Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt (Reading Rainbow Books) [Paperback]

Deborah Hopkinson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 10, 1995 | Age Range: 3 - 7 years | Series: Reading Rainbow Books | Lexile Measure: 680L (What's this?)

2013 marks the 20th anniversary of Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt!

As a seamstress in the Big House, Clara dreams of a reunion with her Momma, who lives on another plantation--and even of running away to freedom. Then she overhears two slaves talking about the Underground Railroad. In a flash of inspiration, Clara sees how she can use the cloth in her scrap bag to make a map of the land--a freedom quilt--that no master will ever suspect.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A courageous slave girl plays an unusual part in the Underground Railroad; in a starred review, PW said, "This first-rate book is a triumph of the heart." Ages 5-10.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-- Clara, a young slave, works as a seamstress and dreams of freedom. Overhearing drovers talk of escaping North enables her to make a patchwork map of the area. When she escapes, she leaves the quilt behind to guide others. Based on a true event, this is a well-written picture book. Ransome's oil paintings, however, are perhaps too smooth and rich for the story they tell. The world depicted is too bright, open, and clean. For example, in the first scene Clara has been put to work in the cotton fields. Supposedly too frail to last long at such work, she is pictured as a slim, serious, yet sturdy girl. The bright yellow sky and the charming smile of the boy with her belie the realities of the back-breaking work. In another scene, young Jack, who has been brought back the day before from running away, looks solemn, but not distressed, and is wearing what appears to be a freshly ironed white shirt. Again, the image distances viewers from the realities of the situation. Clara's escape to Canada, too, is marvelously easy, although she does say, "But not all are as lucky as we were, and most never can come." It is not easy to present the horrors of slavery to young children; thus, even though Ransome's illustrations, and to some extent the text, err on the side of caution, this is an inspiring story worth inclusion in most collections. --Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 3 - 7 years
  
• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Dragonfly Books; 1 edition (July 10, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679874720
• ISBN-13: 978-0679874720
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 0.2 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #86,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #82 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Multicultural Stories > African-American

More About the Author

Deborah Hopkinson is the award-winning of picture books, fiction, and nonfiction for young readers. Most recently she received a Robert F. Sibert Honor and YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award honor for Titanic: Voices from the Disaster. Annie and Helen is a 2013 Oregon Book Award Finalist.

She has won the SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text twice, for A Band of Angels and Apples to Oregon. Sky Boys, How They Built the Empire State Building, was a Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor awardee. She lives near Portland, Oregon and serves as Vice President for Advancement at Pacific Northwest College of Art.

Deborah's 2013 books are: Knit Your Bit, A Story of WWI and The Great Trouble, A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel.

Visit her on the web at www.deborahhopkinson.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkins April 8, 2001

By Stacy Shinovich

Format:Paperback

This story is told through the eyes of a young slave named Clara. Clara was taken from her mama, so when she arrives at the new plantation a woman named Rachel befriends her. Aunt Rachel, as she becomes known, notices that Clara is not enjoying working in the cotton fields. Aunt Rachel teaches Clara how to sew and Clara eventually starts working in the Big House. While working in the Big House she pays close atttention to the others as they talk and describe the areas around the plantation. Clara secretly goes every night and works on the quilt made of the scraps from the Big House. Clara makes a beautiful quilt in hopes that it will help her and others escape to freedom. Read more to find out what happens to Clara and the others. The illustrations in this story showed how the people of that time period looked, dressed, and worked. Ransome's illustrations enhanced Hopkins' delightful story of Clara and the quilt. The author and illustrator accurately portray specific cultures and customs of the ethnic situation. Overall, this was a delightful story to add to any classroom discussion on the topic of freedom and slaves.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Clara is a fascinating book stimulating curiosity. February 22, 1999

By [e-mail] (Patsy Simpson)

Format:Hardcover

As a fourth grade reading teacher in Texas I read SWEET CLARA to my students as a Texas "Bluebonnet Book". I found it to be an interesting, easily understood book, with a feeling of mystery. In other words, "I loved it!"

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic for reading aloud March 7, 2005

By J. Stout

Format:Paperback

Deborah Hopkinson's use of dialogue in this story is what really recommends it to be read aloud. The characters come through the story so well through their words. They usually don't come right out and SAY anything, but instead communicate vital information in a round-about sort of way. They pretend not to have a care in the world, all the while desperately plotting against their captors.

This is book would be a great tool for opening up a discussion about why people say one thing when they really mean something else entirely. Also, this book is great for discussing ways of "escaping" authority and subverting roles of apparent compliance.

Sweet Clara deserves a place on the bookshelves of young revolutionaries worldwide.