Using Quilts to Tell a Story and Show the Way

Using Quilts to Teach Life Lessons...or Show Way to freedom.

My grandmother used her sewing skills (and her old treadle sewing machine) to make quilts for her family. In her later years she was careful to craft a personalized quilt for each of her children and grandchildren. My gift quilt was constructed of fabric swatches from the polyester clothes popular during my teenage years. Every time I pick up that quilt, I see a new patch of cloth reminding me of grandmother or other family member. It is truly a personal treasure for me.

 

When I entered by doctoral program at the University of Memphis, I didn’t have much time to think about family or friends. Graduate programs can be 24/7 timetables that last for years. Even though I was absorbed in writing and research, my family was still thinking of me. Like my grandmother, a good friend was also talented with crafting quilts. She contacted every one of my family members, and friends near and far, to invite them to write a special greeting on a square of muslin sent to them through the U.S. mail. They wrote special words of encouragement, congratulations, and favorite Bible verses. My friend carefully and lovingly pulled all these pieces together for my graduation gift. My friend Judy wins the prize for the most unique and thoughtful gift of the century!.                                   


The quilt reminds me of Show Way (2005) by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Hudson Talbott. This Newbery Honor book is a picture storybook based on the lives of seven generations of young girls beginning during the time of the Emancipation Proclamation with the story thread following through to the 21st century. Woodson is one of my favorite authors because of her deep insight into human nature, motives, ambitions, good character, bad habits, and everything in between. As an African American author she is especially sensitive to the pains of enslaved people as well as the injustices of the 20th century.  Yet, she also writes of white children who suffer shunning and the pain of rejection (see Each Kindness). Her insights into the hearts of people make her a very gifted writer. Although Show Way is not a Caldecott book, it wins the Dr. Brown award for one of the most enthralling picture books in my home library. It is one of those picture books that draws you into the story in ways from which you cannot escape until you turn to the last page. Show Way is available in Joyner Library and in most public libraries in North Carolina. It is listed in Juvenile Fiction with vocabulary suitable for grades K-3, however the story would be suitable for preschool children through adults. It is published by Putnam’s a Division of Penguin Books. Do yourself a favor and read Show Way.

 

 

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