{"id":5504,"date":"2022-01-23T00:01:07","date_gmt":"2022-01-23T06:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5504"},"modified":"2022-01-22T11:54:45","modified_gmt":"2022-01-22T17:54:45","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-779-featuring-devon-holzwarth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5504","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #779: Featuring Devon Holzwarth"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Want to see a beautiful new intergenerational picture book from Pura Belpr\u00e9 Award winner Ruth Behar<\/a><\/strong> and illustrator Devon Holzwarth<\/a><\/strong>? T\u00eda Fortuna’s New Home: A Jewish Cuban Journey<\/a><\/strong><\/a><\/em> (Knopf) will be on shelves next week, and it tells the tender story of a girl named Estrella who learns about Sephardic Jewish culture from her aunt. T\u00eda Fortuna \u2014 who, as a child, had to flee her home in Havana \u2014 must now leave her home near the sea in Miami; bulldozers are on their way to tear down the Seaway and construct a “fancy hotel.”<\/p>\n

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This heartfelt story follows the pair as they say goodbye to T\u00eda Fortuna’s casita at the seaway, all the while T\u00eda sharing some memories and reliving her past. They visit the shore and “breathe in the salty air,” and they play in the sand. Estrella doesn’t understand how T\u00eda Fortuna can be so happy when she’s having to say goodbye to her home. “It’s not ma\u00f1ana yet,” she responds. “Let’s enjoy today.” Back at the seaway, they snack on warm borekas, T\u00eda Fortuna explaining how it is they are “filled with hope”:<\/p>\n

Because they are the food of your grandfathers’ grandfathers’ grandfathers and your grandmothers’ grandmothers’ grandmothers. They took them from Spain to Turkey to Cuba. Now we eat them here in Miami.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She adds, “We come from people who found hope wherever they went.”<\/p>\n

Estrella and T\u00eda Fortuna say goodbye to her home, T\u00eda making sure to grab her good-luck mezuzah. They then head to la Casa de los Viejitos, T\u00eda immediately mesmerized by a banyan tree she sees there. Inside, T\u00eda makes new friends. And before Estrella leaves, T\u00eda gives her a special gift. <\/p>\n

An appended Author’s Note explains that Behar’s characters are fictional, though she is “lucky enough to have a lovely, real-life Sephardic aunt who lives in Miami Beach and serves me borekas whenever I visit.” This same note also includes information about the history and forced migrations of Sephardic Jews. There is also a glossary, given that many terms throughout the book are presented in Spanish. <\/p>\n

Holzwarth’s fluid, graceful illustrations, reminiscent of the work of Christine Davenier<\/a><\/strong>, bring Estrella and T\u00eda to life on the page. She beautifully composes spreads that incorporate both T\u00eda’s childhood and present, packing in a lot of information in a visually satisfying way. The palette is one of appealing teals, cool coppers, and warm yellows that, in the end, make way for vivid golds (as you can see below).<\/p>\n


 

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\nT\u00cdA FORTUNA’S NEW HOME: A JEWISH CUBAN JOURNEY. Text copyright \u00a9 2022 by Ruth Behar. Jacket art and interior illustrations copyright \u00a9 2022 by Devon Holzwarth and reproduced by permission of the publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, New York.<\/em><\/p>\n

* * * Jules’s Kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font>
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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> This piece<\/a><\/strong> from Margaret Renkl in the New York Times<\/em>. Renkl forever. <\/p>\n

2)<\/strong><\/font> Hearing from illustrators that they can use 7-Imp posts in classes with students. <\/p>\n

3)<\/strong><\/font> The television adaptation<\/a><\/strong> of Station Eleven<\/em>. <\/p>\n

4)<\/strong><\/font> Simone Dinnerstein’s new album<\/a><\/strong> of Schumann, Satie, Philip Glass, and more. <\/p>\n

5)<\/strong><\/font> A new tofu press. (It’s the little things.) <\/p>\n

6)<\/strong><\/font> Going along for the wild ride that is the final season of Search Party<\/a><\/em><\/strong>. <\/p>\n

7)<\/strong><\/font> This week, we went to our first concert since the pandemic \u2014 Patty Griffin<\/a><\/strong> in a tiny theater with all kinds of safety protocols. She played “Be Careful” (from, arguably, her most brilliant album<\/a><\/strong>), which didn’t make me cry because my daughter will soon be going to college OR ANYTHING:
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