Where We Come From

"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

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.

We all come from something. 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. Weaving together their individual stories, they explore place, ancestors, movement, struggle, determination, and hope.

Powerful poetic text and richly layered illustrations bring together past and present, creating an accessible and visually striking look at family, history, and identity.

Carter G. Woodson Book Award Winner White Raven Book List Northern Lights Book Award Minnesota Book Award Finalist Heartland Booksellers Award Finalist

“"Presenting in terms as universal as stardust and as specific as Minneapolis, four authors (Coy, Shannon Gibney, Sun Yung Shin, and Diane Wilson) describe the common and varying elements of their backgrounds. Touching on evolution, the text begins by connecting all life on earth to single-celled organisms. A two-page spread then introduces four sets of feet, connected to larger images that demonstrate that the authors' stories relate respectively to Indigenous people, Korea, immigrants on a boat, and Africa. As the authors describe customs and beliefs of people from Ireland, Scotland, and Korea; consider the importance of plants and the land to Dakhota people; and remember the ancestors brought to America by force, they individually and collectively tell the story of how this country has developed and how many unique parts are reflected in people today. Four larger portraits at the end return to the image of footsteps, showing how the past contributes to the present. Children and adults will find much to study and contemplate in this unique and ambitious work."--Booklist”

"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

"[The authors] individually and collectively tell the story of how this country has developed and how many unique parts are reflected in people today. . . . Children and adults will find much to study and contemplate in this unique and ambitious work."—Booklist

"This collaboration of American voices offers an unusual and honest look at the complexity of identity." --Shelf Awareness

"[A] quilt of many details that gives the reader less a feeling of understanding one person but more a sense of the rich tapestry that is America."—Kirkus Reviews

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, If We Were Gone, and Where We Come From. 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.

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