We had the joy of welcoming children’s author and illustrator Michaela Goade for a virtual visit with our students. Her gorgeous illustrations and storytelling immediately sparked creativity; as one student shared, “I was so inspired, I went to the art area to make my own book!”
A Tlingit artist raised among the misty mountains and waterways of Juneau, Alaska, Goade now lives deep within the Tongass rainforest, where the mosses, tides, and ever-changing light shape her stories. Her award-winning books carry the heartbeat of her homeland: its beauty, its history, and the Tlingit traditions of reverence for story and place.
Goade’s newest picture book, Moon Song, is a luminous winter lullaby. In it, a girl helps her younger cousin find courage as the long Alaskan night approaches, reminding him that “in the dark, the forest sings.” Her illustrations shimmer with quiet wonder—frost that glints like starlight, snow that sparkles under the moon, oceans lit with bioluminescence, and ribbons of Northern Lights sweeping across the sky. It is a tender story to hold close as our own days shorten and the season turns.
We also encourage you to discover Berry Song, Goade’s celebrated debut as an author-illustrator and a Caldecott Honor recipient. In this story, a Tlingit grandmother and granddaughter travel to a nearby island to gather berries, singing to the forest—not only to alert the bears, but “so the land knows we are grateful.” As they collect seven varieties of berries along with salmon, herring eggs, and seaweed, they breathe in cedar, listen to the hum of insects, and feel the soft moss beneath their hands. Each page is a tribute to the islands and waterways of Alaska, weaving vivid natural beauty together with ancestral knowledge and Tlingit imagery.
During her visit, Goade spoke of her Alaskan childhood—of the awe and caution inspired by the natural world. Through her books, she invites young readers to reflect on the places they call home, to honor the Native peoples who have tended those lands for generations, and to nurture a deeper sense of belonging with the earth and with one another.
We were deeply grateful to welcome Michaela Goade to TCS and hope you’ll seek out her extraordinary books, which offer both wonder and wisdom in equal measure.
With gratitude for story and place,
Maureen