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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkins,
By Stacy Shinovich (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt (Paperback)
This story is told through the eyes of a young slave named Clara. Clara was taken from her mama, so when she arrives at the new plantation a woman named Rachel befriends her. Aunt Rachel, as she becomes known, notices that Clara is not enjoying working in the cotton fields. Aunt Rachel teaches Clara how to sew and Clara eventually starts working in the Big House. While working in the Big House she pays close atttention to the others as they talk and describe the areas around the plantation. Clara secretly goes every night and works on the quilt made of the scraps from the Big House. Clara makes a beautiful quilt in hopes that it will help her and others escape to freedom. Read more to find out what happens to Clara and the others. The illustrations in this story showed how the people of that time period looked, dressed, and worked. Ransome's illustrations enhanced Hopkins' delightful story of Clara and the quilt. The author and illustrator accurately portray specific cultures and customs of the ethnic situation. Overall, this was a delightful story to add to any classroom discussion on the topic of freedom and slaves.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A tale not often heard,
By
This review is from: Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt (Paperback)
A small quibble before I sink into utter praise. The cover of this book depicts the aforemention sweet Clara and her sweetheart as they run joyfully through the fields. To freedom. Running joyfully, mind you, away from the slave plantation in broad daylight. I'm not saying that there weren't a couple slaves here and there who felt complete and utter joy as they ran, but this scene is positively idyllic. Shouldn't they be afraid of getting caught? Then again, maybe it's just representing the feeling that accompanies such flight, rather than sticking to the strict facts of the matter. In any case, I began off point and I'm bound to wander off point unless I pull myself up and mosey on over the actual point. Ahem.
5.0 out of 5 stars
--This is a well written and very interesting story--,
By
This review is from: Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt (Paperback)
I discovered SWEET CLARA AND THE FREEDOM QUILT when I was doing a little research into the Underground Railroad. It has been a long-standing theory that patchwork quilts were used to help the enslaved people to escape by the encoded messages in the quilt patterns. This story is another take-off on that traditional idea.Clara, a slave girl under the age of twelve, was sent away from her mother to another plantation to work in the fields and pick cotton. She makes friends with Young Jack who sees that she's unhappy and not eating and advises her that she must eat to have the strength to be a field worker. Clara now shares a cabin with an older woman, who is kind to her and though unrelated, is called Aunt Rachel. Aunt Rachel also sees that Clara may not be strong enough to be a field laborer, and over a period of time teaches Clara the art of sewing. Once she can learn to sew, she can work with Rachel at the Big House. Clara proves to be an apt pupil and eventually becomes a seamstress and goes to work for the mistress of the plantation. The sewing room is next to the kitchen so that Clara meets a lot of people who move around the countryside. She also hears stories about the Underground Railroad, which is a group of people who help slaves to escape. As Clara listens to the people talking, she begins to question them about the surrounding land and decides to make a map out of sewing scraps. Eventually the quilt map is completed and Clara and Jack are ready to leave the plantation and go north to find the Ohio River, and head for Canada. Since Clara had memorized the quilt map, she left it behind so that others could use it too, and escape to the North. The illustrations by James Ransome are excellent. The drawings are colorful and the expressions on the faces of the characters are wonderfully presented. My favorite illustration and excerpt takes place when Clara is leaving the plantation, and Aunt Rachel advises, "Before you go, just cover me with your quilt, Sweet Clara," she say, "I'm too old to walk, but not too old to dream. And maybe I can help others follow the quilt to freedom." This is a wonderful offering by Deborah Hopkinson and James Ransome!
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