“Traditions stitch together generations with love.” Tatiana needs a ribbon skirt for her little cousin’s naming ceremony. Nookomis measures her and Tatiana falls asleep to the sound of Nookomis’s sewing machine. “In the morning, on my bed is a beautiful ribbon skirt … It fits my waist just right. It touches my ankles when I twirl.” Nookomis tells her, “My granddaughter, live a good life.” And Tatiana answers, “Eya.” Over the coming years, Tatiana grows taller and Nookomis grows shorter. One year, Tatiana needs a new ribbon skirt for Fall Ceremony. Nookomis measures her and Tatiana falls asleep to the sound of the sewing machine, waking up to a ribbon skirt that “fits my waist just right. It touches my ankles when I twirl.” Nookomis tells her to live a good life. “Eya,” Tatiana replies. Events repeat again the year Tatiana needs a new ribbon skirt to celebrate her auntie’s judgeship, and again a few years later, at the time of Tatiana’s naming ceremony. The brilliant use of repetition in both the telling and structure of this story beautifully embodies the importance of ritual and tradition in Tatiana’s Ojibwe family and culture. Ojibwe language is incorporated throughout, as are rich details full of child appeal. The narrative is set against illustrations brimming with color and warmth.

"Noozhishenh, bimadiziwin," Nookomis says. "My granddaughter, live a good life."

An Ojibwe grandmother carefully measures and selects just the right colors of fabric, and her sewing machine hums whirr, whirr, whirr late into the night.

In the morning, her growing granddaughter has a beautiful new ribbon skirt to wear, a reminder of her nookomis and the cultural traditions that stitch together her family with love.

This heartwarming story by Marcie Rendon (Ojibwe), with stunning illustrations by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (Ojibwe), celebrates the power of Indigenous craft and community and weaves together the spirit of resilience, female empowerment, and gratitude for the generations that came before us.