Multicultural

Title: The Keeping Quilt

Author: Patricia Polacco

Illustrator: Patricia Polacco

Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks

Copyright date: 2001

Number of pages: 30 pages

Awards: Sydney Taylor Book Award

Genre: Multicultural, Children’s Literature

Brief summary: This is the story of how one little girls dress inspired the making of a quilt that would be made from articles of cloth from all the important people in her life. This quilt goes through all the important phases of life for the many people it touches as it passes from generation to generation in this family.

Cover:

·         Is the cover attractive?  Yes. It is beautifully done with pencil. The illustrations put particular emphasis on the quilt, as it is the only thing that is continually colored on the pages.

Story:

·         Are the stories interesting to children? Yes. It gives a beautiful story of the journey one object, a quilt, goes through as it moves from generation to generation in a family.

Organization:

·         Do the spacing and placement of the words make the passages easy to read? Yes. This is a very well-paced story with short and sweet passages that keep the reader engaged and reading.

Characters:

·         Do characters represent people from a variety of cultural groups? Yes. This story is about a family who moves to New York from Russia. This family is on quite an adventure as they work to transition into the new society they have joined.

·         Are females as well as males depicted in leadership roles? N/A. This book mainly depicts women as they create a beautifully composed and hand-crafted quilt.

Themes:

·         Does the story offer children a variety of things to think about, to question, and to consider? Yes. I think the teacher has a lot of power in creating a classroom discussion and encouraging the students to ask questions as the story is read. Questions could include: How did the quilt unite the different people? Do you have anything that once belonged to your parents or grandparents? When taught correctly, students will surely find a way to relate to this story.

·         Are there lessons to be learned? Yes. This is a heartwarming story that many children will come to cherish. It teaches the power of symbol and how love and faith can connect a family, despite the distance between them.

Settings:

·         Do the stories reflect a variety of settings? Yes. This story journeys with the quilt as it moves to and from the different family members.

Illustrations:

·         Are diverse populations represented in the illustrations? Yes. This is a well-depicted multicultural story about a family’s adventure moving to America from Russia.

·         Are the illustrations large, clear and bright? Yes. The illustrations are beautiful full page pencil drawings. They are very impressive.

·         Do the illustrations invite the reader to explore the text? Yes. The illustrations parallel the text well and work to enhance the story.

·         Do the illustrations explain and enhance the text? Yes. The illustrations do a spectacular job of telling a story.

Other Considerations:

·         Will the stories encourage discussions? This is a very relevant book that gives a unique perspective and tells a personal story. It teaches just what a culture goes through as they move into a new culture. It teaches of other culture’s traditions and the power of love and faith and how it can be passed from generation to generation.

·         Are the stories age appropriate to ensure children can understand what is presented? Yes. This is a well-written understandable story.

Reading level scale

7	highly difficult
6	difficult
5	moderately difficult
4	Challenging
3	above average
2	Average  (8-10 year old readers)
1	highly readable

My rating: 3/5.

classroom application:
A great enrichment activity I would do with my students would be to make a class quilt. This calls for quilt making! The students would design a classroom quilt. White material squares and fabric crayons would need to be purchased. Students can make self-portraits and print their names at the bottom. The quilt can be sewn together with a colorful border, just like the book.