The Patchwork Path: A Quilt Map to Freedom

I liked this book for many reasons. Firstly, because this book pushes readers to look at a part of our country’s past that was not very pretty: the slave trade. The book follows Hannah and her father as they use her mother’s quilt to follow the Underground Railroad to freedom in Canada. There are many parts of this book that are a bit difficult to swallow. For example, Hannah explains, “Soon after Master sold my sister Mary, to a far-off plantation, Mama passed away. Sometimes…I missed Mama and Mary so hard…my heart was close to splitting.” This book challenges children to face these harsh realities. Even at the end of the book, Hannah is still waiting for her sister and hoping she will return. The slave trade tore her show more family apart and caused her and her father to travel across the country, scared, cold, and hungry, in the hopes of freedom. While this is a heavy topic, it is important for children to understand this part of our history. I also appreciated the illustrations in this book, which displayed the symbols on the patchwork quilt that showed Hannah and her father what path to follow. The symbols were introduced in the beginning of the book in a vague way, but then began to make sense as Hannah and her father traveled farther north. For example, Hannah remembers her mother showing her a bear paw print on the quilt. Later on, when she and her father were climbing a mountain, Hannah found sets of bear prints that they could follow to come to the bottom of the mountain safely. I found it interesting to see the quilt patterns come to have more significance as she and her father travelled. I think that children would also enjoy watching the “riddle” of the quilt unfold throughout the story. This book is a great adventure tale of survival, love, and the bond between family in the midst of a great injustice. The book’s main idea is to showcase the power of family; though her mother was dead, Hannah and her father still were able to connect with her through the quilt and reach safety together. show less

A child tells of escaping to Canada on the Underground Railroad, accompanied by her father, and of following secret signs sewn into quilt patterns. The exciting escape story makes the history immediate, and the fascinating quilt-code messages will have children revisiting the page that shows each symbol and its secret directions. Bennett's bright oil paintings make dramatic use of collage to show the quilt code and the brave fugitives. Helped by Quakers and other rescuers, Hannah and Papa make it to the border, but the sadness of her sister still in slavery and her Mama's death is with them as they cross. A fascinating afterword reveals how much of the story was based on history. Category: Books for the Young--Fiction. 2005, Candlewick, show more $15.99. K-Gr. 3. show less

Now that Hannah’s papa has decided to make the run for freedom, her patchwork quilt is not just a precious memento of Mama — it’s a series of hidden clues that will guide them along the Underground Railroad to Canada. Narrated by 10-year old Hannah, "The Patchwork Path" is a tender and moving story of courage, determination and hope that doubles as a lesson in African-American history. Level K-3.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I liked how it was historical fiction and shows readers of a hard time in history, but I didn't like the plot or the characters. I did like how it was about the issue of slavery and makes readers think about how difficult it was to escape and be free. Hannah would tell of how her feet hurt from the long walk and how it was often cold. But, I think the author had made sure the book wasn't too descriptive of how awful the time really was so that it could appeal to a younger audience. The story line did not have any problems or conflicts as Hannah and her father went from Georgia to Canada as runaway slaves, which seemed to be unrealistic as the journey was extremely far and they could have been caught show more and killed at any time. It told a little bit of how long it took, but not too much. I also didn't think it was realistic of how their whole journey was lead by quilt squares, as each one stood for something, such as a wagon wheel, a bear paw, and bow ties. The characters were not very believable as they did not accurately show the hardships of the journey they were on. Hannah's father somehow knew exactly how to get to Cleveland by following the geese North, which didn't seem too realistic to me. Also, the characters did not grieve much at all for the mother who had just passed away or for the sister who had been moved to another plantation. Hannah also never complained about not having food on the journey, and it was only briefly mentioned at all. The message of the story is about how some people have to endure a great deal of struggle to live happily and that we should all be thankful for what we have and should treat everyone with respect, no matter what they look like. show less

A realistic story of fugitive slaves making their way to Canada through the underground railroad. Told from the perspective of the young girl, it's a great story to read to young children studying that time in history.

Hannah is a young slave about take a long dangerous journey on the Underground Railroad with her father. After her sister Mary was sold, their mother died, so Hannah has to remember the quilt map her mother taught her to make it along the journey to freedom.

A great deal of this story is based on fact. It shares how quilts were used as maps to guide slaves to freedom along the underground railroad. This trip reminds us that some slaves found refuge in Canada.