Circle Unbroken

Goodreads Review:
As she teaches her granddaughter to sew a traditional sweetgrass basket, a grandmother weaves a story, going back generations to her old-timey grandfather's village in faraway Africa. There, as a boy, he learned to make baskets so tightly woven they could hold the rain. Even after being stolen away to a slave ship bound for America, he remembers what he learned and passes these memories on to his children - as they do theirs, so that

. . . when your fingers talk just right
that circle will go out and out again -
past slavery and freedom, old ways and new,
and your basket will hold the past . . .

This powerful picture book, with its rhythmic text and evocative paintings, spirals through time, becoming a triumphant song - a show more rich story of a craft, a culture, and a people. show less

A Circle Unbroken is a loving, heartbreaking, history that a grandmother tells to her granddaughter detailing the life her family endured in the past as well as the traditions they held and still hold as she tells her story. The tightly wound circle of a sweetgrass basket or "Gullah" symbolizes the connection to Africa the basket weavers have every time they form their circle. No matter what, if their fingers work just right they will connect with their ancestors and the history that connects them all.

This wonderful book is about a grandmother teaching her granddaughter how to sew traditional sweetgrass baskets. The story begins with the grandmother telling stories, going back generations to her old-timey grandfathers village in Africa. She tells her granddaughter that her grandfather learned to weave sweetgrass baskets that could hold the rain. He was stolen away to a slave ship that was headed to America, and he remembered what he learned and passed these memories on to his children. I enjoyed this book a lot because of its meaning. The importance of tradition and culture cannot be undermined. The illustrations in this book are pleasing to the eye and are easy to follow. This book would be suitable for second through fifth grade show more and can be used to teach symbolism and imagery. show less

I really enjoyed reading this book. I really liked how there was story telling of several different historic time periods, and that there was a cultural piece, the basket, that was connected throughout each story. It also emphasizes the importance of passing cultural traditions to future generations.

A well-written story of the history of the sweetgrass baskets of South Carolina and Georgia. When a young girl asks her grandmother about the baskets, her grandmother patiently tells to story of long ago slavery when her grandfather was taken from his African home and used as a slave on a plantation. After the Civil War, the grandfather and grandmother marry.

They continue the African tradition of the sweetgrass basket weaving. And thus, the circles contained in the basket are a symbolic measure of the circle that binds together.

Two Stars

A grandmother relays to her grandchild the ways of her West African ancestors, how they learned to weave baskets tight enough to hold water. Even when they were captured as slaves, they continued to make baskets and teach their children the tradition. Despite wars and changing lifestyles, the art of weaving sweetgrass baskets continues and are sold roadside to tourists. The references to old-timey grandparents and great-great-great-great-grandparents confused me.

Circle Unbroken was the other book that I used in the African American read in and I do not think I could have chosen a better book. The children were so engaged with this book and after reading it I could understand why. It is one of those books that has you wanting to know more and more. You get a better understanding of history as told by the grandmother and I learned some things about the Gullah community that I did not know before.