The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

This is a story about a little girl and her grandmother bonding through the creation of a patchwork quilt. The story begins with a little girl named Tanya complaining that she was ready to get rid of her cold so that she could go outside to play. When her mother told her that she would just have to be patient she decided to go talk to her grandmother. She immediately notices her grandmother sitting in her favorite chair with little scraps of fabric all around. When she asks her grandma what she is going to do with all of the stuff her grandma tells her that she is going to make a patchwork quilt. Throughout the story the little girl and her mother work hard to help her grandmother complete the quilt. When her grandmother gets sick it is up to young Tanya to work to help finish the quilt for her grandma.

I absolutely loved this story because it reminded me of my grandmother and me when I was a little girl. I'll never forget the Sundays we spent together after church working on the doll quilt and pillow that she helped me make. We used scraps of a red and white blouse to make the little quilt for my favorite doll. I was always very close to my grandmother, but I can remember in those hours spent making that doll quilt and pillow we had some of the best conversations together. Maybe it was because I was excited and eager to make that the best quilt ever or maybe it was just simply because that was a time in my life when I began to really appreciate my grandma and loved hearing stories about her and her grandmother. I still have that little quilt and pillow today and I can honestly tell you that when I look at those pieces I realy do feel like they tell the story of my grandmother and me.

There are many books written to tell the relationship a young child can have with an elderly person. One story that comes to my head immediately is Mr. George Baker. This is a story about a young boy who sits on the porch and talks with an elderly man each day. The two develop a strong bond and Mr. George Baker helps to mold the little boy into the person that he will become. This story, like The Patchwork Quilt teaches children that some of the most memorable moments in their lives can be of the most simplistic times in their lives such as sitting on a porch talking with a loved one or making a quilt with a grandmother.

One thing that I learned from reading this book was that children's literature is an excellent way to not only teach underlying themes, but to also include culturally diverse characters and story plots to express this theme. Throughout this story the author does an excellent job at representing this particular family's traditions and cultural diversity through the language used throughout.