From Publishers Weekly
Weaving themes of grief and remembrance into a story about the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, Atkins (Aani and the Tree Huggers) imagines family and friends piecing together a quilt panel to commemorate a loved one. Told from the perspective of Lauren, the picture book affords some exploration of the mourning process, but leaves some key questions unanswered. AIDS, for example, is never mentioned in the body of the story (an afterword includes a brief mention). Various passages assume a level of sophistication that may be beyond the intended audience, as in veiled references to Grandpa's absences from an earlier memorial gathering and from the quilting party ("Grandpa says he doesn't know how to sew," says Grandma). Atkins is eloquent at times ("Lauren's stitches didn't always go where she aimed them, the way a tossed ball didn't always land where she meant it to"), but her tone is so measured as to seem self-conscious. First-time illustrator Hills's muted works are mostly still lifes or frozen-seeming portraits, and even the few "action" scenes (e.g., of Lauren's brother proffering a contribution to the quilt) seem static. Uncle Ron (to whom they dedicate the quilt square) himself is seen only with his face hidden from readers, as he and Lauren ice-skate outdoors. Hills contributes a clever homespun touch?a border of "cross-stitching" that outlines each block of text and grows longer on each spread. While a picture book introduction to the AIDS Memorial Quilt may be welcomed, on the whole, this studied offering may leave children cold. Ages 5-up. (Feb.) FYI: A portion of the book's proceeds will be donated to the NAMES Project Foundation.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 2-5-Atkins offers a gentle way to discuss issues concerning AIDS, death, and homosexuality through the story of one family's efforts to make a section for the AIDS Memorial Quilt project. It is told by Lauren, a young girl whose Uncle Ron passed away a few months earlier. Her parents, younger brother, grandmother, and Ron's roommate and friends gather to work on a quilt panel. Grandpa has chosen not to come. They use scraps of clothing and fabric with colors and patterns that remind them of Uncle Ron-the color of his eyes, a plaid from his hiking shirt. As the children work, they remember the good times they shared with their uncle. Lauren thinks her brother is too young to understand, but she realizes she is wrong when he brings socks his uncle had given him to contribute to the design. Bordered with a heavy black band, Hills's mixed-media paintings, muted in color and simple in shape, artfully convey the characters' emotions. Atkins doesn't belabor any issues. She just presents a family grieving and doing something positive to remember and celebrate the life of a loved one. A small addendum talks about the project and shows photos of the actual quilts.
Judith Gloyer, Milwaukee Public LibraryCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
