"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. 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 Scottα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. "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 Reservat