A Story of Immigration, Welcome and Belonging
Written by Gale Hall and Illustrated by Michelina Nicotera-Taxiera
A children’s book about forced migration
Lili’s Quilt is a finalist in the AZ Authors Association Literary Contest for 2025.
Lili's Quilt
“In my career as a teacher, I had typically used children’s books as a starting point for curriculum planning. I was especially moved by books that fell into the category of bibliotherapy – books that heal. I had always wanted to write such a book, but it wasn’t until I retired and started engaging in this work of migration with dignity that I found my topic.
“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.”
- Gale Hall
About the Author
Gale Hall is a retired early childhood professional (MA, ECE – Fairfield University) who who moved from New Hampshire to southern Arizona in 2016. During her career she worked on state and national early childhood and family literacy initiatives and advocated for young children, families, and their teachers. For more information about the author, see the Partners section of this website
About the Illustrator
Michelina Nicotera-Taxiera is a multi-media artist and illustrator who moved from Denver, Colorado to Tucson, Arizona in 2017. Her work primarily focuses on the rights and protection of children and her personal experiences with childhood trauma. https://www.micksmessage.com.
Her journey to understanding the issues of forced migration began when she went with a delegation to El Salvador in 1990. The trip was to accompany Salvadoran people while they commemorated the 10th anniversary of Archbishop Oscar Romero's assassination. She was deeply moved by the experience, and when she returned she created artwork that correlated the suffering of the Salvadoran people to the suffering of Jesus on his last days on earth. In 2020 she began expanding this series of drawings to include the struggles of asylum seekers coming to the U.S. This new art, called the Way of Asylum was made into a website and has been visited by people all over the world.
Gale & Michelina standing in front of a Welcome Quilt and the Art of Asylum
A Glimpse into Lili’s Quilt
Borderlands Literature and Film Circle by Border Community Alliance
WATCH: Conversation with Gale Hall and David Damian Figueroa about their children’s books.
18 Activities to do with children and adults after reading Lili’s Quilt
Lili’s Quilt is written as a children’s picture book, and it is also a book for teens and adults. The activities that I have created for the book are meant to enhance your understanding of Lili’s story and the topic of immigration. One set of activities is created for elementary school children. The other set of activities focuses and 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.
You can request these activities in the contact section. 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.
Contact Us
To find out how to create a Welcome Quilt that can be displayed in your local community center, hospital, food bank, place of worship, library, school or college campus, please fill out the contact form here or email Gale Hall at welcomequiltproject@gmail.com
