{"id":33250,"date":"2018-08-26T22:44:31","date_gmt":"2018-08-27T02:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=33250"},"modified":"2018-08-26T22:44:31","modified_gmt":"2018-08-27T02:44:31","slug":"review-of-the-quilts-of-gees-bend-by-susan-goldman-rubin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=33250","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Quilts of Gee’s Bend, by Susan Goldman Rubin"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Quilts of Gee\u2019s Bend<\/em><\/p>\n

by Susan Goldman Rubin<\/p>\n

Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2017. 56 pages.<\/p>\n

The Quilts of Gee\u2019s Bend<\/em> tells about an African American community where for generations families taught their girls to quilt.<\/p>\n

The book is filled with photos of quilts made by these women. There are common patterns, common themes, but every quilt is unique.<\/p>\n

The book also tells of the history of the community and the way the quilts \u2013 when discovered as art \u2013 helped pull them through some hard times.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how the book begins, jumping right into the story of one of the quilters:<\/p>\n

When Nettie Young was eleven years old, her mother gave her a pile of cloth strips and told her to make a quilt all by herself. Nettie had always sat with her mother and watched her quilting, picking up the scraps at her feet, but this time her mother walked away. She was testing her daughter to see if she was independent as well as talented. The cotton and corduroy scraps were in different colors and patterns: plaids, checks, dots, even a little yellow animal print. The odds and ends came from old work shirts, dress tails, and aprons. Looking back, at age eighty-nine, Nettie said, \u201cWhen I was growing up, you threw nothing away. . . . You found every good spot for a quilt piece, and that\u2019s how you made your quilts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nettie arranged the strips to form squares in a brilliant geometric design. She called her finished quilt \u201cStacked Bricks.\u201d From then on, she became known as one of the best quilters in Gee\u2019s Bend, Alabama. \u201cI always loved sewing,\u201d she said. \u201cDidn\u2019t need a pattern . . . I just draw it out the way I want it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s a photo of that very quilt, which was created in 1928.<\/p>\n

We get stories of many of the quilters, along with an abundance of color photos of the quilts. The women didn\u2019t think of their quilts as art. Making them was a way to keep warm and work together.<\/p>\n

Pieces of cloth that had been tucked away safely were brought out at night, when, at last, it was time for quilting. \u201cWe had no radio, no TV, no nothing,\u201d recalled Mary Lee Randolph. \u201cThat\u2019s the way we learned \u2013 sitting watching our mamas piecing the quilt. When the sun came down, you be in the house together, laughing and talking. We were more blessed then.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This book celebrates beautiful art created by a community of women in a practice passed down from mothers to daughters.<\/p>\n

abramsyoungreaders.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Nonfiction\/quilts_of_gees_bend.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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