Pieces: A Year in Poems & Quilts

by Anna Grossnickle Hines

Pieces of the seasons
appear and disappear
in a patchwork pattern
making up a year.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens, Crafts

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great! Wow! Short Poems set over small, original quilts made by the author. What an amazing combination of creativity. The last two pages are an explanation by the author. This books lifted my spirits. I read it before bed on some nights. Refreshing. Thank you to the author for such a fine piece of work in so many ways. What a treasure for you and your family to have. Anyone who enjoys quilting, poetry and being creative will enjoy this book.

[Selina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a delightful read with the preschoolers. I think my big girls would enjoy it too, but i haven't introduced it yet. The 4 year old's favorite quote: "some skip-a-dip bippity floppity flippity toppity tippity plippity down. and some just drop flop." talking about leaves falling in autumn. Warms my heart to hear him giggle when we read that part.

[Rosabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really fantastic. I love books where poetry and art meet, but this was more than that--each quilt featured was made by the author. It was more like poetry inspires art and art inspires poetry at the same time. Beautiful.

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poems are short reflections on nature that would make solid introductions to poetry, while the images are fantastic. They managed to capture the depth of stitch and color, and it's wonderful to see the story behind the book, too, at the end.

[Brittney Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

My love of quilts became stronger and the peoms spoke to me in a way poetry has never done.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The quilts are really pretty. The detail is amazing. The poems match the quilts.

[Ariadne Acosta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because it had several poems about the different seasons.

[Kris Dersch · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's such a great idea but I actually like the poetry in the winter book better. The best part of this one is the back matter where she talks about her process, which is fabulous.

[RSter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely.

[Mary Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was as inspired by the quilts as I was the poetry!

[Kate Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this book of poetry! It filled my heart. It also gave me an appreciation for quilting as an art form. It sparked an interest in trying my hand at quilting.

[Shellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book because of the other one I recently read by her ( #69 a few books ago).
Her quilts are so unique and fun, and the poetry is equally enchanting.

[Oak · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poems and quilts are enjoyable. Nice poems to mark the turning of the seasons.

[Danielle Woolard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poems are a lot of fun and the quilts are amazing and beautiful. I smiled the whole time I had the book open. The book itself is art and I think it is very cool.

[Rachel Rosenthal]

Summary-This book of poetry was great it had poems for all different times of the year along with different seasons. The patterns in the book were well done and interesting.

Evaluation- I thought this was a good book of poetry that would really work well with all ages of students. These poems did not really create any form of emotion or have a use for our five senses.


Teaching ideas- This book would be great to use to teach children poetry. It was youthful and used kid-friendly language.

[Rocio Martin]

Hines, A. G. (2001). Pieces: A year in poems & quilts. New York: HarperCollins Children’s Books.
Review (from School Library Journal – found on slj.com): Gr 1-4-Hines has illustrated her mostly free-verse poems about the seasons with quilts. The selections, which describe weather, gardens, and animals, are set against her patchwork designs. The fabric art, done in a broad range of colors, are mostly representational, picturing animals and landscapes. While a few are striking, those that depend on a fabric's print or the quilting pattern come across flatly in reproduction. The poems are nicely descriptive, but not distinguished. The most interesting part for readers may be the two pages at the end that describe the quilting process, with a short bibliography. The quilts in the book are Hines's first, and took her several years to complete. They will certainly inspire young quilters or artists to try something similar, but as a collection of illustrated poems, Pieces fails to stand out.-Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Recommendation: This would be an excellent book to have in all elementary school libraries and classroom. It has many different types of poem and the quilt designs that accompany them make for a unique poem collection. I would recommend this book to both teachers and students. It could be use during reading and writing lessons that deal with poetry. It could also be used during science lessons to discuss the different seasons
Grade: 2nd – 6th
Awards: 2002 winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award

[Brittni Hover]

This is a wonderful book that includes 20 different poems about the seasons. There are different quilts on all pages. The pictures in this story are amazing. The poems are all short, easy, and fun to read for all ages. This book has many different text traits in it with two being sentence fluency and word choice. The word choice is great and allows it to visualize exactly what it is saying. It lets your mind wander and visualize it all. This book could be used when students are learning about poetry. This could also be a class project where the students all make a poetry quilt together. This book is a 4.2 level.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of meeting Anna Grossnickle Hines this summer at a conference. She's such a sweet person. I love her...she has been a writer and illustrator for years but she still has a purity and passion for her craft that I admire. This is my favorite of her books. She made all of the tiny quilts by hand!!! And the poems are truly masterful...they're like great jazz, mellow and so sweet you don't want them to end.

[Bridget R. Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

With beautiful poems and quilts, the author takes us through the four seasons.

What I thought: The poems are lyrical, thoughtful, and at times, surprising. The quilts are intricate, fantastic, and just right for the poems. My favorite poems are "In March," "Misplaced," "To Each His Own," "Pageantry," and "Silhouettes."

See also Winter Lights: A Season in Poems and Quilts (2005) where Hines celebrates winter and all its holidays. My favorite poem in that collection is "Fireplace."

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another nice collection of poetry where there is an underlying theme of quilting. I think this one might be the first one. She talks at the end about how her mother got her into quilting accidentally. It was kind of a funny story. She also describes some of the stitches that she practiced. I liked the book. It was alright. I'm not really all that interested in quilting and poetry isn't my forte either, but this wasn't bad.

[Sydney Hall]

I saw this book of poems at a yard sale and knew I had to get it. My favorite part about this book is the quilt illustrations. It reminded me of Faith Ringgold, the African-American artist who did a lot of fabric and quilting. I think this would be a great supplementary text to use for a unit on poetry or on Faith and her work as a Civil Rights activist. A lot of the poems in this book are about nature and particular birds.

[Debbie Hayes-miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of poems about nature and the differnet seasons was very unique because the poems were set against a backdrop of beautiful quilts handmade by the author. The poems were descripitve and used various elements of figurative language.

[Kate Hastings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful collection of poems that mesh perfectly with the custom-designed quilts prepared by the author.

[Chanel Earl]

A fun book of poetry for kids.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

The light-hearted poetry in this book creates beautiful, playful,and seasonal images that children and adults will truly appreciate.

[Joella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must admit, I started reading this book...then I got so caught up in looking at the pictures of the quilts that I forgot to read the poems. Fun quilts though!

[Jennifer Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book of quilted poems:)

[Tsuyu Ko · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book's illustration is AWESOME! they are not painting pictures, they are fabrics! The patterns are so unique. Each page has a short poem. Each poem relates to seasons. Great book!

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful quilts, nice poetry across the seasons. Very talented quilting poet!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her poems are lovely descriptions that complement her beautiful quilts. This book is the result of a labor of love. My favorite poem is "Good Heavens."