own stories and be encouraged to go and collect the stories that make up their history. Rich back matter adds, without overwhelming, to the understanding of this complex and captivating presentation of the human journey as experienced by these four authors and the illustrator. The illustrations capture images from the language as well as evocative emotion, filling the pages beautifully and extending the stories while simultaneously inviting readers to share their own images of family, ancestry, and connections. VERDICT Outstanding in all ways, this title deserves a place in most collections and adds a wonderful opportunity for upper elementary students (and higher!) to unpack our complicated histories.—John Scott

School Library Journal

2022-06-08
Four authors tell their stories, not just of the places they lived, but of the history, culture, and spirit of their beings: where they truly come from.

Initially, when describing humanity’s commonalities, this poetic text begins, “We come from…” (stardust and single-celled organisms, etc.). Then the refrain becomes, “I come from…” for the remainder of the book, with the authors each sharing aspects of their own backgrounds. The four authors represent a diverse array of experiences (Wilson is Dakota, Shin is Korean American, Gibney is Black and Irish American, and Coy is Irish and Scottish American), describing places, folklore, history, and personal memories that range from painful to joyous, taking turns in fixed order without using names. Digital illustrations represent both the historical and spiritual aspects of the text, but many of the human figures lack details and don’t engage emotionally. It’s a tall order: Some pages address sweeping historical contexts, such as the European slave trade, while others mention specific details, such as Native American boarding schools or the Korean invention of movable type. Readers may be distracted by tracking which author is speaking, as the book offers neither clear delineations of voice nor a comprehensive cohesion of content and style. Rather, what emerges is a quilt of many details that gives the reader less a feeling of understanding one person than a sense of the rich tapestry that is America. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Individual details form a warm and inclusive, though scattered, view of humanity. (more information about where the authors come from, pronunciation guide, further reading, bibliography) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews