The Keeping Quilt

1. Author: Patricia Polacco
2. Title: The Keeping Quilt
3. Illustrator: Not Stated
4. Genre: Fiction
5. Subgenre: Family history
6. Theme: One thing can glue generations together.
7. Primary Characters: Anna, Patricia
8. Secondary Characters: Carle, Sasha, George, Mary Ellen
9. Award/Date: None/1988
10. Publisher: Simon and Schuster
11. Summary: A Russian girl, Anna, decides to move to the United States in New York City. While here as a young girl, she decides to take a dress and her babushka and create a quilt with the other women from her family and neighbors. This quilt passes from Anna, to Carle, to Mary Ellen, and finally to the author, Patricia. The story follows how this quilt helped bring comfort to each family member and follows the changes that are seen as time passes.
12. How Used: This story can help children to see the importance of family heirlooms, especially to people from other countries. It can reveal how some of the simplest things can help people cope with no longer being in their home countries. This is a great book to expose children to other cultures.