From Publishers Weekly
This 10th-anniversary edition of Polacco's family story about a quilt made from an immigrant Jewish family's clothing from their Russian homeland "adds a few squares to the original story with expanded text and art," noted PW. Ages 4-8. (May) Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2 Polacco's first-person voice moves her narrative forward gracefully from the time when her Great-Gramma Anna came to America during the last century to the present. Richly detailed charcoal drawings fill the pages of this beautifully conceived book. Particularly striking are the faces of the Russian Jewish immigrant families who people the pages. The only color used is in the babushka and dress of Great-Gramma Anna, which become part of a brightly hued quilt. Following that quilt through four generations is the basis of this account. Customs and fashions change, but family is constant, visually linked by the ``keeping quilt.'' Children will be fascinated by the various uses to which the quilt is put, although some of those uses make one wonder how its ``like-new'' shape was maintained. That stretch of the imagination is gentle, however, and does not mar the story. Readers who notice that the author and the narrator share the same name may realize that this lovely story is true; that should make it even more appealing. Lee Bock, Brown County Public Libraries, Green Bay, Wis.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Review
Booklist Useful for the sense of history it presents to young viewers (especially in discussions of geneaology), this tale also carries a warm message on the meaning of family...


Book Description
"We will make a quilt to help us always remember home," Anna's mother said. "It will be like heaving the family in backhome Russia dance around us at night. And so it was. From a basket of old clothes, Anna's babushka, Uncle Vladimir's shirt, Aunt Havalah's nightdress and an apron of Aunt Natasha's become The Keeping Quilt, passed along from mother to daughter for almost a century. For four generations the quilt is a Sabbath tablecloth, a wedding canopy, and a blanket that welcomes babies warmly into the world. In strongly moving pictures that are as heartwarming as they are real, patricia Polacco tells the story of her own family, and the quilt that remains a symbol of their enduring love and faith.


Language Notes
Text: Spanish (translation)
Original Language: English


Card catalog description
A homemade quilt ties together the lives of four generations of an immigrant Jewish family, remaining a symbol of their enduring love and faith.


About the Author
Patricia Polacco comes from a family of storytellers, poets, dirt farmers, teachers and artists. They came from many parts of the world, but mainly Russia. She grew up to be an illustrator, a designer, and a writer of children's books. She now lives in Oakland, California with her husband and two children, and she is the present caretaker of the quilt.

ANNOTATION

A homemade quilt ties together the lives of four generations of an immigrant Jewish family, remaining a symbol of their enduring love and faith.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"We will make a quilt to help us always remember home," Anna's mother said. "It will be like heaving the family in backhome Russia dance around us at night.

And so it was. From a basket of old clothes, Anna's babushka, Uncle Vladimir's shirt, Aunt Havalah's nightdress and an apron of Aunt Natasha's become The Keeping Quilt, passed along from mother to daughter for almost a century. For four generations the quilt is a Sabbath tablecloth, a wedding canopy, and a blanket that welcomes babies warmly into the world.

In strongly moving pictures that are as heartwarming as they are real, patricia Polacco tells the story of her own family, and the quilt that remains a symbol of their enduring love and faith.

FROM THE CRITICS

School Library Journal

(PreS - Gr. 2) Polacco's first-person voice moves her narrative forward gracefully from the time when her Great-Gramma Anna came to America during the last century to the present. Richly detailed charcoal drawings fill the pages of this beautifully conceived book. Particularly striking are the faces of the Russian Jewish immigrant families who people the pages. The only color used is in the babushka and dress of Great-Gramma Anna, which become part of a brightly hued quilt. Following that quilt through four generations is the basis of this account. Customs and fashions change, but family is constant, visually linked by the "keeping quilt.'' Children will be fascinated by the various uses to which the quilt is put, although some of those uses make one wonder how its "like-new'' shape was maintained. That stretch of the imagination is gentle, however, and does not mar the story. Readers who notice that the author and the narrator share the same name may realize that this lovely story is true; that should make it even more appealing. -- Lee Bock, Brown County Public Libraries, Green Bay, Wis.

School Library Journal