{"id":5406,"date":"2021-08-22T00:01:08","date_gmt":"2021-08-22T06:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5406"},"modified":"2021-08-22T09:07:34","modified_gmt":"2021-08-22T15:07:34","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-757-featuring-lian-cho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5406","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #757: Featuring Lian Cho"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n
 

\nMary Lee Donovan’s A Hundred Thousand Welcomes<\/a><\/strong><\/em> (Greenwillow), illustrated by Lian Cho<\/a><\/strong> and coming to shelves in October, is like honeysuckle to a bee for young language-lovers \u2014 and also a very welcome read (excuse the bad pun) for those moments when the goings-on in the world get you down. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In a short introduction, which notes that the book’s text is written as a poem, readers see a pronunciation guide. This is helpful, because this gentle, lyrical text includes a handful of translations of the English word “welcome.” To boot, Lian Cho weaves pronunciations of these words into the illustrations. In this same introduction, Donovan also notes: <\/p>\n

“The call to welcome the stranger and to offer peace and refuge \u2014 aman \u2014 to those in danger is deeply rooted in ancient traditions and in all major religions. The truth is that ‘we are all migrants on this earth, journeying together in hope.’ In one place or another, at one time or another, in one way or another, every single one of us will find ourselves in search of acceptance, help, protection, <\/em>welcome.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(In that excerpt, Donovan is quoting the UNHCR’s Welcoming the Stranger: Affirmation for Faith Leaders<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.) <\/p>\n

Donovan’s poem is an invitation: “Welcome<\/em>, friend. Welcome. Dear neighbor, come in.” On the opening spread, a girl waves to a family, rushing in during a storm. “We’ll shelter in peace, break bread where it’s warm.” As we read, we see families all over the world doing the same; we see families speaking Mandarin, Lakota Sioux, Indonesian, German, Hindi, Modern Standard Arabic, and more. The opening and closing of the book even includes images of hands fingerspelling “welcome” (pictured above), and on the last spread, Donovan writes: “A hundred thousand welcomes \/ I sing, \/ I sign, \/ I pray.” <\/p>\n

A note from Cho (at the book’s close) explains that she intended for food to be an integral part of this story: <\/p>\n

“When this story first reached me, I knew that I wanted some aspect of this book to revolve around food. Families from all over the world joyfully coming together and welcoming strangers across a giant table filled with delicious foods from many cultures felt like the right thing to paint in a time when hate and fear are championed.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She also writes about her efforts to eschew stereotyped images in her artwork: “I had to be creative and determined,” she writes. Her research pays off in these bright, bustling, detailed spreads. There’s a lot to take in, so expect lingering before page-turns. And expect to want to snack afterwards, given all these lush spreads with feasting and food from all over the world. Check out below the grand feast that closes the story. Although I’m working from a digital copy of this book, it looks to me like this feast is a double gatefold. Magnificent. <\/p>\n

It’s a big-hearted, compassionate book, Donovan noting in her closing note: “I am not a marcher. I am not a rally-er. I am not a fist shaker. I am not a knitter of hats or a waver of signs. My rage boils down, instead, to ink. This particular river of ink is my love song to our shared humanity and it is my protest against intolerance, injustice, and inhumanity.” For those who feel the same \u2014 or even for those who are<\/em> fist shakers \u2014 the book closes with a selection of further reading (picture books!) as well as selected sources. <\/p>\n

Here are some spreads. … (p.s. Remmember Lian’s artwork from this June post<\/a><\/strong>?)
\n
 

\n<\/a>
\n

“Hellos and <\/em>How-are-yous, \/ ancient and young.
I bow to your spirit. \/ Selamat datang.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
\n
 

\n<\/a>
\n
“Ahlan wa sahlan. \/ Bienvenida.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
\n
 

\n<\/a>
\n
“sh\u0101gata. \/ May our meeting be blessed.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
\n
 

\n<\/a>
\n
“May you never know hunger. May peace fill your nights.
May your children’s children grow strong in the light.”<\/em>
(Click gatefold spread to enlarge)<\/center>
\n
 

\n<\/a>
\n
(Click cover to enlarge)<\/em><\/center>
\n
 

\nA HUNDRED THOUSAND WELCOMES. Text copyright \u00a9 2021 by Mary Lee Donovan. Illustrations copyright \u00a9 2021 by An-Li Cho. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Greenwillow Books, New York.<\/em><\/p>\n

* * * Jules’s Kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font>
<\/center><\/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

1)<\/strong><\/font> All the light in this book \u2014 from lanterns to moonlight to firelight to candlelight to the warm light emanating from a safe home. <\/p>\n

2)<\/strong><\/font> This woman<\/a><\/strong> has found the kind of courage that I, in my cushy life, may never face. May she stay safe. <\/p>\n

3)<\/strong><\/font> Compassionate educators. <\/p>\n

4)<\/strong><\/font> Making brigadeiros<\/a><\/strong>, thanks to a gift from a friend. <\/p>\n

5)<\/strong><\/font> My talented picture book friends and colleagues, who say, yes, I\u2019ll write that<\/em>. <\/p>\n

6)<\/strong><\/font> My current read<\/a><\/strong>. Pretty gripping. <\/p>\n

7)<\/strong><\/font> My friend has a book coming out soon<\/a><\/strong>, and I can’t wait to read it. Also, she’ll launch it virtually at Books of Wonder if you want to watch. Here<\/a><\/strong> are the details. <\/p>\n

What are YOUR<\/font><\/strong> kicks this week? I must have sat here for an hour, thinking of kicks. The news has been difficult this week, hasn’t it? (My state certainly isn’t helping.) I hope everyone is healthy, and if you’re in the path of the hurricane, stay safe. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Mary Lee Donovan’s A Hundred Thousand Welcomes (Greenwillow), illustrated by Lian Cho and coming to shelves in October, is like honeysuckle to a bee for young language-lovers \u2014 and also a very welcome read (excuse the bad pun) for those moments when the goings-on in the world get you down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-seven-good-things-before-monday","category-picture-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5406\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}