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The Quilt
The Quilt
The Quilt
Audiobook1 hour

The Quilt

Written by Gary Paulsen

Narrated by Susan Ericksen

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

1944. Wartime.

A six-year-old boy goes to spend the summer with his grandmother Alida in a small town near the Canadian border. With the men all gone off to fight, the women are left to run the farms. There's plenty for the boy to do—trying to help with the chores, getting to know the dog, and the horses, cows, pigs, and chickens.

But when his cousin Kristina goes into labor, he can't do a thing. Instead, the house fills with women come to help and to wait, and to work on a quilt together. This is no common, everyday quilt, but one that contains all the stories of the boy's family. The quilt tells the truth, past and future: of happiness, courage, and pain; of the greatest joy, and the greatest loss. And as they wait, the women share these memorable stories with the boy.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 20, 2013
ISBN9781455809165
The Quilt
Author

Gary Paulsen

Gary Paulsen (1939-2021) wrote more than two hundred books for children and adults. Three of his novels – Hatchet, Dogsong, and The Winter Room – were Newbery Honor books. In 1997, he received the ALA's Margaret A. Edwards Award for his contribution to young adult literature. His books have sold over 35 million copies around the world.

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Reviews for The Quilt

Rating: 3.8499999899999997 out of 5 stars
4/5

20 ratings4 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    In this third installment, the story goes back to a time when the boy was six. He goes to spend the summer with his grandmother in northern Minnesota. It isn't long until she receives a call from an expectant mother who needs help on the farm. The boy and grandmother soon arrive where he meets farm animals galore. His grandmother calls in other women. He hears a very scary sound as the birth pangs begin. As the women sit in the kitchen, they bring out a quilt and share stories of those who passed. Before the story ends, the women will need to sew another square on the quilt. It's a touching story--a tribute to the author's own grandmother.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    During World War II a young boy lives for a time with his grandmother in northern Minnesota. Most of the narrative takes place on a farm, where the boy learns about animals, chores, and experiences new life as well as loss. Very touching.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A retelling of Paulsen's personal history. The main action center around a neighbor woman giving birth yet the main character is a 6 year old boy. I found this interesting but I can't imagine any modern child who would. Boys wouldn't read about childbirth and girls would rather have another girl as the main character. Yet the story itself gives a good look at life in rural northern Minnesota during WWII and portrays interesting images. With gas rationing and many men off to war, the women need to work hard to survive and the only local vehicle (owned by an elderly neighbor) runs pretty erratically. Farm chores, new for this city-raised boy, are learned. The quilt of the title is one added to over the years by the community to hold the memory of each individual when they die As women gather to help during the birth they tell the stories of some of the patches.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved this book. Even though it was a short book it was full of life. Gary Paulsen has written of his experiences while living with his grandmother while his father is in the war and his mother is working in a munitions factory. While staying with his grandmother they must go to his cousin Kristina’s house to help out as the birth of her first child is near. He finds himself in the middle of a group of women who have all arrived to help. When the labor is slow to progress they bring out the family quilt. This is where he sits and learns the family history as they recount the reason for each patch in the quilt.