(2) PS A community comes together to craft a quilt in this joyful story of intergenerational friendship, creativity, and hope. On Fridays, a diverse group of children and adults gathers at the community center. "Together in pairs," each child and their older and experienced quilter friend work side-by-side through the quilt-making process. They trace, cut, arrange, and stitch their individual patchwork squares, while "Nakia works on one blue square," a peace sign that becomes the quilt's centerpiece. A handprint border is designed, and then for "many, many Fridays" (because "it takes a long time to quilt the quilt") they sit together sharing stories as they stitch everything together. Scans of fabric are interwoven into Rockwell's warm watercolor and ink illustrations, adding texture and veracity. Basic quilting tools and steps are seamlessly interspersed throughout the narrative, contributing information without overshadowing or disrupting the story’s natural rhythm. Readers will be delighted to see the illustrations come to life in the appended author's note with photographs of the real-life club and quilt that inspired the book. Like pieces of a patchwork quilt, story and fact come together, reflecting the joy of a journey and the beauty of community friendship.

Reviewer: Emmie Stuart | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020

(2) K-3 Illustrated by April Harrison. Although her grandmother, Nana Akua, is her "favorite person in the whole universe," young Zura is not excited about the upcoming Grandparents Day at school. She thinks about others' reactions when people notice the marks on her grandmother's face--a tradition from her Akan culture of Ghana--and worries that her classmates will laugh or be mean. But Nana Akua has an idea. When she comes to school with Zura, they bring Zura's quilt, covered in Adinkra symbols. Nana Akua uses them to explain the importance of the tradition that she wears on her face--and she invites the class and grandparents to paint Adinkra symbols on their faces, too. Walker's text is appropriately detailed and uses simple language to express the deepest concerns and observations of a child. The closeness of Zura's family and the camaraderie within her diverse classroom are aspirational and touching. Harrison's mixed-media collages use texture, line, and both neutral and bright colors to create memorable characters and moments that invite readers to linger over each spread. Here is a story that is both highly specific in the culture represented and universal in its expressions of emotion and heritage. Adinkra symbols, with their names, pronunciations, and meanings, adorn the end pages, and a glossary and a short list of print and online resources extend the exploration.

Reviewer: Autumn Allen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

(2) 4-6 Rubin provides a warm and fascinating look at both the contemporary and historical women of Gee's Bend, Alabama, a community settled by freed slaves in about 1845. The women of Gee's Bend were always quilters and passed their skill down to their children. First-person interviews with the women provide an intimate look at their art and community. Lush photographs accompany the text; especially beautiful are the many pictures of quilts. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2017

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Sylvie Daigneault. A woman magically weaves memories, feelings, and sensations into cloth and makes an exquisite dress. Piece by piece, she removes those vital, unique parts to satisfy a local merchant's limited vision; when the weaver's children create a beautiful quilt from the discarded pieces, everyone wants one. With soft, lovely illustrations, this folkloric-feeling original story emphasizes staying true to one's creativity. Quilting ideas are appended.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Birds' nests and quilting are two ideas brought together in this story of a family's preparations for a new baby. To help the family "nest," Maya, who loves birdwatching, makes a small quilt with a geometric birds'-nest design for her new brother. Appropriately, fabric collages are integrated into the book's homey illustrations. Instructions for sewing a small quilt are included.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton. Born into slavery, Harriet Powers grew up to produce "story quilts" that garnered the attention of post–Civil War collectors. This accessible biography introduces readers to Powers's work and to the struggles faced by slaves before and after the war. Text boxes extend the narrative, as do Brantley-Newton's engaging illustrations. Images of Powers's quilts are featured on the endpapers. Bib.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(3) 4-6 In the Appalachian Mountains in 1908, eight-year-old Minna longs to go to school, but her family can't afford a warm coat for her commute. After Papa dies from black lung, local quilter women offer to put together a patchwork coat for Minna. Accompanied by pencil drawings, the gentle, affecting narrative (an expansion of Mills's picture book The Rag Coat) is enriched with details of Appalachian traditions.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) K-3 The original edition of this fictionalized memoir ended with Polacco holding her first-born daughter. In 1998 she seamlessly added pages showing her two children using the quilt as their ancestors did--during play and to commemorate important family occasions. This twenty-fifth-anniversary expanded version includes fifteen pages of new life-change events, including deaths and weddings, and details about what happened to the original quilt.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) 4-6 Emmy Blue is only ten when her father announces that they'll be leaving Illinois to travel in a covered wagon to Golden, Colorado. As a gift, her grandmother gives her a bag of fabric pieces to make her first quilt. As she walks and quilts, Emmy faces the dangers of the trail and makes her own journey toward womanhood. This engaging tale is based on a true story.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Consie Powell. Comparing nature to a patchwork quilt with "many different habitats all pieced together to create our wonderful planet," this book features animals and plants from different ecosystems and introduces terms like interdependence, domestication, and camouflage. Detailed illustrations effectively use geometric shapes in a patchwork pattern; vignettes frame a central image in colorful if static compositions. Additional information is appended.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(2) K-3 Karla loves her quilt, Mooshka, made by her grandmother. Mooshka tells Karla the family stories behind each piece of fabric but goes silent when Karla's baby sister is born. Karla eventually learns to comfort her sister by telling the stories Mooshka once told. Paschkis's vibrant black-outlined illustrations are set within frames of patchwork in this unique, welcome addition to the new-baby genre.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2012

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Michele Wood. Grady crafts her fourteen poems to honor the art of quiltmaking. Pieces recall quilt squares by using ten lines of ten syllables each. Working in intensely hued acrylics, Wood bases her quilt-shaped designs on the patterns that give the poems their titles, incorporating forms into carefully composed scenes inhabited by heroic, emotion-charged figures. Author's and illustrator's notes are appended. Reading list.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2012

(3) K-3 In twenty-eight poems of various formats, Hines looks at peace from many angles. Her imagery is inventive--"Season with forgiveness. / Simmer in a sauce of respect"--and she uses words sparingly: the poem "Peace Is" simply states, "when all / of them / are us." Intricate quilts illustrating the verses are, in equal measure, soothing and elegant. Brief bios of famous "peacemakers" are appended.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(3) 4-6 Eliza, a young slave, follows Harriet Tubman's call to freedom. On the journey North, she brings with her a story quilt crafted by her mother, raising the spirits of her fellow travelers by relating the quilt's tales of strength, courage, and wisdom. Nolen gracefully conveys the desperation, determination, and steadfastness of fugitive slaves traveling along the Underground Railroad. Websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Juliet S. King

(2) K-3 Illustrated by John Holyfield. Alex asks Miz Pettway why a mule, Belle, is allowed to eat collards from her garden. Turns out Belle is a civil rights hero who helped transport African Americans to vote; she also pulled the wagon holding Dr. King's coffin through the streets of Atlanta. Soft acrylics, textured to look antiqued, are effective in illustrating this little-known true story of the civil rights movement.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2011

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Gary Palmer. When pipes burst at school, most of the books and supplies are ruined. Teacher Miss Anderson donates her handkerchief collection, and the community comes together to make a quilt and raise money. The tale is based on true events (Miss Anderson is modeled after the author's mother), and Crane's writing is earnest but bland. Palmer's illustrations, though static, are warm-hearted.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) 4-6 Ten-year-old Ludelphia Bennett lives in an obscure pocket of Alabama called Gee's Bend. After her mother becomes gravely ill, Ludelphia decides to leave home for the first time, encountering unexpected dangers in search of medicine. Based on firsthand accounts of a 1932 raid on Gee's Bend, Latham's gripping story benefits from her eye for detail and Ludelphia's compelling narration.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) K-3 The original edition of this fictionalized memoir, published in 1988, ended with Polacco holding her first-born daughter. In 1998 she seamlessly added pages showing her two children using the quilt as their ancestors did--during play and to commemorate important family occasions. This paper-over-board edition of the expanded version of Polacco's story is notable for its bargain price.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(4) 4-6 Brixton Brothers series. Illustrated by Adam Rex. Twelve-year-old Steve Brixton loves detective stories. After picking up a library book full of the nation's secrets, he suddenly finds himself in the middle of a mystery, and everyone thinks he's the villain. The characters are a little one-note (Rex's digital illustrations help round them out), but the story's action and humor should propel reluctant readers.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera. A mother entrusts her daughter to those who will help her escape slavery. Frightened and sad, the girl is comforted by her mother's quilt, embedded with hidden messages of strength and love. The text conveys the pathos of slavery and one family's desperate quest for freedom. Atmospheric acrylic paint and textile collages extend the narrative. Reading list.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith