The Patchwork Path: A Quilt Map to Freedom by Bettye Stroud is a wonderful way to learn about the ingenuity and creativity of folks who risked all to be free.
This story begins when little Hannah is just ten years old. She and her family were slaves on a Georgia plantation. Hannah's mama is teaching her to sew and shares a special secret. Each square in the quilt they are sewing has a secret meaning. This inspiring and adventursome tale follows Hannah and her father through trying times as they loose both Hannah's mother and her sister in seperate tragedies. Hungering for a life of freedom, Hannah and her father slip away one stormy night in a daring journey towards freedom. The map they follow is none other than the one Hannah and her mother had sewn.
This book is exceptionally written and beautifully illustrated. I recommend it for perhaps 2nd grade and up simply due to the sorrowful/difficult content. (Hannah's sister is sold to another slave-owner and her mother passes away due to illness and a "broken heart.") I didn't read this one to Gracie, thinking it a bit too much for her age right now. (She's only just turned five.) But it will most definitely be on our reading list for later.
Unit Study Ideas
Underground Railroad
Freedom Quilts
Quilting in general -make a paper quilt...or if you are so inclined, a real one!
Character Qualities - Hope, Determination/Perseverance...despite sorrow and difficulty
Geography - Georgia to Canada...follow the quilt path.Life and times of the mid 1800's
Quakers
No comments:
Post a Comment
Creaky gate? Noisy Gong? Nope...I know your words will be thoughtful and kind! Thanks for taking the time to comment!