Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt

Synopsis
In this picture book, Deborah Hopkinson tells the "story of Clara, an ingenious young girl who uses her wits to escape slavery. Separated from her mother before her 12th birthday and forced at first to work as a field hand, Clara eventually becomes a seamstress in her master's house. Using her new skill, she painstakingly creates a quilt that is actually a map of an escape route. With the details of the map committed to memory, she leaves the quilt behind for others to follow and travels the underground railroad to freedom, reuniting with her mother along the way. . . . Ages five to nine." (N Y Times BookRev)

Annotation
As a seamstress in the Big House, Clara is luckier than the slaves who work in the fields. Still, she dreams of a reunion with her Momma, who lives on another plantation--and even of running away to freedom. When she hears two slaves wishing for a map to the Underground Railroad, she realizes how she can make a "freedom quilt" map that no master will ever suspect.

From the Publisher
Illus. in full color. As a seamstress in the Big House, Clara dreams of a reunion with her Momma, who lives on another plantation—and even of running away to freedom. Then she overhears two slaves talking about the Underground Railroad. In a flash of inspiration, Clara sees how she can use the cloth in her scrap bag to make a map of the land—a freedom quilt—that no master will ever suspect. "A particularly effective way to introduce the subject to younger children, adding a trenchant immediacy to their understanding of a difficult but important chapter in the country's past."—(starred) Horn Book. "This first-rate book is a triumph of the heart."—(starred) Publishers Weekly.

From the Critics
From Publisher's Weekly - Publishers Weekly  
A courageous slave girl plays an unusual part in the Underground Railroad; in a starred review, PW said, ``This first-rate book is a triumph of the heart.'' Ages 5-10. (Sept.)
 
From Susie Wilde - Children's Literature  
A first book by Hopkinson, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, commemorates an African-American girl's making of a freedom quilt during the time of the Underground Railroad. Powerful illustrations by Ransome punctuate this compelling story.
 
From Deborah Zink Roffino - Children's Literature  
The powerful collaboration of storyteller and artist stitches together the true story of young Clara's courageous plan to map the route to the Underground Railroad in the squares of her quilt, providing a path to freedom for hundreds of slaves. It's a beautiful book of deep love and faith that will impress and inspire young readers.
 
From Jan Lieberman - Children's Literature  
When Clara is separated from her momma on the plantation, she vows to be reunited with her some day. With the help of Rachel, an older slave, Clara learns to sew and learns about runaway slaves, Canada, and the value of maps. Her idea is to use her stitching talent to make a quilt that will serve as a guide for escape. This book presents a little-known story of daring and adventure with paintings that equal the power of the story. 1995 (orig.
 
From School Library Journal  
K-Gr 3-- Clara, a young slave, works as a seamstress and dreams of freedom. Overhearing drovers talk of escaping North enables her to make a patchwork map of the area. When she escapes, she leaves the quilt behind to guide others. Based on a true event, this is a well-written picture book. Ransome's oil paintings, however, are perhaps too smooth and rich for the story they tell. The world depicted is too bright, open, and clean. For example, in the first scene Clara has been put to work in the cotton fields. Supposedly too frail to last long at such work, she is pictured as a slim, serious, yet sturdy girl. The bright yellow sky and the charming smile of the boy with her belie the realities of the back-breaking work. In another scene, young Jack, who has been brought back the day before from running away, looks solemn, but not distressed, and is wearing what appears to be a freshly ironed white shirt. Again, the image distances viewers from the realities of the situation. Clara's escape to Canada, too, is marvelously easy, although she does say, ``But not all are as lucky as we were, and most never can come.'' It is not easy to present the horrors of slavery to young children; thus, even though Ransome's illustrations, and to some extent the text, err on the side of caution, this is an inspiring story worth inclusion in most collections. --Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY