{"id":5164,"date":"2020-08-16T00:01:46","date_gmt":"2020-08-16T06:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5164"},"modified":"2020-08-15T15:57:37","modified_gmt":"2020-08-15T21:57:37","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-704-featuring-meilo-so","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5164","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #704: Featuring Meilo So"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\nI’m pleased today to share some spreads from Deborah Hopkinson’s<\/a><\/strong> Butterflies Belong Here: A Story of One Idea, Thirty Kids, and a World of Butterlies<\/a><\/strong><\/em> (Chronicle, August 2020), illustrated by Meilo So<\/a><\/strong>. It’s an empowering story about children working together as grassroots activists, and it’s a smart pairing of text and illustration. <\/p>\n

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The story, divided into seasons (from one spring to another), is told from the point of view of an immigrant girl, living in America. Like a caterpillar, she doesn’t “like to stand out or to be noticed.” She loves to read about monarch butterflies, who begin their migration every March, heading north from Mexico. When summer comes, the girl is sure she’ll see some monarch butterflies \u2014 but doesn’t. “I wondered if monarch butterflies belonged here,” we read. “Sometimes I wondered if we did, too.” <\/p>\n

In the Fall, she reads in the library that monarchs need milkweed, but she also reads that peolpe routinely kill them with chemicals and that climate change has made it difficult for milkweed to grow. The girl’s librarian suggests the notion of a monarch way station, reminding her that butterflies are amazing and how surprising it is “what such a tiny creature can do.” Eventually, the girl tells her class about monarchs, and the idea of a butterfly garden is born. The class talks to the principal, the community (including gardeners and scientists), the rest of the school community, the town council, and even the mayor. After the girl explains to the mayor why milkweed should not be poisoned, he tells her: “I hope you’ll run for office someday. We need citizens like you.” <\/p>\n

Intermittently incorporated throughout the book is information about monarch butterflies, illustrated as if the pages from a library book the girl is reading. And all throughout this inspiring, informative story, Hopkinson draws deft (and subtle) parellels between the girl’s own feelings as an immigrant in a new country and the butterflies’ journey. Meilo So’s lively illustrations nearly glow in spots; these fluid and vibrant paintings (in what appear to be watercolors) bring the girl’s world to detailed life. Below are some spreads so that the art can do the talking. <\/p>\n

(Earlier this week, I featured here at 7-Imp another picture book Hopkinson wrote<\/a><\/strong>. She is a talented and prolific writer.)
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“Some monarchs make a long, long journey, just like we did.
They have to be strong to fly so far.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge and read text in its entirety)<\/center>
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“In March, monarchs head north from their overwintering grounds. …”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge and read text in its entirety)<\/center>
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“When summer came,
I felt sure I’d see monarch butterflies. …”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge and read text in its entirety)<\/center>
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“I wondered if monarch butterflies belonged here.
Sometimes I wondered if we did, too.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge and read text in its entirety)<\/center>
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“After a caterpillar has molted five times, it’s ready to pupate. …”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge and read text in its entirety)<\/center>
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BUTTERFLIES BELONG HERE: A STORY OF ONE IDEA, THIRTY KIDS, AND A WORLD OF BUTTERFLIES. Text copyright \u00a9 2020 by Deborah Hopkinson. Illustrations copyright \u00a9 2020 by Meilo So and reproduced by permission of the publisher, Chronicle Books, San Francisco.<\/em><\/p>\n

Note for any new readers: 7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks is a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. New kickers are always welcome.<\/p>\n

* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font>
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1)<\/strong><\/font> Kamala! <\/p>\n

2)<\/strong><\/font> Hope that the long national nightmare that has been Donald Trump and Mike Pence will soon end. <\/p>\n

3)<\/strong><\/font> People who love to discuss picture books. <\/p>\n

4)<\/strong><\/font> I started watching (and got all caught up on) I May Destroy You<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, and it’s one of the boldest television shows on this good, green earth. <\/p>\n

5)<\/strong><\/font> Michaela Coel<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n

6)<\/strong><\/font> Booksniffing. My copy of Butterflies Belong Here<\/em> has a particularly lovely new-book smell. <\/p>\n

7)<\/strong><\/font> This below from cats_ of_instagram made my week. (I’m easily amused.) Audio required.
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via @leeo.thecat #catsofinstagram #cats #kitty #catlovers<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Cats of Instagram<\/a> (@cats_of_instagram) on