Customer Reviews

Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria

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Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria is a wonderful book for any young girl or boy. Kyra brought the story of Martha Ann and her family to life and skillfully gives us a history lesson that spans 3 continents. The book neatly illustrates the complex ties between the U.S., England and Liberia in a way that is sure to provoke many discussions for young (and old) readers. The book also deals with the horror of slavery in a sensitive way and demonstrates that slaves were sometimes able to purchase their freedom. Above all, Kyra's story shows the strong, enduring desire for freedom and education that has inspired so many African Americans from slavery through modern times. Many, many lessons can be taught around this short, but powerful, book. The story of a woman who saved pennies over the span of her lifetime to achieve her dream is relevant for so many of us who have lost sight of the power of patience, persistence and faith in one's self. I strongly urge all parents and teachers to grab a copy now and share it with young people. It should open up many great conversations!

Kyra Hicks has written a wonderful story based on the real life of Martha Ann Ricks, who was born into slavery in Tennessee. Her father learns about the American Colonization Society, and after working several years to purchase the family's freedom, takes assistance from the group so the family can move to Liberia. Life in Liberia starts out beautifully for the family. Martha Ann is finally able to attend school, and in her spare moments learns to sew from her mother. However, tragedy strikes and Martha Ann and her brother are left to fend for themselves.

Martha Ann eventually marries. She is moved by the work of Queen Victoria and vows to someday thank her in person for all the things the queen had done for blacks. Despite ridicule from family and most of the town, she continues saving her money to pay for the trip to England. Martha Ann also decides to present a gift to the queen, a beautiful, handcrafted quilt she would make herself. Martha Ann is an old woman when she finally has the opportunity to meet the queen, but her dream is finally realized. The quilt, known as the Coffee Tree Quilt was proudly displayed and viewed by thousands of people.

At the heart, MARTHA ANN'S QUILT FOR QUEEN VICTORIA is a story of patience, perseverance, gratitude, and faith. The book highlights the impact of slavery, life in Liberia and the role the British Navy and Queen Victoria played in helping to protect free blacks from slavery. The book can be used to launch readers into countless areas of further study and discussion. The illustrations are especially important in MARTHA ANN'S QUILT FOR QUEEN VICTORIA because they allow readers to slip into the setting of the tale and also help demonstrate the passage of time, from Martha Ann's childhood to her senior years. Kyra Hicks has written a book that is not only significant for its historical value, but for its message about holding on to dreams and working to make them come true.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

This story of a freed slave who sews a quilt for England's queen is a tear-jerker of the first order, as uplifting as it is heartbraking.

We follow Martha Ann from slavery in Tennessee to freedom in Liberia. Then the British Navy begins patrolling Liberian waters to ward off slavers, and Martha Ann hits on the idea of thanking that nation's new monarch. Again, the quilting takes on a larger-than-life significance as Martha Ann's stitches her life together again and again after various tragedies and setbacks, always with the same coffee-plant pattern, always setting coins aside hoping to make that 3,500-mile trek to England.

Wow, was I rooting for poor Martha Ann. The story's told in simple, straightforward text--no fancy literary footwork here, but this gripping tale doesn't really need it. Fodi's watercolors fill in those blanks by depicting Martha Ann at work, both in the fields and over her masterpiece.

A press release I received describes Hicks' own journey into Martha Ann's life: visiting Windsor Castle, weeding through Library of Congress newspaper microfilm, interviewing distant relatives. I'm glad she was so obsessed: this true story adds a colorful piece to the patchwork of American history.

Pop culture heroes in America, of which I am a great fan, tend to be violent and are often portrayed as willing to die for their cause. In Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria, the real-life heroes take the tougher road of living for that in which they believe. Martha Ann's father saves money for years to free his family from slavery; Martha Ann, the epitome of courage, survival, and growth, pursues an impossible dream to present a gift to Queen Victoria over the course of a lifetime.

Kyra Hicks' quiet heroism is evident in her brilliant research of a little-known American character that she brings to light in this adventure story. Fodi's illustrations vividly capture the dignity and inspiration of this tale and are the "icing on the cake" of this tiny literary feast.

Destined to be a classic, Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria is must-have reading for future heroes of all ages.

Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria is a wonderful book which is full of history, inspiration and an extraordinary example of what the human spirit can accomplish when fueled with the desire to fulfill one's dreams. This book celebrates family traditions and introduces an early example of quilt making on a historical level. Most importantly it promotes education and the importance of reading. Through Krya Hicks' words, readers become part of the life and journey of Martha Ann. This is a excellent book for elementary teachers and students.

I was delighted to discover this wonderful book and to give it to my young niece for Christmas. It's a very inspiring (and true!) story of a young girl who faces many difficult challenges in her life and achieves an almost-impossible goal as an elderly woman, despite the odds against her success. Beautifully written and illustrated-kudos to the author for finding and telling this amazing tale of brave and steadfast Martha Ann!

A beautifully-rendered account of the life of Martha Ann Ricks, a former slave, who spent the greater part of her life in freedom making a quilt for the much admired Queen Victoria of Great Britain. Martha Ann's story is set within a larger one -- that of the sixteen thousand manumitted slaves and free Blacks who chose or were encouraged to return to Africa (Liberia) long before the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. A chapter in America's history that has so often been downplayed. This extensively-researched story is a welcome addition to the existing children's literature on slavery and its legacy. Lee Edward Fodi's expressive and nuanced illustrations bring the story's characters to life.

As one of the direct descendants of Martha Ann's younger brother Hopkins, as well as a great-granddaughter of Dr. Edward Blyden (both mentioned in the book), it would make me proud to see Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria used as a Social Studies resource in the upper elementary grades.

Martha Ann's story is not only an inspiration to all, it is also a true story. A story reminding us that with determination, hard work, and confidence even the most seemingly impossible dreams can come true.

Born about 1817 in eastern Tennessee, Martha Ann Ricks was a slave. Her father was a traveling preacher who learned about the American Colonization Society, an organization that assisted blacks in beginning again in a new place - Liberia.

When Martha Ann was 12, her family had finally saved enough money to buy their freedom and they moved to Liberia. Once there Martha Ann was able to go to school where she joyfully learned how to read. At home her mother taught her to sew. However, these happy times came to an end all too soon when African Fever took the lives of her mother, father, and sisters.

As an adult and a married woman, Martha Ann went to the market with her husband where she saw British naval ships patrolling the coast to stop slave catchers from kidnaping blacks. So impressed was Martha Ann by the ships and Queen Victoria for sending them that she determined to personally thank the Queen for protecting her people.

An impossible hope? Yes, but Martha Ann fulfilled her dream.

Highly recommended for young readers.

- Gail Cooke

"Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria" is the story of one woman's dream--a dream she held dear despite ridicule and the dismissal of her family and friends. Based on a true account, Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria also chronicles this dream within the context of what can only be called a difficult life.

Martha Ann was born a slave in Tennessee. Her father began saving to buy the family's freedom and move to Liberia, where Martha Ann and her siblings could not only live as free people, but also attend school. Unfortunately, shortly after arriving to Liberia, African fever killed Martha Ann's parents and her sisters, leaving her with only her brothers. The small family survived and Martha Ann married. One day, Martha Ann read about Queen Victoria in the newspaper: "She admired Queen Victoria for trying to save her and others from slavery by sending the navy." Martha Ann resolves to meet Queen Victoria and thank her in person.

Martha Ann began saving coins in the same red box her father used to collect monies for the move to Liberia. She also begins to make a gift for the queen--a beautiful quilt with a coffee tree design. Martha Ann survives gunfire at the hands of local tribesmen, the death of two husbands, and the taunts of local children: "Auntie Martha gonna see the Queen,/Stitching a quilt of coffee beans./How man stitches will it take?/Two-four-six-eight!"

Finally, when Martha Ann was in her 70s, the wife of Liberia's first president, Mrs. Jane Roberts, helps Martha Ann make the trip to present her quilt to Queen Victoria.

Martha Ann's life and dream comprise quite a story in and of themselves. But author Kyra E. Hicks lends a majesty to the tale, with simple, heartfelt prose and a focus on the dream above all. Lee Edward Fodi's illustrations perfectly accent this text--while realistic, they also have a childlike quality that emphasizes the prominence of the dream in the story.

"Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria" is best suited for children ages six to ten. Read it aloud to a second- to fourth-grade class: this story will change the way they think about the world and inspire them to hold on to their dreams.

Written by passionate quilter Kyra E. Hicks and illustrated by Lee Edward Fodi, Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria is a picturbook biography recounting the amazing true story of Martha Ann Ricks, a black slave purchased out of slavery by her father at the age of twelve. Her family traveled to Liberia to begin a new life, and Martha Ann was grateful for the British navy that patrolled the Liberian coast to prevent slave catchers from kidnaping her family and friends. Over the course of her long life, she devoted herself to creating just the right thank-you gift for Queen Victoria of England, an exquisitely handmade quilt. When she was an old woman, she miraculously had the opportunity to visit the Queen and present her gift in person. A marvelous true tale about working toward and achieving one's dream, especially recommended for elementary school and public library picturebook collections.