MARY LEE DONOVAN
MARY LEE DONOVAN received her M.A. in Children’s Literature at The Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, Simmons College in 1986. In addition to being a writer, she is one of the founding directors of the Kindling Words Retreat for Children’s Book Professionals (est. 1991), and an Editorial Director at Candlewick Press, where she edited Newbery Medal-winning Good Masters, Sweet Ladies: Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz, illustrated by Robert Byrd; Newbery Honor book, Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz; Caldecott Honor books, Journey by Aaron Becker and Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal; Pura Belpre Award- winning Juana and Lucas by Juana Medina; John Steptoe New Voices Award-winning Zora and Me; the Judy Moody and Stink series by Megan McDonald, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds; and the Felix and Fiona series by Rosemary Wells. A native of western Massachusetts, Mary Lee currently resides in Littleton, Massachusetts.
LET ME CALL YOU SWEETHEART: A CONFECTIONERY OF AFFECTION
Greenwillow Books — Hardcover — December 27, 2022
What do you call the ones you love the most? Acclaimed author Mary Lee Donovan and illustrator Brizida Magro’s Let Me Call You Sweetheart is a playful, sometimes silly, and always cozy picture book that features more than fifty terms of endearment from around the world. Perfect for bedtime, for building vocabulary, for baby showers, and for gift-giving all year long. A confectionary of affection!
Mi cielito, my angel, my pumpkin, my bean. My kitten, my sweetheart, my darling sweet pea. Everyone has a special term of endearment for those they love. What do you call your loved ones?
Let Me Call You Sweetheart is an irresistible picture book to share with the ones you love—no matter what their age! Mary Lee Donovan’s rhythmic text keeps readers turning the pages, and Brizida Magro’s remarkable, sun-drenched illustrations present a cast of playful and charming children and animals, and an enchanting world full of friendship, love, and affection. Featuring more than fifty terms of endearment and expressions of love from around the world, Let Me Call You Sweetheart is perfect for baby showers and bedtime.
A Barnes & Noble Most Anticipated New Kids and YA Book Release, January 2023
A HUNDRED THOUSAND WELCOMES
Greenwillow Books — October 12, 2021
Welcome, come in! You are invited to travel to homes around the world in this beautifully illustrated picture book about hospitality and acceptance, which features the word “welcome” from more than fourteen languages. Fans of Here We Are and The Wonderful Things You Will Be will enjoy this timeless story about family, friendship, empathy, and welcoming others.
There are almost as many ways of making someone feel welcome as there are people on our planet. To welcome another is to give that person and yourself a chance at a new connection, a new friendship, and maybe even new eyes through which to view the world.
Journey around the globe as A Hundred Thousand Welcomes introduces the word for “welcome” in fourteen languages to illuminate a universal message of hope and acceptance. Mary Lee Donovan’s spare text is brought to life by Lian Cho’s boisterous, richly detailed illustrations.
praise for A HUNDRED THOUSAND WELCOMES
"With so much distrust, anger, and hate in the air, a genuine expression of welcome is just the balm we so desperately need."—Kirkus