Classroom Connections--Quilt
Classroom Connections--Quilts
by Mary Lou Burket
These are the introductory paragraphs to a bibliography of children's
books about quilts published in Book Links, May 1991, p. 24-27.
Quilts are versatile. The ways they are used, the stories they tell,
and the varieties of design are probably infinite. Quilts may be linked
in our minds with pioneers, but they have a place in American life that
is broader than that. To be sure, they have almost always reflected the
skill and artistry of women, but women have made quilts in an array of
settings, for many different reasons.
Children's books depicting quilts are as diverse in theme as the patterns
they display. They show the ties between generations (Patricia Polacco's
The Keeping Quilt),
the pleasure of preserving and sharing the past (Sylvia Fair's The
Bedspread), and the value of making something new from something
old and tattered (Craig Brown's The Patchwork Farmer).
They also depict a variety of cultures (Ann Grifalconi's Osa's Pride, Faith Ringgold's
Tar Beach, and Arthur
Dorros' Tonight is
Carnaval) and more than a few quilting men (Lisa Campbell
Ernst's Sam Johnson and the Blue
Ribbon Quilt). For all of these reasons, books about quilts belong in
homes and classrooms.
Return to Quilts, Quilters, and Quilting
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Last updated April 21, 1998