Picture Book 15

A.    Author: Bettye Stroud

B.     Title: The Patchwork Path: A Quilt Map to Freedom

C.     Illustrations: Erin Susanne Bennette

D.    Readability: 3.7

E.      Genre: Historical

F.      Subgenre:   Fiction

G.    Theme: Cultural Diversity

H.    Primary and secondary characters: Hannah

I.       Award(s) date of publication:  

J.       Publishing company: Candlewick Press

K.    ISBN number:0-7636-2423-3

L.     Brief summary: Hannah, a Georgia plantation slave, turned 10 and her mother taught her the trade of sewing patchwork quilts. Each square means something special, like secrets. Mama passed away shortly after Hannah got the trick of stitching down. The quilts made stories, stories of the bear paws trail and how to get to Canada, away from slavery. Hannah’s father told her to hang the monkey wrench quilt out, telling the other slaves that they were about to run! As they started to run, Hannah thinks she hears dogs barking. The finally come to a church on the edge of town. Hannah prayed she would be reborn as a free girl in Canada. By night Hannah and her father ran through a tunnel made by pirates. They would go hungry, or if they could catch fish her father would cook that for dinner, sometimes Hannah would get honey and bees would sting her.  As summer began Hannah and her father found a safe house to hide in, they gave them clean clothes and food. The next day a Quaker, hide them in his wagon, hidden under straw and blankets. The Quaker brought them all the way to Lake Erie. They drew a log cabin in the sand, someone will notice and bring a boat. A free black man saw them, gave them clothes that looked like Sunday’s best. As night fell, Hannah’s father rang a bell, they soon were on a riverboat, Hannah then saw Canada. She felt reborn. Hannah’s first winter was spent making a new quilt, it was made from old slave clothes and new fabric. It was a code, but a square was left empty. Hannah missed her sister and waited for her to join them.

M.   Description of how you would use the book with students: I would use this book  to talk about how creative African American’s had to be creative, to escape. I would ask my students to make a quilt about their life and display them in the classroom while we study this subject.