The Josefina Story Quilt

I can't believe I found this in the local Little Free Library! I thought for sure this was one of those mass-produced, easily disposable books that I'd never see again, but there it was, and it's even got full-color illustrations, which seems pretty nice for a teeny weeny little paperback.

Josephina is a chicken that's "too old to lay eggs and too tough to eat", as I've remembered for years and years. She's basically just a pet for little Faith, and there really isn't room for pets in the covered wagon in which she and her family are traveling west to California. Still, Faith convinces her parents to let Josephina comes along and, of course, hijinks ensue--and for each incident, Faith stitches a square for a story quilt all about her show more trip across the country. I'll be honest, I totally forgot about the quilt part of this book even though it's part of the title and everything--all I remembered was the chicken!

It's a bit odd to critique a leveled reader, but if I'd make one improvement, it would be to have the little quilt square illustrations above the chapter headings actually look like the square that Faith sews instead of just a random pretty square.

A cute little introduction to westward pioneers for kids, complete with quick mentions of the very real hardships faced on the way. Yeah, it's a bit unrealistic how long Josefina sticks with the family uneaten and untraded, but hey, it's a kids book. show less

In May of 1850, a little girl named Faith is about to embark with her family on a westward journey to California in a covered wagon. The trip is expected to take six months, and the family can take only those things essential for their long journey. And since Faith's pet hen, Josefina, is too old to lay eggs and too tough to eat, Faith must convince her father to let her bring Josefina along. The most treasured items the family carries, however, are the patchwork quilts that Faith's mother and grandmother have made over the years. Each patch in the quilt tells part of a different story, and sewn together, compose the family's history. On the journey across mountains and deserts, Faith occupies her time with making her own quilt. The show more story her patches tell recounts how Josefina manages to lay an egg just when the family is at their neediest, and how the hen sounds an alarm when robbers try to ambush the wagon. When Faith sleeps in her own bed in her new California home, she sleeps under the completed quilt, full of memories of an arduous journey and the adventures of one heroic hen. show less

I gave this four stars only because it does not explicitly state why they are going west or what part of history this describes so I am not sure that a child would understand what was happening when reading this alone. It may take some additional background knowledge. However, I do love the images in this book and the hardships that it represents. It is a story of the Oregon trail told through a young girl's perspective. It describes the sacrifices families had to make in order to go, things they had to leave behind, dangers that occurred along the way (disclaimer: it does refer to native americans as indians in this story, this could be a good opportunity to explain this concept to students). It also introduces death and loss of a pet show more and how the young girl grieves this and finds comfort in the memories she has. While there is a historical aspect to this story I think that a lot of the aspects that would stand out to students are timeless. show less

"The Josefina Story Quilt" by Eleanor Coerr is an easy, but enjoyable, book about a young girl named Faith's 1850 covered wagon trip to California. Like most pioneering families, Faith's family had to make sacrifices when deciding what to take on their journey. Her mother did not take the beloved family rocking chair, but refused to leave behind the family quilts. "All our joys and sorrows are sewn up into the patches," the mother said. Faith felt just as strongly about her pet hen, Josefina, and is finally given permission to take her even though she is too old to lay eggs and too tough to eat. On the long journey, Faith makes her own quilt patches which depicted the joys and sorrows she experienced along the way. Bruce Degan's show more friendly blue and yellow illustrations are a nice companion to the text and include drawings of quilt squares at the beginning of each chapter. show less

Good story but may be a bit too sad for more sensitive children. People and animals die along the way of the Westward expansion - but kids also need to know that it was a hard life going West. I recommend this book, however, if you have a sensitive child (as I do), then you may need to explain the hardships and comfort afterward.

This is a good example of historical fiction. It is not about someone famous, but the likelihood of the events is very high. And it is about westward expansion and having to make sacrifices when traveling on the wagon. It is likely and keeps the reader engaged.

This story tells of a family traveling to the west in a wagon train. The families had to take only their personal belonging that would fit into the covered wagon. It was an adventure to travel this distance, they traded with indians and also came across robbers. They made quilt patches for each adventure that experienced.They finally reached their destination, California and put their quilt patches together making a quilt cover.

This book is easy for children to read. It also tells alittle bit about what they travels had to go through to get to California.

In the class room each child can make a quilt patch of something that reminds them of the pioneer days. I would then piece each one together to make a quilt and hang it on the wall.