The Keeping Quilt

Polacco, Patricia. The Keeping Quilt. New York: Simon and Shuster Books for Young Readers, 1988.

In The Keeping Quilt, Patricia Polacco shares the story of her family through a picture book that shares how a quilt is made to remember back home in Russia when her family immigrates to the United States. The quilt is passed on down from mother to daughter for generations and used to celebrate special occasions such as weddings, birthdays, funerals, Jewish holidays, and so on. The pictures in the story are primarily black and white except for the quilt which is drawn in vibrant colors. As the story progresses, the Jewish family assimilates to the American culture but still keeping family and religious traditions. It is in the pictures where change is most apparent and the illustrator does an excellent job portraying change and tradition at the same time.

A winner of the Sydney Taylor Award, The Keeping Quilt not only shares the story of a family full of tradition but it also shares cultural ways of Jewish Americans. As a diverse piece of literature, Polacco chooses to share her story and not teach about the Jewish religion. With a lack of knowledge of Jewish traditions, some readers may have trouble understanding why things are they way they are; for example, the use of the huppa in weddings and the reason men and women do not always celebrate together. This information can be looked up and discussed to relate to outsiders who are unfamiliar. The pictures do an excellent job showing the assimilation through the generations of the family and I believe that everyone can find a way to relate to this book whether or not they are Jewish because of the role that tradition, love and faith play throughout the story but it can also connect to Jewish Americans because it is a book that’s purpose is not to teach but relate to the history of Jewish immigration and adjustment.