The Patchwork Path

The Patchwork Path: A Quilt Map to Freedom
by Bettye Stroud; illustrated by Erin Susanne Bennett
Candlewick Press, 2007

Genre: African American Historical Fiction, Picture Book

Honors:

• Book Links 06/01/10
• Booklist 02/01/05
• Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 01/01/05
• Horn Book 10/01/05
• Kirkus Reviews 12/15/04
• Library Media Connection 01/01/06
• Library Media Connection starred 04/01/05
• Publishers Weekly 01/03/05
• School Library Journal 01/01/05
• Wilson's Children 10/01/10

Review: 10-year-old Hannah is the daughter of two slaves living on a plantation. Before passing away, Hannah's mother gives her a quilt and teaches her the secret meanings in the patterns: together, they spell out a map to Canada and freedom, with guideposts for finding help along the way. Then, when the time feels right, Hannah and her father escape their plantation and set out on the path to Canada, and Hannah uses the symbols on the quilt to check their progress. While Hannah's story is imaginary, Bettye Stroud learned of the patchwork quilt from a story that was orally passed on from the granddaughter of an escaped slave, and many slaves did escape and head to Canada, using quilts and rhymes like the ones in Hannah's quilt.


Opinion: While this book is recommended for younger readers, it offers an adventure and a history lesson ten-year-olds living far removed from the experience of slavery can learn from.

Ideas: I would include this book in a series of narrative accounts during a lecture on African American history; it would also be great to pair this book with a non-fiction title about real escaped slaves and the stories they passed down.