The Quilt

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful, moving little book about growing up.
Review: "My grandmother shines so in my life, made things so wonderful for me when I was a small boy and, later, when I became a man, that I simply had to write more about her."

As Gary Paulsen's sweet story of remembrance opens, he is six years old, World War II has taken over his parents' lives (his father is a soldier, his mother is working in a munitions factory in Chicago) and he has been sent to live with his grandmother in Minnesota. The pace of the life there has a quiet peace that brings happiness to him. Despite missing his mother, he soon settles into the quiet but busy life that the small community offers. His grandmother, Alida, is really what is most important to him, and it is she who counsels, loves and is the female force in his young life.

During his stay with her, they go to his cousin Kristina's home, as she is ready to give birth. She and the other women who gather to help in this event weave a magic spell as he listens to their voices and watches as they work together. After the baby is born and the lovely quilt is brought out, he is aware of something most special happening. It is then that he hears all the family stories of the quilt, and he observes:

"The room grew quiet, breathlessly silent, so the boy could hear Kristina breathing as she slept upstairs, and he looked at the women's hands holding the edges of the quilt and none of them gripped hard but seemed instead to almost caress the cloth and he knew that he was seeing a sweet thing, a dear thing, like when his mother's face was there looking down on him as he awakened from a nap, or when his grandmother looked at him when she held him."

This is not a book with great adventure, but is rather reflective and gentle in tone. Sometimes "the boy" seems more mature in his observations than most six-year-olds. Because of his life and the times, however, it all seems more plausible.

While this is considered a companion to THE COOKCAMP and ALIDA'S SONG, it is not necessary to read them to enjoy and understand the characters or story in THE QUILT. While younger readers (ages 8-12) can read this book with ease, the themes will probably find more appeal for teens and most definitely for adults. Paulsen has written a wonderful, moving little book about growing up.

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