Title: The Keeping Quilt
Author: Patricia Polacco
Illustrator: Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Aladdin; May 1, 2001
Suitable for: 4 - 8
Themes/Topics: Quilts, Jews, Emigration and Immigration, Family Heirlooms, Family Traditions.
Opening:
When my Great-Gramma Anna came to America, she wore the same thick overcoat and big boots she had worn for farm work. But her family weren’t dirt farmers anymore.
Book Summary:
"We will make a quilt to help us always remember home," Anna's mother said. "It will be like heaving the family in back home 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.
Links to resources:
Carol Hurst has a wonderful list of activities and discussions points on her blog Find a wonderful online quiz here. Find more lesson ideas here.
Why I like this book:
Patricia Polacco does an excellent job telling the tale of how her family heirloom, a quilt, was made and its history throughout the generations. It was a very touching story! I loved reading and watching the generations continue the tradition of passing on the quilt and how the marriage custom evolved keeping some of the same traditions but adding others to it. It was so beautiful! I think homemade heirlooms are a really neat way to pass along family traditions and history. Now I want to make a keeping quilt! 
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