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4.31 AVERAGE
4.31 AVERAGE
I get choked up every time I read this autobiographical book. Ms. Polacco tells the story of her Russian ancestors who came to the United States and made a quilt to remind them of their homeland. Through six generations of women, the quilt served as a tablecloth, picnic blanket, wedding huppa, baby wrap, lap quilt, bedspread, and a cape or tent in Patricia's childhood imagination. The Keeping Quilt stirringly highlights the cyclical nature of life as children are born and grow up, get married and grow old, and die. The artful use of color emphasizes the power of the quilt as a symbol connecting their family throughout generations, stretching on and on. This is a definite favorite.
For more book reviews, visit Build Enough Bookshelves.
For more book reviews, visit Build Enough Bookshelves.
This is such a special picture book, and clearly a very personal one for Patricia Polacco. I love her illustrations in all her books, but in this one she uses pencil-gray to contrast with the bright colors of the quilt so effectively. The illustrations are incredibly evocative of black and white photos, and they're detailed and warm even before you take into account the pops of color. You can track the colors of the quilt from their first life as a dress and babushka worn by her great-great-grandmother, all the way through their second (and ongoing) life as part of the family's passed-down quilt. I think this would be a really interesting lap-read with a child and there are so many things to talk about! The weddings, the generations, the clothing, your own family traditions, how you celebrate and the bits of family you bring with you -- it would be an incredibly fruitful read!
I love Patricia Polacco's books. This one is a great introduction to both theme and symbolism for students of any age.
The Keeping Quilt is about a girl telling the story of her great grandmother. She tells the story of how her grandmother comes to America from Russia and how she misses home so much, her mother makes her a quilt out of her relatives things to remind her of home. The quilt ends up becoming a keepsake in their family and is used for weddings and babies for generations to come. This story is a great introduction to immigration and different cultures in primary classrooms. I would use this story to start a unit on immigration and different cultures in a younger classroom.
Assignment #5
Assignment #5
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Death of parent
The Keeping Quilt is a tale of immigration. It's a story of Jewish tradition and family tradition alike. It's an origin and an evolution, showing the progress of time and fashion and work, and all that stays the same throughout: growing, love, birth and death.
As one of Patricia Polacco's earliest works, The Keeping Quilt is sparse in both narrative and illustration. It feels as a 'family story' would, told and retold, passed down through generations along with the heirloom to which the story belongs. It's like hand-touched memories, faded of their color but not their value.
As one of Patricia Polacco's earliest works, The Keeping Quilt is sparse in both narrative and illustration. It feels as a 'family story' would, told and retold, passed down through generations along with the heirloom to which the story belongs. It's like hand-touched memories, faded of their color but not their value.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
There are so many elements that I love about this book. First off, I love how the quilt (and fabric used to make it) is the only thing pictured in color throughout the book. Secondly, I love how we follow the family of this story through generations, and how we see how each generation changes from the last. I feel that this book has great representation of culture, and i enjoy how it not only names but also describes different things within this culture.
This is an amazing story of immigration, tradition, Jewish pride and family. Definitely tried not to cry in the middle of my library reading this book.
This is a really lovely book. We picked it up from the new book section at the library. The illustrations are (pencil...charcoal?)drawn with limited colors. At first my daughter was disappointed that there was not color all over the pages. But we talked about how an artist can use limited color to draw very deep attention to a subject. The subject of attention for this book is a handmade quilt pulled together from fabric scraps of an immigrated Russian family. The quilt passes on generation to generation. It becomes full of memories and ritual. Sweet simple tale. Very nicely done.