Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt (Reading Rainbow Books) (edition 1995)

Clara is a young slave girl who was raised on a plantation. She found the secrets in the quilts, that the women created, the messages for the underground railroad. This is part of history; it helps us to understand how things were back then and how some people were able to comminucate without speaking about the hidden underground railroad.

Summary:
This book is about a young girl named Clara who is a slave who was separated from her mother and forced to work in the fields but workings in the fields became too hard for Clara so she started making quilts one day she overheard about people escaping and becoming free so trying to help she made a quilt with the map to freedom on it

Personal Reaction:
I love this book even as a child I found this to be an interesting book it shows children that even small things can help in the biggest ways.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1. You could read this book to your children during black history month
2. The class can design their own quilt (using paper of course)

Summary:
In the beginning of the story this little girl worked in the fields with the other workers but wasn't as good as the others. So her aunt moved her to quilting, the little girl did not like this at first. In the mean time she overheard that there was a way to get to freedom. So she decides to sew a map onto this quilt and find her way out to freedom, with her friend.

Personal Reaction:
This book was very good. I loved how it explains different scenarios of how all slaves had their way to freedom. I enjoyed how this little was smart enough to sew such a map on a quilt.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
A good idea would be to have the children in the classroom talk about there diversity so that all the children can learn about it. And have the children also draw maps. ( )

Summary: This book is about an eleven year old slave girl named Clara separated from her mother. She was sent to a Home Plantation to work as a field hand. Aunt Rachel found her on the floor one night passed out and knew she would not last in the fields. She taught her how to sew, so Clara could be a real seamstress. In The main house she would here the drivers talking about slaves running away by way of the Underground Railroad. She asked questions about this and discovered this was the way to freedom. She made a quilt of a map of the land that had the directions of the Underground Railroad. One night after getting her mother and sister, Clara and her young male friend escaped one night to freedom on the Underground Railroad. Clara left behind the freedom quilt for other people to use.

Personal Reaction: I liked this book. It gave me more insight to the Underground Railroad. I am glad there were brave people to help African-Americans to freedom. The pictures in this book were illustrated from a man that is a descendent of slaves. The pictures tell the story and give visual details.

Classroom Extension: The teacher can used this book in a history lesson on slavery and the Underground Railroad. 2. The teacher can instruct her students to do imagery. The teacher can read the book aloud and the students can draw a map of the Underground Railroad.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Review: This is a good example of historical fiction because it focuses on Slavery and how a young girl dealt with that, and struggled because of separation from her family.
POV: The story is written in first person. The narrator is Clara herself. She is the girl who was sent away and separated from her family.
Media: Watercolors, pencil, color pencil