A few weeks ago, I discovered The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy on Doing Good Together’s Books & Websites page for families. I was looking for a good book to help the girls empathize with our Meals on Wheels recipients, or at least illustrate inter-generational connections.

The Patchwork Quilt was the perfect book for us. My daughters have a great-grandmother who is an avid quilter and a grandmother that does more than her share of sewing. When each girl was born, she was gifted a treasured pile of quilts from the many older women who still quilt in my hometown.

On a chilly fall day, the girls and I snuggled under our own homemade quilts to read this story about a  young girl and her aging grandmother who work together to assemble a patchwork quilt that tells the story of their whole family. When her grandmother gets sick part way through the project, Tanya herself takes the lead to make the quilt great.

I won’t lie. This is not a favorite in our house. It is not one of their much beloved, go-to books that gets drug from room to room to playhouse to kitchen table.

In fact, it might be a bit text-heavy for Little Miss Three, and Miss Kindergarten has fallen in love with more adventuresome books, making The Patchwork Quilt seem rather simple and straightforward by comparison.

When I select it, though, they both enjoy it.  They are quieted by the stories rhythm. They worry for the grandmother. They are both impressed by the little girl working so hard on the quilt herself.

I cobbled together a few discussion questions to follow up the story (feel free to share any others if you have read this book too!):

• What was your favorite part about this book?
• My favorite part was when Grandma said, “A quilt won’t forget. It can tell your life story.” Do you remember how the quilt told the story for that family?
• How does Tanya feel when her Grandmother gets sick? What does she do to try to help?

We even took some time to look at their beautiful baby quilts and at an old quilt of mine, a Gladys quilt. In my family a “Gladys”" quilt has powerful name brand recognition. I told them stories about my Great Aunt Gladys and the quilts she made.We imagined where some of her squares might have come from.

The Patchwork Quilt is a beautiful, simple story about family and hope and persistence. It brings to life a loving relationship between a young girl and her aging grandmother. Better yet, the beauty of that bond, and of the quilt, really made an impact on Miss Kindergarten.

When we were visiting her grandparents this weekend, Miss Kindergarten asked her (quite youthful) grandmother if they could sew a quilt together. She wants to make a quilt for her sister for Christmas, and her grandmother the seamstress is more than happy to help.

Tags: Children's Books

About Sarah

Sarah Aadland is striving to make family volunteering a meaningful habit for her family of five. Join the conversation as she ponders what they may (or may not have) learned and looks for helpful information about raising compassionate kids.Though she plans to one day put her Masters in Public Policy back to work for social justice, she sees family volunteering as a way to build a stronger community, a better world, and a more connected family. In addition to her children, Sarah tends a large garden, a small flock of chickens, and a habit of mindfulness amid the necessary rituals of parenting.

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