The Keeping Quilt

Author/Illustrator: Patricia Polacco

Publisher: Aladdin

ISBN: 0689844476

I'm a little sad that this is my last blog for EDE 652. I made sure to choose a memoir that was perfectly, perfect.

The quilt is in this story is made by Polacco's great-grandmother Anna and her quilting friends who immigrated to the United States from Russia over a hundred years ago. The quilt is composed of scraps of fabric from outgrown dresses, the aprons of aunts, etc. The finished quilt features dancing items such as animals and swaying trees.

Polacco explains that the quilt tells the story of her family from generation to generation; the quilt as been present for births, deaths, weddings and all other kinds of family celebrations. The quilt serves as a quilt, a blanket to welcome newborns into the world (Polacco as well as her daughter), a tent, a chuppah (a Jewish wedding canopy), and a tablecloth. Symbolically, Polacco's family is tied together generation after generation.

The Keeping Quilt is like one of those stories your grandmother passes down to you. A one of a kind tale that is to be passed down to your granddaughter and her granddaughter, etc. (just like the quilt in the story.)

Polacco's illustrations are interesting in that the people in this story are colored by simple sepia tones, and the quilt, the main character of the story is beautifully colored with vibrant red, green and yellow tones. The quilt becomes a sort of living being, the main character and focus of the story.

This is another wonderful book that can be used for a plethora of lessons. I would probably use this book in a second or third grade classroom. As an art activity, students can create their own quilts using paper or felt, math lessons (students can measure each square of the quilt, learn about perimeter and area, etc.), ELA lessons (write a story about your family), and social studies lessons (getting to know you, family tree).

I would love to use this book in my classroom. It chronicles a very important story in the life of this prolific children's author in such a sweet, tender and loving way. I would love to encourage my students to keep their family's traditions alive so that one day they too will be able to pass their own family stories.