Twenty years ago Valerie Flournoy and Jerry Pinkney created a warmhearted intergenerational story that became an award-winning perennial. Since then children from all sorts of family situations and configurations continue to be drawn to its portrait of those bonds that create the fabric of family life.
Using scraps cut from the family's old clothing, Tanya helps her grandmother and mother make a beautiful quilt that tells the story of her family's life.
Anonymous
Posted June 2, 2000
The Patchwork Quilt, is an excellent example of quality literature for children. This story demonstrates family values and cooperation as major themes. These are qualities that appear obsolete in our country today and it is nice to see that an author of children's books can show both kids and adults the value of family. In this picture book, Tanya, is the main character that learns lessons about life and love from her grandmother by making a patchwork quilt. Tanya's Grandma teaches her that a quilt is not made of old scraps of material, but valuable memories. They work on the quilt day and night, reminiscing about the past. Tanya learns that everyone is in the quilt so that they can be remembered. Grandma is the centerpiece of the family and when she becomes ill, Tanya must figure out how to finish their family quilt. The plot in this story is realistic and easy for young readers to understand. Some chidren may be able to relate to how the characters feel about their family and all readers can appreciate the lessons that our elders teach us about our lives and our families. The language in this book is appropriate for young children and can be used as an aid for advancing their reading onto the next level. The language sounds realistic and believable. The illustrations in this picture book are wonderful. They are beautifully drawn, colored sketches that include life-like features and details of the characters. Each drawing matches the text perfectly. All the illustrations in this story look like paintings which make this picture book memorable. The characters in this story grow from their experience creating the patchwork quilt. Tanya matures the most because she learns the value and importance of family from her grandma. Even Grandma herself appreciates when this life lesson comes full circle as Tanya presents her with the finished quilt, which includes a patch from Grandma's old quilt. This story is worthwhile to young children because it gives the
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 8, 2013
A nice story that reinforces lovely family traditions. I would have liked the grandmother to "speak" in standard English, but that's my only objection.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 7, 2000
This book would be a great book to use in the classroom to do a variety of things with. You could use it to relate to children how a sickness can affect a family. You could also use it in conjunction with art if you wanted to make a quilt. It would be a good example of how a quilt can have so much meaning. It could also be used to show that when you make a quilt a lot of things could be represented in it.
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Posted February 12, 2009
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Anonymous
Posted October 14, 2012
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Overview
Twenty years ago Valerie Flournoy and Jerry Pinkney created a warmhearted intergenerational story that became an award-winning perennial. Since then children from all sorts of family situations and configurations continue to be drawn to its portrait of those bonds that create the fabric of family life.
Using scraps cut from the family's old clothing, Tanya helps her grandmother and mother make a beautiful quilt that tells the story...