KINDERGARTEN STEPPING STONES PAPA AND THE PIONEER QUILT TRADE BOOK
Kindergarten-Grade 3—Papa's "wandering feet" have taken Rebecca's family many places, from Pennsylvania, where she was born, to Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri. Now he is moving them west again to Oregon: "I hear tell land out there is the finest a man could want." Although Rebecca longs to stay put, Mama explains that this is "Papa's dream." They set out in spring, and during the six-month journey, Papa nearly dies while crossing a river, little brother Harrison falls out of the wagon three times, and Rebecca makes friends with fellow travelers. She also starts to collect scraps of cloth for her quilt bag—from Papa's torn shirt, Mama's apron, her old travel dress. When they finally arrive at their destination, she sews a quilt, and she and her siblings sleep under the snuggly blanket in their Oregon cabin. An author's note explains that the pattern of Rebecca's quilt was a popular mid-19th-century design called "Wandering Foot" in celebration of the pioneer spirit, but that quilters eventually changed the name to "Turkey Tracks." Bond's excellent illustrations, done in acrylics on watercolor paper, provide an ideal dreamy background for the story. The smooth first-person narrative, appealing dialogue, and sunny artwork vividly capture a child's experience in the early days of the United States.—Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WICopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.