Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt

Title: Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt

Author: Deborah Hopkinson

Illustrator: James Ransome

Genre: Historical Fiction

Awards: None

Age Group: 1st-5th

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt tells the story of a slave, Clara, who learns how to quilt and creates a magnificent masterpiece that helps her and other slaves find the way to freedom. It all starts when Aunt Rachel teaches Clara how to sew and she becomes a seamstress in the Big House. She saves fabric scraps and creates a pattern based on what she learns about the land from the other slaves. Eventually, she runs away with Young Jack but leaves the quilt behind for others who may need it. They stopped by Clara's momma's cabin for a sweet reunion and they all escaped to Canada. The story ends with Clara reminiscing on the night that she left with Young Jack when her aunt promised to keep Clara's quilt at Home Plantation.

I would definitely use this book in my classroom! I thought it was a really neat story and I loved how the quilt was like a symbol of hope for Clara. This was a great book to teach kids about the Underground Railroad as well as the separation and terrible things that happened even to slave children.

I would recommend this book for 1st through 5th grades. The language could potentially be a bit difficult for some kids to understand, as it is written as it would sound spoken, if that makes any sense. You can hear the way of speaking through the text. It does a good job of telling a hard story in a way that is understandable for kids while still offering hope at the end of the story.

A book about a quilt definitely needs some quilt-related activities to go with it! I think it would be perfect to have students create a story quilt. This quilt could have different elements of the story, descriptions of Clara, and/or designs and pictures that go along with the book. It would also be fun to have students create their own quilts using scraps of paper or fabric to represent themselves.