The Patchwork Quilt

by Valerie Flournoy, Jerry Pinkney (Illustrator)

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.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Cultural, Multicultural Literature

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, gosh, I *loved* this book when I was a kid. It was on "Reading Rainbow" and it totally inspired me and I wanted to make a quilt with scraps of clothes from my family's wardrobe.

I reread it in October 2011 and it still touched me deeply. A beautiful story of how a patchwork quilt, made from scraps of a family's old clothes, reflects the family, always "remembers", and how creating it brings a family together. A wonderful, multi-generational family story.

[Faloni © · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best night ever.

[N_carlyl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I imagine Valerie Flournoy must have/had a unique bond with an elderly person in her lifetime because she writes this story so well it seems like it is from the heart. I wouldn't be surprised if it were true. The Patchwork Quilt is a beautiful story about the bonds between generations and the memories that inspire people to keep traditions alive. This particular story is written about a grandmother and her granddaughter, Tanya. Each day, Tanya admires the "masterpiece' her grandma is working so hard to complete. As Tanya watches grandma quilting, she realizes that the pieces of the quilt are representative of specific times and events in her family's life. As grandma gets older, and it becomes more difficult for her to cut and sew, Tanya takes it upon herself to continue adding to the quilt. Flournoy chooses an appropriate ending to wrap up the beautiful gift that is this book.
I suggest this story be used as a read aloud for grades 1-4. All students can make meaning of the relationship between the granddaughter and grandma. The amount of value the students take from the story is dependent on the emotional development of the child. Even as an adult, I was able to easily connect with both grandma and Tanya. It's a feel good story.

This story can be heard on a videorecording (DVD)-a production of Great Plains National Television Library and WNED-TV

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an uplifting story. Tanya has been poorly recently and is itching to go outside so that she can have fun with her brothers and father in the garden. Instead, her mother asks that she spend some time with her grandma who always sits in a sit overlooking the outside. Having to spend time with Grandma means having to pay attention to what she says and it is at this point that a poignant and touching intergenerational connection is made as Grandma shares her passion for sowing and creating quilts.
This is a beautiful, thoughtful story about passing on traditions, about listening to and continuing traditions that could be lost and about the unit of a family. It's a wonderful story and although the images may date with time the message will not.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tanya enjoys spending time with her grandmother as she tells her about the patchwork quilt that she is making, and how it holds memories from each piece of fabric used. When her grandmother becomes ill, Tanya continues to work on the quilt until her grandmother is better. Once the quilt is completed after a year's work, Tanya's grandmother puts the final stitches on the right hand corner.

[Rebecca Davenport · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is primarily a book about a girl and her grandmother. Grandma is working on a patchwork quilt and Tanya wants to help her. Grandma tells Tanya it will take a while to make the quilt, and during this time Grandma gets sick. Tanya jumps in and works really hard to help finish the quilt. Since Tanya worked so hard to help Grandma when she was sick, her mother and grandmother gave the quilt to her. This story shows how when you work together and help others, good things come from it. In this story she was rewarded with the quilt, but a physical reward is not something to expect. Teaching children not to expect anything in return for a good deed is very important. Tanya helped her grandmother, but she was not expecting to recieve the quilt. It is also a good idea to teach children what a good deed is and give some examples. Helping others is something every child should be taught.

[Madelyn Croft · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Patchwork Quilt is a story about a little girl named Tanya who loves listening to her grandmother talk about the quilt that she is making. Each one of them represents each person and the important events of their lives together. Then her grandma becomes sick and Tanya decides to finish the project herself and soon the rest of the family joins. I give this Caldecott honor book 5 stars because it has a great message behind it that children can relate to. The illustrations bring the heart of the story to life.

[Misbah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this as a kid and wanting to make a quilt of my own.

[Annalise Kraines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply beautiful. An emotional and poignant story of intergenerational love and a family coming together. Just loved this.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review of the Patchwork Quit by Valerie Flournoy and Jerry Pinkey

The Patchwork Quilt, written by Valerie Flournoy and Jerry Pinkey, is the story of how a young girl called Tanya learns to treasure and value her own family traditions. She watches her grandmother make a patch-work quilt, and becomes fascinated by its construction. The story follows the quilts construction over a period of a year. Tanya learns far more than the skills required to make the quilt, she finds real comfort and closeness to her elderly grandmother and a strong bond develops between them. The story has a heart-warming conclusion with the whole family admiring the finished product.
The family share a real feeling of closeness right from the start of the book, shown by the image on the front cover. Events and scenarios that the family face also help to develop their relationships. For example when ‘Grandma’ falls ill, everyone misses her and helps Tanya to continue with the construction the quilt. Language is mainly based on informal conservations between each of the characters this allows the young reader to feel part of the family. This closeness is reflected in all of the beautifully drawn images. Each family member has their own distinct personality, with Grandma being depicted as both wise and fragile whilst the mother is shown as the traditional caring provider. The personalities in the book work well together to re-create and portray a happy and realistic modern family.
The book is filled with beautiful watercolours that cover almost the entire page. The illustrations are well executed with lots of added detail which make them appear more realistic to the reader. The illustrations act as a visual representation of the story with each key scene being captured like a photograph. The illustrations emphasise the close family bonds especially between the grand-daughter and the grandmother.
One of the many concepts in the book is the idea of past memories. This is directly referred to on many occasions throughout the book. “I know what a quilt is, Grandma. There’s one on your bed, but it’s old and dirty and mama can never get it clean. Grandma sighed. “It ain’t dirty, honey. Its worn, the way it’s supposed to be”. The idea of physical aging is referred to through the changing of seasons such as the coming of Christmas and the health of the grandma which starts to decline. It is made clear throughout the book that things never stay the same. Connected to the idea of the past is the idea of time. Time is shown through the long process needed to physically construct the quilt. The idea of personal treasures and meaningful objects is yet another idea which as addressed. “Yes your mama can get you a quilt from any department store. But it won’t be like my patchwork quilt, and it won’t last as long either”. ‘Recycling’ could also be discussed with Yr.5/6 groups using the book as a primary source and starting point. Pupils could investigate the properties of different materials such as plastics, old discarded fabrics and some waste materials and make something of value. ‘Make do and mend’ during war and the rich history of quilt making in different societies could lead to some exciting art and history projects. The design of a patchwork quilt and the arithmetic required to build the tessellation could spark off a fun maths lesson where basic geometry would be put into a practical application.
This book would make an excellent cross curricular resource as it could be used for a wide variety of subjects such as English, use of specific language techniques and the narrative of age and family, History, looking at time scales, and maths looking at tessellation. The writing, concepts and language make this suitable for a KS2 reader. I fully enjoyed reading this book and will definitely use it for my own future practice.

[April Poulter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Patchwork Quilt is full of meaningful messages and lessons, and if you follow my reviews you've probably picked up that I am all about lessons to be learned from literature that is read. This is a beautiful story about a grandmother making her granddaughter a quilt out of scraps of cloth from various meaningful locations - her brother's worn-out pants, the leftover cloth from her new gold dress, etc. As she makes this quilt she teaches her daughter and granddaughter about the importance of making memories and holding on to that which is important. Through her actions she even teaches her granddaughter the necessity of hard wok and persistence; the granddaughter wants to whip the quilt up within a week but her grandmother shows her that it takes time to find the right pieces of cloth and piece them together. The grandmother's goal to make a quilt allows her to connect with her daughter, granddaughter, and other family members, and it provides an opportunity for the daughter and granddaughter (mother and daughter) to strengthen their bond.
There's something to be said for learning from the elderly and keeping meaningful traditions, and I like the way that this book communicates it.

[Simone Lavinier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a warm-hearted, colourful and beautifully written Puffin book. The author describes a sweet little girl and her grandmother’s determination to complete a family quilt, even though the mother had suggested to purchasing one. When the grandmother became ill, Tanya took over with her mother’s help. Soon enough, the whole family was contributing to creating the quilt. At surface level the story may seem very trivial; however, the writer shows how culture, skills and traditions are passed on from generation to generation. This book could be used in KS1 and lower KS2 (and even upper KS2) in many aspects of the curriculum. For example, an introduction into family life in the past and present day in a History lesson or for a PSHE lesson, learning about the importance of working together, to which the illustrations demonstrates perfectly. This book can also be used to discuss the importance of recycling, as the quilt was made out of the family’s old clothes. This is an exceptional read and is thought-provoking for both younger and older children.

[Madison Daub · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember being read to me when I was younger and I remember how much I enjoyed it. Reading this book again as an adult really showed me just how meaningful this book is! I think this book can be very educational for children and a great was for teachers to teach a lesson about family, diversity and even death. I think it also handles death in a good way and in a classy manner. I think that all children can get something out of this book. It shows culture with the family and I think it can be a good lesson for children. The quilt was a gift to the little girl in the story and I think that we all have things in our lives that we treasure like Tanya will treasure the quilt. Something to do in a classroom would be to have each child make a quilt square that defines them and then put them all together to show classroom unity. Overall this was a great book and I really do not know how people could not love this book.

[Alexandra Ibberson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a Coretta Scott King winner. It's the story of Tanya and her family-Grandma, Mama, Papa, and her two brothers. It's about the special bond between Tanya and her Grandma. Tanya loves watching her Grandma create a beautiful quilt from patches of cloths that represent every member of the family. When Grandma becomes ill and can't work on the quilt, Tanya continues working on it for her. Tanya appreciates the closeness of her family and the special memories that they share, as well as how the quilt she and Grandma have made holds all these memories in its patches.
Children will enjoy the happy, warm feelings from this story, including the beautiful pictures of the family spending time with one another. This is a lovely, heartwarming story.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

34 months - We only read this once during our last round of library books. It's a fairly long read with a touching story, sad at times too. I've always loved quilts and the stories they can tell. I didn't think Olivia was too interested in this book until I went to return it and she said she wanted to keep it longer.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have such warm childhood memories of this picture book and see much of my own mom and grandma in the characters in this story. I was happy to rediscover it in my research and once again explore the ways in which a family's history and affection for one another can be expressed through bringing together scraps of fabric.

[Candy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story of a grandma and her granddaughter! Very realistic. My granddaughter quilts with me, too!
The illustrations showed that link between generations. Excellent art work and story telling. I wanted that grandma to be my grandma, too.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet story of a young girl's efforts to help her grandmother finish a patchwork quilt. I like the family-centered message shared here.

[Diana S · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book, my granddaughter and I enjoyed very much. :)

[Megan Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Level: 3-5

Book Level: 3.7

Summary: The Patchwork Quilt is about a young girl, Tanya who desires to complete a family quilt that her grandmother had started before she fell ill. Each scrap of fabric tells a story about her family.

Genre: Multicultural Literature

Characteristics: This book describes how different pieces can come together to make something beautiful and describes the importance of family. It also add a different family dynamic with grandma living with her daughter and family.

Mentor Writing Traits:

IDEAS: Before you even read the first page, the title "Patchwork Quilt" gives you a hint at what they book is centered around. The theme is found throughout the book and is emphasized when grandmother becomes ill. As you read the story you can think back to worn out clothes and special items that were hard to throw away because of the meaning or memories behind it. This text and this trait could be used to guide instruction by having students draw on a special memory or moment with a family member and use the idea of "patching" together different ideas into on cohesive writing piece.

ORGANIZATION: The title of the story is the perfect introduction into the heart of the writing. It helps the reader to know what they will be reading about and keeps them reading to find out the story behind the patchwork quilt. This story is broken down into the different seasons to illustrate how long the quilt takes to make. It helps the reader transition from month to month. The story ends with the quilt being completed. Organization is for important students to learn because it will help with rhythm and the overall flow of the writing piece. I would use this story to demonstrate different ways transition can occur.

[Carmen Orsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Patchwork Quilt tells the story of a family coming together to make a masterpiece quilt. Tanya is a girl who is sick one day and unable to go play outside. She decides to go to her grandmother who is sitting by a window seal and working with a pile of scraps to make a quilt. When Tanya decides to help her with it, Grandma realizes they will need more materials to make it the best quilt ever. They gather materials from family members. From her brothers they take a square of Jim's old blue corduroy pants and a square of Ted's old blue and red shirt. They also take a square of Tanya's old halloween costume and Mama's gold dress. When Grandma gets sick, Tanya takes over working on the quilt, with help from Mama, Jim and Ted. Tanya realizes a piece of her grandmother is missing. She takes a square from her old quilt and adds it to the new quilt. Once Grandma is feeling better, she adds the final touches and determines their hard work is complete. She had delicately stitched "For Tanya from your Mama and Grandma" in the corner of the quilt.

I can see myself reading this book aloud in my future classroom. For early grades I would pair it with a fun activity of making a classroom quilt where each student contributed a square. At the start of the school year I would use this activity as a way for my students to get to know each other. Each student would receive a paper square with a spot for their name and a little information about them. For example you could have everyone list their birthday, favorite color, number of teeth lost, etc. They would decorate their square however they would like. When all of the squares were attached it would become a colorful creation to display in the classroom.

[Shayla Ware · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Patchwork Quilt is a picture book that was created for children age 6-9. The Patchwork Quilt received the Coretta Scott King Award. This book is about a family that creates a family heirloom as a quilt. They add scraps of each family members clothing and have everyone work together stitching and cutting. This is the true definition of team work and working as a family. I rated this book a 5 out of 5 because it brings you back to your childhood and spending time with your family and having no other worries in life. This book is an example of pure joy and love. The format of this book is not very hard to follow the wording is challenging for the age group that it is directed for but can be figured out easily. It is a more lengthy picture book and can be a transition between picture books and chapter cooks. The painting style the illustrator uses adds to the timeless look of this book and makes you feel more at home. The characters were a normal loving family with a grandmother that got sick during the story. When the grandmother got sick the family had to all work together to finish the quilt to bring up the grandmothers spirts. I do not think young readers would understand or like this book. However I do think this is a great book for families to read together. The story line will make anyone grateful for the family that they have and the time that they are able to spend together.

[Scarlett Graglia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary:
This story is about a grandmother making her granddaughter a quilt made out of scraps of cloth from meaningful different things. Some scrapes were collected from the brothers worn-out pants and the leftover cloth from a gold dress. The granddaughter wants to have the quilt finished within a week, but the grandmother teaches her that is takes time and hard work. The grandmother becomes ill, so the granddaughter picks up the quilt and starts working on it. The granddaughter and grandmother work diligently overtime to create a beautiful quilt. This is a gift that the granddaughter will definitely cherish for a lifetime.

Evaluation:
I loved this story. It taught the readers hard work and working together leads to something so special. It is a great story that shows such a strong bond between the family. It also shows a special tradition and how meaningful the quilt is based on all of the cloth collected over a period of time.

Teaching idea:
I think a great teaching idea would be to have each student in a classroom create their own patch. The teacher could print out patches and students to could draw, color, decorate however they wanted in their patch to represent them. Once everyone in the classroom finished their patch, the teacher could put all of the patches together on a something such as anchor chart paper and hang it up in the classroom. This "classroom quilt" could represent each student in the classroom and show the classroom culture.

[Bekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy is about a girl named Tanya and her family. One day, Tanya went over to her grandma, and she was cutting out pieces of cloth from old worn out clothes. When Tanya asked, the Grandma said she was making a quilt. Tanya was intrigued, and she started to help. The grandma told her it would take a long time, but that it would be a masterpiece. Time went by and they continued to work on the quilt. Eventually, the mother even started helping. The quilt was halfway done, but Grandma got sick. After Christmas, she had to go to the doctor. The quilt couldn't be worked on, but Tanya decided it had to be finished. So her and her momma continued to work on it to finish it for her grandma. Tanya cut the pieces and momma sewed them together. After a while, her brother even started helping. Grandma started to gain her strength back, and she was able to finish the quilt herself with all the family memories. In the end, when the quilt was finished, it was dedicated to Tanya, for all her hard work, from her momma and grandma.

I give this story a 5/5 stars. It was very heartwarming, full of family and love. It also brings appreciation to the memory of older things, and that something isn't old if it is worn out, that just means that it was full of love. The illusrations were beautiful, and the ending was great. Definitely for older kids because of the high word count.

[Abigail Bristow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Diverse Literature
Awards: Coretta Scott King Award Honor
Audience: I would recommend this book for grades 2nd-4/early 5th grade.

A. The African American culture is emphasized in this story as the main story revolves around an African American family and the various interactions they have as a tight knit family.
B. The culture of family and the art of quilt making is emphasized in this book as one of the main characters, Tanya, learns about and seeks to help her Grandma make a patchwork quilt. Tanya learns the value of remembering old memories through telling stories and remembering such things through making things such as a quilt to help remind oneself of them.
C. The author portrayed the culture in the story quite positively. She did so through displaying that the family unit was something to be cherished (evident through the close relationship Tanya and her Grandmother) and that the art of quilt making is a special way to remember and preserve sweet memories.
D. A question at the EVALUATE level of Blooms Taxonomy could be: “Decide for yourself, why did Grandma and Momma decide to give the patchwork quilt to Tanya?”
- Answer: They probably gave it to Tanya because she expressed a deep interest and excitement in learning the art of quilt making as well as understanding of the importance of a patchwork quilt.

[Jillian Johns]

The story is a realistic fiction, winner of the Coretta Scott King award for Illustrators and meant for children 10 and under. A multi-generational family lives together (grandmother, a married couple, and their children), the granddaughter especially close to her mother and grandmother. The grandmother begins a familial history quilt with the help of her daughter and granddaughter who end up finishing when the grandmother needs to recover from a strong illness. There are not fantastical elements to this story, just a chronological following of a year in this family’s life where this quilt is painstakingly made by hand. Though there is no fantasy, the realism endears the reader to the family through their happy moments and their tragedy. The realism extends to the artwork as well. The characters bring to light quilting as a way to preserve family history, highlighting one of few ways African Americans had to pass on information without the explicit use of words. It is not exactly mentioned why quilting was used in such a manner. Readers might find the process of recordkeeping quilting intriguing. A lesson tying together social studies/history and this book may hold students’ interest. Perhaps students would enjoy making a class quilt out of paper they’ve decorated to look like fabric or actual fabric.

[Dominique Gonzales]

Summary: Patchwork Quilt picture book is about a young girl who is helping her grandmother make a beautiful quilt. Magical thing about squirrel is that each patch represents a part of the grandmother's life that she has gone through. But as she grows older and it's hard for her to finish her quilt so her granddaughter Tanya stepped up to help me finish this wealth with the grandmother. This is a great book that represents the generations coming together through artwork and stories.

Personal Thoughts: This is a great picture book that I think every person should read from Grandmother to granddaughter and mother to daughter. This book I believe can bring people together as it represents families of all types and with all different stories. This is a book that I would want to read with my children in the future.

How I Will Use: I would like to use this book as a way to introduce an activity with my class We can eat straw on our own piece of fabric sew it together to make our own quilt. Each patch will represent our own lives and our own personalities as something we can all do together and use in the classroom.

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy, Illustrator Jerry Pinkney- Hindi language translation by Arvind Gupta- Children’s Illustrated Colour Picture Book- the book narrates the story of an Afro-American family who use old clothes of family members to design and prepare a Watch-work Quilt. This story is about a grandmother making her granddaughter Tanya, a quilt made out of scraps of cloth from meaningful different things. Some scrapes were collected from Tanya’s brother’s worn-out pants and the leftover cloth from a gold dress. The granddaughter wants to have the quilt finished within a week, but the grandmother teaches her that is takes time of one year and regular hard work. The grandmother becomes ill, so Tanya’s mother and Tanya pick up the quilt and starts working on it. The granddaughter, her mother and grandmother work diligently overtime to create a beautiful quilt. This is a gift by the grandmother, Mother to the e granddaughter Tanya which she will definitely cherish for a lifetime. Coloured illustrations help the reader to relate to the story. I have read the Hindi Language translation of this book.

[Kimberly Kimmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Patchwork Quilt is written by Valerie Flournoy and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. The genre of this book is historical fiction. The book is intended for children ages three through nine. This book won the Coretta Scott King Book Awards in 1986. It is about a grandmother and her granddaughter named Tanya. Grandma teaches Tanya all about quilts and then she falls ill. So Tanya and her mother started working on the quilt while the grandmother was in her bed getting better and building her strength back up. The grandmother got better and finished the quilt and the whole family looked back and the quilt and saw how it had pieces from each of them. I rated this book 4/5 stars because it has very good illustrations and a lot of colors in it. I like that this book teaches stability, womanhood, and how a piece of fabric can symbolize so much in a family. This book has a great plot, characters, and theme. This book is appealing to young readers because of the great illustrations. However, it can be kind of a long book for very young readers. I recommend this book.

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: This book goes over how a girl, Tanya, learns the traditions of her family by making a quilt with her grandmother. As her grandmother get sick, she is not able to continue making the quilt, so Tanya continues making it with her mother. Tanya is finally working on the quilt on her own, as her mother has to take care of her grandmother. Once February and March come along, the grandmother is feeling much better and she begins the finishing touches on the quilt.
Evaluation: I think this is a great story that depicts how important it is to keep traditions alive and the importance of perseverance. It reminds us that these traditions bring us closer as a family and help us connect to the older generations of our family.
Teaching Idea: This book could be used to teach about recycling. It could help teach students that with time, they could make art with what other people would consider trash.