LILI’S QUILT — A COMPANION TO THE WELCOME QUILT PROJECT

Cover of a book titled 'Lili's Quilt: A Story of Immigration, Welcome and Belonging' featuring an illustration of a woman with long dark hair, wearing a purple headband and a colorful shawl with pink, white, purple, and blue geometric patterns, smiling and touching her face with one hand and her other arm crossed over her chest. The illustration is by Midhelina Nicorera-Taxiera.

Winner: Best of Category, Children Under 12, Arizona Authors Association Literary Contest

AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON AMAZON
Or request an author-signed copy on the Contact page

A children’s book about forced migration written by Gale Hall, illustrated by Michelina Nicotera-Taxiera

Lili’s Quilt, written by the originator of the Welcome Quilt idea, can be used as a companion to Welcome Quilt displays and exhibits in a resource area, along with other books and materials on immigration. It can be used alongside activities in the Welcome Quilt Toolkit, or on its own to stimulate discussion about immigration.

Lili’s Quilt follows the journey of Lili and her mom as they leave Central America seeking safety in the United States. Learn how the gift of a quilt renewed her hope. (The book features bonus pages of empathy-based activities that more deeply explore the timely topics of immigration, welcome, and belonging.)

............................................

“It took 3 years to write Lili’s Quilt. Her story kept developing as the Welcome Quilt Project evolved and I was creating activities to accompany Welcome Square-making events. I realized that I could tell the immigration stories of families and incorporate some of the things I had been doing to promote migration with dignity into Lili’s story. This would result in ideas that others could duplicate or adapt as well.

“It is important for all children to be able to see themselves portrayed in positive ways in children’s books. Lili is a brave and resilient character, and her story helped her classmates to respond with empathy. I hope children who read the book will see in themselves the hopeful image of one of the children in the story. I also hope that the book will provide adults with a safe and familiar way to begin discussing the topic of immigration.

“The activities that I have created for the book are meant to enhance your understanding of Lili’s story and the topic of immigration. There are five activities included in the book and you can request an additional thirteen. One set of activities is created for elementary school children. The other set of activities focuses on teenagers and adults. People of any age can apply their lifetime of experiences to the topics explored in the curriculum. I have written these activities as an educator thinking about the materials that I would use and the steps I’d follow to facilitate these ideas.”

- Gale Hall

10% of Gale’s earnings from Lili’s Quilt will be donated to Voices from the Border.

You can ask for the additional thirteen activities to be emailed to you when you request an author-signed copy of Lili’s Quilt on the Contact page. If you like them and are so inclined, you can make a donation for the development of this curriculum to Gale Hall, PO Box 8267, Tucson, AZ 85738

Children and adults sitting on top of a train car traveling through a scenic landscape of mountains and trees, with a train in the background and a poem describing a train ride.
A colorful drawing of a desert landscape with cacti, mountains, and a night sky. In the foreground, two people with backpacks are walking together, and a group of hikers is visible in the distance. The image includes a poem about desert hardships and resilience.

Watch this video to see Gale Hall in conversation with David Damian Figueroa about Lili's Quilt and Figueroa's book, El OZ, at Border Community Alliance's Literature and Film Circle event.

Watch Now
A woman wearing a yellow hat and glasses holding a colorful quilt book, and a man with gray hair holding a children's book titled "Lili's Quilt" at an indoor event.