Polacco captivated the audience with the tale of this quilt, interjecting how her grandmother had made her memorize the name of each person whose garment was represented on the quilt. The Keeping Quilt was honored with the Sydney Taylor Award from the Association of Jewish Libraries.ĭeKalb County educators were treated to a keynote address by Polacco at the 2005 in-service. The composition of the story also depicts the changes in Judaism as it has made adaptations to its traditional ceremonies. Young readers will also assimilate the meanings of new words associated with Jewish culture, babushka, challah, huppah, and kulich. Choosing to use color only for the quilt also allows it to remain the focal point throughout the story âÛ' in text and imagery.Ĭhildren, aged kindergarten and up, will enjoy this classic tale of one family's legacy, the quilt, and the traditions in their lives that were observed from generation to generation. The sepia images, contrasted with the vivid colors of the quilt, lend a timeless quality to the book. Polacco illustrated the 30 pages of text with sepia images of her ancestors as they used the quilt for important milestones throughout their lives. The story is a beautiful tale of a family's legacy both in text and in illustration. Polacco details the various uses of the quilt âÛ' the wedding huppah, a new baby's blanket, a tablecloth for birthday celebrations, and in child's play as a tent or a cape. Polacco is the current keeper of the quilt. The quilt becomes a legacy that is passed on to women in the family for the next four generations. One illustration depicts the women working cooperatively to create the quilt.

''We will make a quilt to help us always remember home,' Anna's mother said, `It will be like having the family in backhome Russia dance around us at night.'' Anna's mother invites her neighbors to help her cut out the pieces of the quilt and stitch it together. In The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco, the young immigrant's mother preserves her family's Russian heritage on a quilt that she makes from her daughter's babushka, an outgrown dress, and articles of clothing from various family members. A young Russian immigrant, Anna, arrives in the United States where she discovers an unfamiliar hurried pace of life and a language she doesn't understand.

The keeping quilt story