The Keeping Quilt

Summary:
This is the true story of Patricia Polacco's family "keeping quilt." Her great grandmother brought this quilt to America when she immigrated from Russia. The story of the quilt is that it has played many roles in her family's life. Sometimes it was used as a table cloth, or as a quilt or as a scarf. The quilt was changed many times through its life and new stitches, fabric and pictures were added. By the end of the story Patricia leaves us with her wrapping her own daughter in the quilt. The quilt still exists today.


About the Author: Patricia Polacco
Polacco was born in Michigan and studied Fine Arts and Art History in college. Although Polacco does write children's books, her emphasis is on storytelling. Storytelling is in her culture and she believes story telling is the best way to engage children. She currently lives in Michigan and does make appearances at schools.


Theme/Skill: Non-Fiction, Storytelling, Multi-cultural, Family
Grade Level: K-6

Pre-Reading Activity:
Introduce the word "heirloom" to the students. They probably have their own family heirlooms but never knew the actual meaning of it.

Post-Reading Activity:
After discussing the definition of "hierloom" and reading the story, ask the students to reflect and write about what they would want to pass onto their children.

Reflection:
Having heard Ms. Polacco tell this story in real life, and to have seen the quilt is not easy to describe. Her storytelling skills are excellent and for an older woman she can project that voice and give so much character to a story. This story helps emphasize how important family can be to a person.