Lilliana Grows it Green
An Open Door Press Publication
In Lilliana Grows it Green, Lilliana, a special young girl with some disabilities and a lot of assets, learns a little more about the world around her while finding joy, solace, and inclusion in gardening. The second book of UCOM's Open Door series to be written and illustrated by the team of Amy Carpenter Leugs and Heather Newman, Lilliana features more of the beautiful illustrations and tender story telling that made French Toast for Maleek so powerful. Spanish language translations by Ale Siekmeier again accompany Amy's wonderful tale and help ensure Lilliana's story can reach a broad and diverse audience.
Like French Toast for Maleek before it, Amy Carpenter Leugs and Heather Newman have once again made magic with Lilliana Grows it Green;
Lilliana Grows it Green demonstrates the challenges and needs that people with disabilities and their families face when trying to make community participation happen. Although fiction, it offers valuable insight into the important role of the community organization in making inclusion successful.
--Tammy Finn, Executive Director of The Arc Kent County - www.arckent.org
Great book! ...amazed at how smart our children are ...and how the writer wrote of something UCOM is doing for our residents already ...thanks for sharing!
-- Maria Moreno, Crime Prevention and Neighborhood Improvement, Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association
Lilliana's story beautifully illustrates the joys and societal barriers of everyday life with a disability. Lilliana and her friends, family, and neighbors show us how real inclusion occurs when we are seen for all of who we are. When we have the accommodations we need, we can share our gifts and talents with our community. Real communities love and celebrate and include all people-Lilliana and her friends have built a vibrant, real community.
-- Aimee Sterk, MSW, Michigan Disability Rights Coalition
Until Lilliana Grows it Green I have never read a children's book that I felt completely in tune with. I could identify in many ways with the main character, Lilliana, not only with her cultural background, but dealing with the characteristics that are part of her life. I love the way the author shows a family of acceptance, a child with a lot of skill and depth, and tucked in there the gardening process.
--Lucia Rios, Community Access Specialist at Disability Network/Lakeshore, and contributing writer for Women's LifeStyle Magazine
Illustrations Copyright of Heather Newman, 2012, used with permission
