Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt - Reading Rainbow Books by Deborah Hopkinson Paperback

About the Book

Clara, a slave in the big house on Home Plantation, begins to save scraps of colored cloth for a quilt that becomes a map depicting the route of the Underground Railroad. Clara eventually escapes herself by the path that has by now been stitched into her memory, leaving the quilt behind as a guide for others.

Book Synopsis

An inspiring tale of creativity and determination on the Underground Railroad from Coretta Scott King Award winner James Ransome and acclaimed author Deborah Hopkinson.

Clara, a slave and seamstress on Home Plantation, dreams of freedom--not just for herself, but for her family and friends. When she overhears a conversation about the Underground Railroad, she has a flash of inspiration. Using scraps of cloth from her work in the Big House and scraps of information gathered from other slaves, she fashions a map that the master would never even recognize. . . .

From the award-winning author-illustrator team of Deborah Hopkinson and James Ransome, this fictional tale of the Underground Railroad continues to inspire young readers 25 years after its original publication.

"Inspiring." --The New York Times

"A triumph of the human spirit." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

Review Quotes

"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.

About the Author

Deborah Hopkinson has written many acclaimed picture books, including A Letter to My Teacher; Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book; and Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek: A Tall, Thin Tale, an ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book. She lives in Oregon with her family. Visit her at deborahhopkinson.com.

James Ransome is the illustrator of many award-winning titles for children, including The Creation by James Weldon Johnson, which won a Coretta Scott King Award for illustration, and Let My People Go: Bible Stories Told by a Freeman of Color by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack, winner of an NAACP Image Award. His other titles include This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration by National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson, Young Pelé Soccer's First Star by Lesa Cline-Ransome, and Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building by Deborah Hopkinson. He lives in New York. Visit him at jamesransome.com.