Gail Gibbons is noted for her colorful, well-researched informational picture books, which she illustrates with cartoon-style drawings. Although there is no traditional bibliography or index in The Quilting Bee, the author credits her source on the copyright page, where she thanks �Louise Young . . . for her expert advice on quilt making.� The back material of the book illustrates the steps for creating an authors� and illustrators� quilt. Readers can rely on Gibbons� reputation for attention to detail and accuracy, which characterizes her writing.
The format of the book makes it accessible to readers who enjoy browsing and reading captions. The narrative text of the book is printed in a large, serifed font. The page is divided into chunks of information and illustration with a blue-dotted line that looks like the stitching in a quilt. Non-narrative text, including captions, is written in a smaller, sans-serif font. The art is laid out in a variety of ways; some drawings span two pages, and some are scattered about like cartoons. When appropriate, illustrations are carefully labeled, like those showing the layers of a quilt and modern-day quilting equipment. Pictures of quilt squares are scattered throughout the text, and historic background information is sometimes included along with their descriptive names.
Children will be attracted by Gibbons� use of vivid color in the ink and water-color cartoon-style paintings. The invitation to read begins with the cheerful cover of the book, and continues through the title and copyright pages. The book is not meant to be a �how to� book. Very young children will enjoy looking at the quilt patterns and designs, while older readers may be inspired to pursue a new hobby. �More informational than instructional, the book is illustrated with cheerful, cartoony images of quilts and quilters past and present.� (Horn Book Guide, October 1, 2004)
While some readers may enjoy the snippets of information strewn across the pages, others may find it distracting and confusing. Accessory information is not organized into sidebars, but may appear anywhere on the page, and sometimes occupies more of the page than the actual narrative portion of the text. �Dozens of watercolor-and-ink illustrations depicting both scenes of people quilting and pattern squares are scattered about like a crazy quilt. Interesting facts about the design, construction, and history of quilts, as well as the origin of traditional patterns used by the pioneers, are ill served by the book's format and fonts, which make it difficult to distinguish the narrative from the numerous captions.� (School Library Journal, May 1, 2004)
In spite of its shortcomings, The Quilting Bee is a visual feast that has much information to share about a treasured tradition. Readers may be surprised by the ancient history of the art and the way quilts served as another way to tell the story of American pioneers. This book would work well in conjunction with others on the same theme to teach a unit on this time-honored tradition, or as a colorful page of our American heritage.
Source
Books in Print [database online]. Available from http://www.booksinprint.com. Accessed 31 March 05.
Related Sites
Gail Gibbons� Website
Quilting with Children
America�s Quilting History
School of Library and Information Studies
TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY