Most Loved in All the World [Hardcover]

Tonya Cherie Hegamin (Author), Cozbi Cabrera (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

An authentic and powerful account of slavery and how a handmade quilt helps a little girl leave home for freedom.

With a poet's keen ear, Tonya Hegamin tells the account of a little girl whose mother is a secret agent on the Underground Railroad. Before sending her daughter north to freedom, the mother sews a quilt for her daughter, not only to guide her with its symbols of moss and the north star, but also to remind her always that the smiling girl in the center of the quilt is "most loved in all the world." Strikingly illustrated in unique textile collaging and expressive acrylic paintings.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3–6—A slave mother creates a quilt to guide and comfort her young daughter, whom she is sending to freedom along the Underground Railroad. In a straightforward, heartfelt story written in dialect, Hegamin shows that a woman can love her child dearly yet still give her up, in the youngster's best interest. An author's note explains that debates over the authenticity of quilts used as maps continue; Hegamin states that she used the quilt as a symbol and story device. The artwork matches the tone of the story well, featuring dark images interspersed with quilted blocks that bring brightness to the primitive-style paintings. Patchwork endpapers that incorporate recognizable quilt blocks add to the homespun feel of the story. Paired with Deborah Hopkinson's Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt (Knopf, 2003), this book would be a useful discussion point for supplementing Underground Railroad units.—Angela J. Reynolds, Annapolis Valley Regional Library, Bridgetown, NS, Canada
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

A young girl knows that “Mama works hard in the field,” but the full reality of their lives as slaves is unclear to her. She knows Mama picks cotton; she knows she salves Mama’s hands at night. She also knows that Mama has been spending a lot of time lately cutting pieces of cloth to stitch together pictures for a quilt. After coming home one night bloody from a whipping, Mama removes her ruined red shirt and cuts from it a heart, adding it to her designs. A late-night rendezvous reveals that the quilt’s images are to serve as instructions to help the daughter escape through the Underground Railroad: “a log cabin for safety / a star to follow / moss on the trees to lead. / And in the middle, a little girl so happy, surrounded by a worn and tattered heart.” Cabrera’s artwork matches textured, muddy paintings—the dark, anonymous dots of hunched cotton pickers is particularly affecting—with swaths of appropriately distressed cloth. An educational author’s note caps off this haunting yet hopeful presentation. Grades K-2. --Daniel Kraus

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; None edition (December 20, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618419039
• ISBN-13: 978-0618419036
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #640,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful conversation starter, June 15, 2011

By 

Robin R. Ford (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Most Loved in All the World (Hardcover)

Hegamin has created a beautiful book that parents, teachers and friends can use to help younger kids to understand the horrors and hardships of slavery, as well as the often unsung love that helped people to survive this horrific period in American history. Perfect for anyone who wants to start a conversation about slavery with children. Sad, yes, but honest. Wonderful!

3.0 out of 5 stars Students were not hooked by this book, June 6, 2010

By 

Vicki A. Kroiss "3rd grade educator" (Kaukauna, WI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Most Loved in All the World (Hardcover)

I believe because I am a quilter, I enjoyed this book and the artwork, but my class, overall, was not taken with it. When I finished reading it aloud to them they pretty much just wanted to move on to something else. It was difficult to illicit any input about connections or opinions on it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving, Beautifully Written, and Educational, April 29, 2009

By 

Heidi Brockmyre (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Most Loved in All the World (Hardcover)

This book is beautifully written! The story is a poem that describes a heart-wrenching tale of the love between a mother and child and the immense sacrifices a mother will make in her child's best interest. Although you may cry when reading it, it is an excellent tool to teach your children about the suffering that others are subjected to in unjust times in a way that your child will understand. Because the story is based in such powerful love, may be used as a springboard to talk about compassion for others and how our decisions affect other people. The author writes a helpful explanation of how to use this book as a teaching tool. The illustrations are also gorgeous.