LITR 5731: Seminar in
American Multicultural Literature
Student Research Project
Sara Moreau
Journal: Quilts and the Underground Railroad for Children
When I was a young child I loved it when my parents would read to me. I could not wait until bedtime because I was guaranteed a bedtime story. Children love to have books read to them; it is a way for them to just relax and enjoy a story without doing any of the work, but it also encourages them to read as they get older. Just as I loved and needed to be read to as a child, children today need the very same thing. I used to not think anything about it, but as I started working in a public school I realized that there are a lot of children that do not have anyone to read to them, that is when I discovered the importance of reading in school. Next year I will be a fourth grade reading teacher and I feel a responsibility to my students to expose them to a wealth of reading material. Since a lot of students will never be read to at home, I want to make sure I am doing everything I can to give them what they need at school so they can grow up and become magnificent readers.
As I started to think about next year, I began to think about what kind of books I want to read to my students. I think it is very important for children to learn where they came from and what their culture is like. I also think it is important for them to learn about other cultures as well as their own. With this in mind, I landed on the African-American culture for my research.
While looking for children’s books about the African-American culture, I found many of them were about quilts and the Underground Railroad. This subject was very interesting for me and I think my students will enjoy it as well. I chose four books for this project that I think will make a great literature unit for my students. The books I chose are: The Patchwork Path by Bettye Stroud, Under the Quilt of Night by Deborah Hopkinson, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson, and Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson. Each of these books tells a story about African Americans escaping slavery by way of special quilts and the help of the Underground Railroad.
It was very interesting to discover that children’s books contain many of the same issues discussed in our adult class. Of course, the children’s books take a more upbeat approach and only skim the issues, but they are there. This journal will explore some of our course themes and objectives that are present in these children’s books. Some of those objectives are:
Objective 3a:
African American alternative narrative: “The Dream” Whereas the
American Dream emphasizes the immediate individual success, “The Dream”
factors in setbacks, the need to rise again, and a quest for group dignity.
Objective 5a: To
discover the power of poetry and fiction to help “others” hear the minority
voice and vicariously share the minority experience.
Objective 6: To
observe images of the individual, the family, and alternative families in the
writings and experience of minority groups.
I will not go into much detail about the objectives in the main part of the journal because I think it is evident where they are present. Also, I would like the focus of the journal to be on the books themselves. The organization of this journal will be as follows: I will list the book and some awards that it has won, then there will be some biographical information about the author followed by a synopsis of the book. I hope this is both enjoyable and useful to those that read it.
Stroud, Bettye. The
Patchwork Path A Quilt Map to Freedom. Candlewick Press, Cambridge:
2005.
Oppenheim Toy
Portfolio Gold Award
New York Times Best
Books of 2005
Bettye Stroud is an accomplished writer and educator. She has a B.S, M.Ed, and an ED.S all in library media. Bettye teaches a class in Writing for Children to adults at the University of Georgia. She also does many writing conferences and workshops for teachers. In her spare time, she visits many schools and shares her books with children. Bettye started working at an elementary school as a librarian and only recently retired. After retiring she decided she wanted to write a book of her own. She had a great background considering all the children’s literature she had read and all the writers she had spent time with. Bettye knew what kinds of stories she wanted to tell and had a pretty good idea of what types of books children liked to read. She knew that many children have to face horrible demons in their lives and wanted them to know that they are not alone. Bettye Stroud accomplished her goal with much style and grace. She now has four books published and two more on the way.
The Patchwork Path is based on a story given to Jacqueline Tobin, author of Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad, from Ozella McDaniel Williams, an African-American quilter. This story, how slaves used quilts to communicate on the Underground Railroad, had been passed down from grandmother to mother to daughter, and finally Jacqueline Tobin “wrote it down.” Jacqueline published her story in 1999 and since then it has inspired many children’s books like Bettye Stroud’s Patchwork Path A Quilt Map to Freedom. Patchwork Path A Quilt Map to Freedom is a touching story about a little girl, Hannah, and her father escaping from slavery. At the age of ten Hannah’s mother taught her about the monkey wrench quilt, how to sew it and the meaning behind it. On the quilt were several different patterns that represented a path they would take in order to escape to freedom. All the slaves knew about these symbols and knew that they had to be followed exactly if they were to escape. After Hannah’s sister was sold to another plantation and her mother passed away, the time came for her and her father to escape. Hannah and her father packed up the quilt and some bread and headed out on their journey. They followed every symbol on the quilt, and eventually “followed the stars to freedom.”
The Patchwork Path is a wonderful story for children based on actual facts of what really went on in their ancestor’s history. This is a light-hearted book that includes many heavy issues.
Hopkinson, Deborah.
Under the Quilt of Night. Atheneum
Books for Young Readers New
York: 2001.
Washington State
Book Award
Deborah Hopkinson is a very talented children’s author. She was born in Lowell, Massachusetts and received a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Massachusetts. She then went on to earn her master’s degree in Asian studies from the University of Hawaii. In addition to working as a children’s author, she also holds the position of Director of Foundation Relations at Oregon State University. As an author, she has received many awards some of which are: Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, Spur Award, NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book, Booklist Editor’s Choice, CCBE Choices, Amelia Bloomer Project, Golden Kite Honor, Great Lakes Book Award, Publisher’s Weekly Best Book Award 2001, and Washington State Book Award.
Under the Quilt of Night is a picture book for children that tells the story of the Underground Railroad. A little girl and her family escape their plantation in search of freedom. The little girl tells the story in parts. First, they are running. She tells how it is scary in the dark, how they have to run all night long; they have scrapes and bruises on their feet and legs and bug bites all over that itch. Next is the waiting. During the day they have to find a safe place to hide in the woods because their master is searching for them. While in the woods the little girl watches for a sign from the Underground Railroad while the others rest. She sees a woman bring a quilt out of her house and hang it over her fence to air. Then the girl sees that it has the secret Underground Railroad symbol on it, and it is safe to go to her home. The girl leads her family to the house and they give a secret code and enter. There they are given fresh clothes, food to eat, and a warm place to sleep.
Hopkinson, Deborah.
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt.
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. New
York: 1993.
1994 International
Reading Association Award
Reading Rainbow
Selection
In Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, twelve year old Clara gets
separated from her mother because a neighboring plantation needs an extra field
hand. At Home Plantation, Clara meets Aunt Rachel and Young Jack. Young Jack is
her friend who works in the field with her. They are the same age and grow very
close. Aunt Rachel takes care of Clara and teaches her how to sew, so she can
become a seamstress and work in the Big House instead of in the field. One day
Clara overhears the cook talking with some drivers from another plantation about
a map. They said it would be easier to escape to freedom if they had a map.
After Clara learns what a map is, she decides to make one in her quilt. For
months she collects extra scraps and listens intently to every conversation she
can about places people have seen and the directions there. She also hears
things about the Underground Railroad and the places they help people. Finally,
her quilt was complete. It was a map that would take them straight to freedom.
One night after a three day storm, Clara and Young Jack ran away. Clara left her
map with Aunt Rachel so others could come and look at it and get to freedom as
well. With the use of her quilt and the help of the Underground Railroad Clara
and Young Jack finally made it to freedom. Many others also made it with the
help of Clara’s quilt.
Woodson,
Jacqueline. Show Way. Penguin Group,
Inc. New York: 2005.
Jacqueline Woodson is a very well known author. She has written many children’s books as well as young adult books. Jacqueline Woodson grew up in Brooklyn, New York and has been writing ever since she was in elementary school. It is truly her passion. She has won many awards for her books such as: The Caldecott Metal, Coretta Scott King Award, National Book Award, Parent’s Choice Award, Detroit Public School Students’ Favorite Author, and ALA notable. Jacqueline Woodson says that she always writes about things that are important to her. In the case of Show Way, it is the only book she has written that has some autobiographical content. This book is based on some of her family’s history. Jacqueline has said that she wrote this book because she “wanted to keep some of her own family’s history alive, and she wanted a Show Way for her own daughter.”
Show Way is an inspirational children’s picture book that tells the story of eight generations of women. It starts out telling the story of Soonie’s great-grandma. When she was seven she was taken away from her family and sold to a plantation in South Carolina. In South Carolina, a slave woman named Big Mama took care of Soonie’s great-grandma and all of the other slave children on the plantation. She taught Soonie how to sew and told all the children stories about the quilts and how they helped other slaves get free. Soonie’s great- grandmother had a daughter named Mathis May who also learned to sew and was told the stories of the quilts. Mathis May grew up making quilts and told all the slaves what they meant and how to use them. Later Mathis May got married and her daughter was born free in the year 1863. Years later, Soonie was born. Her and her mother worked on a plantation as free women. Soonie and her mother continued to sew the Show Way quilts and sold them at the market. Many people bought them to remember their history because they could not read. Soonie grew up and got married and had Georgiana. Georgiana learned how to read by age five and never stopped. Later, Georgiana had two daughters Caroline and Ann. Caroline and Ann grew up and marched in the protest lines against segregation with patches of their grandma Soonie’s Show Way quilt pinned to their dresses. Caroline grew up to be an artist, and Ann grew up to be a poet and songwriter. Ann had Jacqueline who also grew up to be a writer, and Jacqueline had Toshi Georgiana. All of these women slave or free, passed down the Show Way stories to their families to show them that no matter what they have to go through, there is always a Show Way to guide you through it.
Each of these books, even though they were written for children, discusses complex issues which are prominent into adulthood. Not only do all these books teach children about the history of African Americans and their struggles throughout their history in America, they are interesting stories and will encourage children to want to read more as they get older. Children who read a lot are good readers, have confidence in themselves, and are good writers. These are important qualities that are essential to their success in life. Therefore, we must spark their interest in literature at an early age, and these stories accomplish that goal.