The Keeping Quilt

Polacco, P. (1988). The keeping quilt. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

This is a great book about customs and how families that come to America bring their culture and customs with them from their home country. The story is about Patricia's family's history in America and how they use they keep their culture with them. The weddings that take place throughout the book show how Patricia's family has kept their culture throughout the year but also how it has changed throughout the generations. On page 16 Patricia describes her great grandmother's wedding and how men and women danced seperately after the ceremony, then on page 32 she talks about her own wedding and how the women dance together.

Color is a key part of this book, being that on every page there is only one thing that is in color--the keeping quilt. The use of color draws the reader's attention to the quilt each time and allows the reader to see the many uses of the quilt.

The plot of the story is one that keeps the reader's attention because you want to know what the quilt is going to be used for next. Going from one generation from another and seeing how the quilt affects the family and how its uses can change due to time but in many cases, it stays the same because of their culture.

This book would be a great one for intermediate grades, especially in a school like mine. Almost a third of our school is ELL and a book like this is one that they might relate to. Many of my students talk about their Quincenera and love to explain it to the students who not know what it is. This book would be a great introduction to culture and leading my students into discussing things that they family does.

Big Question:

Does your family have a custom or item that has been passed down from generation to generation? Have the uses of this item changed throughout the years?