Michaela Goade

Michaela Goade
Goade at the 2022 Texas Book Festival.
Born1989 or 1990 (age 34–35)
Juneau, Alaska, U.S.
Alma materFort Lewis College
Notable workWe Are Water Protectors
Berry Song
AwardsCaldecott Medal (2021)
Caldecott Honor (2023)
Websitemichaelagoade.com

Michaela Goade (born 1989 or 1990) is a Native American illustrator. A member of the Tlingit and Haida tribes, she is known for her work on picture books about Indigenous people. She won the 2021 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations in We Are Water Protectors and is the first Indigenous artist to receive the award. Her book, Berry Song, was a Caldecott Honor book in 2023.

Early life and education

Goade was born in Juneau, Alaska, in 1989 or 1990.[1] She is a member of the Tlingit and Haida tribes of Alaska and the Kiks.ádi clan of Sitka.[2] Goade attended Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, where she received a bachelor's degree in graphic design and marketing in 2014.[3]

Career

After graduating from college, Goade became an art director for Yuit Communications in Anchorage where she worked for two years while also working as a freelance artist.[3] She later quit her job and moved back to Juneau to illustrate picture books for the Sealaska Heritage Institute's Baby Raven Reads series, beginning with Shanyaak'utlaax: Salmon Boy (2017), for which she won the 2018 American Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Picture Book.[4][5] In 2019, she illustrated the picture book Encounter, written by Brittany Luby. David Treuer of The New York Times wrote that Goade's illustrations for the book were "gorgeous and achingly rendered", and a reviewer for Shelf Awareness praised the varying perspectives of her mixed-media illustrations.[6][7]

Her next work was We Are Water Protectors, written by Carole Lindstrom and published by Roaring Brook Press in 2020.[8] The book was written in response to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock, and Goade worked on the watercolor illustrations in 2018 over a period of three to four months.[9][10] She received the 2021 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations, becoming the first Indigenous artist and first woman of color to win the award.[11][12] In a review for The Horn Book, Autumn Allen praised the book's illustrations and remarked that "one could read the pictures without the words and take away the same main messages".[13]

She illustrated the Google Doodle for December 30, 2020, which featured the Tlingit civil rights activist Elizabeth Peratrovich.[14] In 2021, she collaborated with the Canadian author Tasha Spillett-Sumner on I Sang You Down from the Stars, a picture book about an Indigenous mother preparing for her new baby.[15]

Goade's book Berry Song was published in 2022 and was selected as a 2023 Caldecott Honor book.[16][17]

In 2023, Goade collaborated with former U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo on Remember, a picture book adaptation of Harjo’s poem of the same name. [18] Additionally, Goade was the cover artist for the young adult thriller, Warrior Girl Unearthed (2023) by Angeline Boulley. [19]

Illustrated works

  • Marks, Johnny; Chester, Hans; Katzeek, David; Dauenhauer, Nora; Dauenhauer, Richard, eds. (2017). Shanyaak'utlaax: Salmon Boy. Baby Raven Reads Series. Sealaska Heritage Institute. ISBN 978-1-946019-02-8.[5]
  • Raven and the Tide Lady. Baby Raven Reads Series. Sealaska Heritage Institute. 2018. ISBN 978-1-946019-28-8.[20]
  • Luby, Brittany (2019). Encounter. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0-316-44914-4.[6]
  • Lindstrom, Carole (2020). We Are Water Protectors. Roaring Brook Press. ISBN 978-1-250-78099-7.[8]
  • Spillet-Sumner, Tasha (2021). I Sang You Down from the Stars. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0-316-49316-1.[15]
  • Goade, Michaela (2022). Berry Song. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0-316-49417-5
  • Harjo, Joy (2023). Remember. Random House Studio. ISBN 978-0593484845. [21]

References

  1. ^ Kirschner, Noelani (August 28, 2017). "Michaela Goade: Off the Coast of Alaska". The American Scholar. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  2. ^ McKinstry, Erin (January 28, 2021). "Sitka artist becomes first Indigenous winner of the 'Oscars of kids books'". KTOO. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Miller, Clara (February 15, 2018). "Michaela Goade-illustrated book wins 'best picture book of the year'". Juneau Empire. Archived from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  4. ^ Lockett, Michael S. (January 27, 2021). "Good as Goade: a Q&A with Southeast's recent Caldecott Medal winner". Juneau Empire. Archived from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Harris, Elizabeth A. (January 25, 2021). "Tae Keller Wins Newbery Medal for 'When You Trap a Tiger'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 9, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Treuer, David (October 16, 2019). "Rescuing Native Americans From the Imaginative Prison of the Past". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 4, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  7. ^ Forbus, Jen (October 18, 2019). "Shelf Awareness for Readers for Friday, October 18, 2019". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "We Are Water Protectors". Kirkus Reviews. December 8, 2019. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  9. ^ Saxon, Antonia (March 17, 2020). "Q & A with Carole Lindstrom and Michaela Goade". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  10. ^ Lockett, Michael S. (January 27, 2021). "'It just feels very surreal': a Q&A with Southeast's recent Caldecott Medal winner". Peninsula Clarion. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  11. ^ Egan, Elisabeth (February 25, 2021). "This Indigenous Author and Artist Team Have an Important Message". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  12. ^ Lodge, Sally (January 26, 2021). "Michaela Goade: Taken by Surprise on Zoom". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  13. ^ Allen, Autumn (October 13, 2020). "We Are Water Protectors". The Horn Book. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  14. ^ Lockett, Michael S. (December 30, 2020). "Google spotlights Tlingit civil rights icon with Doodle". Juneau Empire. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  15. ^ a b "I Sang You Down from the Stars". Kirkus Reviews. March 1, 2021. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  16. ^ Shah, Simmone (October 13, 2021). "This Native American Illustrator Is Bringing Indigenous Stories to Life—and Opening the Door for Others". Time. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  17. ^ Parravano, Martha V. "The 2023 Caldecott Announcement". The Horn Book. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  18. ^ "In Conversation: Joy Harjo and Michaela Goade". Publishers Weekly. March 23, 2023. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  19. ^ "Going Home Again: Close-Up on Angeline Boulley". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  20. ^ Hohenstatt, Ben (January 30, 2020). "Baby Raven Reads books wins award, a new film series is announced and more". Juneau Empire. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  21. ^ Harjo, Joy (2023). Remember. Random House Studio. ISBN 978-0593484845.