THE PATCHWORK QUILT

 THE PATCHWORK QUILT

by Valerie Flournoy

Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

Image credit: www.penguinrandomhouse.com

1. Bibliography

Flournoy, Valerie. 1985. The Patchwork Quilt. Ill. by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0803700989

2. Plot Summary

This story begins with young Tanya asking her grandmother about the fabric scraps she has gathered and cut into squares.  Tanya learns that her grandmother will be making a patchwork quilt.  Grandma carefully cuts patches from her grandson's pants, her granddaughter's Halloween costume and her daughter's Christmas dress as she explains to Tanya that "A quilt won't forget. It can tell your life story."  Throughout the year, Grandma and Mama work together on the quilt.  After Christmas, Grandma falls ill and Tanya begins to help her mother finish the quilt and even her brothers join in to cut out patches.  Finally, Tanya adds squares from her Grandma's old, worn quilt, because she felt one family member was missing from the new quilt.  By the time Grandma begins to feel better, it is time to put the finishing touches on the quilt and the family gives the beautiful quilt to Tanya.   

3. Critical Analysis

This story portrays the bond of family as a young girl and her grandmother begin to work together on a patchwork quilt, and eventually the whole family is participating.  The theme of family is often seen in African American literature and this story is no different.  It clearly depicts the closeness and support that this family provides for each other.  The family is unique as the Grandma lives in her daughter's home and is part of the immediate family.  She is involved in the lives of her grand children and teaches Tanya how to quilt, as well as the value of hard work. The importance of family is evident when Grandma is sick in bed, the family rallies around her until she is able to return to her "chair by the window".

Pinkney's illustrations, done in pencil, graphite, and watercolors, beautifully depict the warmth of the family.   The softness of the watercolors suit the story well without overwhelming the many tender moments shared between Grandma and her family members.  Pinkney uses varying shades of brown to show the diversity of skin tones among the African American characters.  Pinkney uses brighter hues to color the quilt itself; this is shown toward the end of the story when the whole family gathers around the quilt to admire its beauty and reflect on the memories it evokes.  Although the characters are clearly African American in the illustrations, the bond of the strong, inter generational family in this story would resonate with readers from a variety of backgrounds.    

4. Review Excerpts and Awards

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE COMPREHENSIVE DATABASE (1985) "Essential qualities of family--love, cooperation, diversity, and responsibility are woven through a tender story centered on the construction of a quilt."

BOOKBIRD REVIEWS (1985) "With subtle touches of individuality in dress, physical features and hairstyles and signs of comfortable domesticity, Pinkney has created a family that is believable and that exudes strength and unity through three generations."

Christopher Award, 1986
Coretta Scott King Book Award Winner, 1986

Ezra Jack Keats Book Award Winner, 1986

5. Connections

• The Patchwork Quilt presents the idea that each member of the family is important as they each have patches in the quilt.  This story could be read aloud in a classroom and the follow up discussion could be about classroom community.  Then, the students would participate in an activity to create a "quilt" with each child contributing a paper patch and tying the patches together with yarn.
• This story could be compared and contrasted with other "quilt stories", such as Patricia Polacco's The Keeping Quilt or Jacqueline Woodson's Show Way.  Is this quilt just as important? 
• This book could be used as a mentor text for a writing unit on personal narrative stories.