Sewing Stories

September 7, 2015
Born into slavery on a Georgia plantation, Harriet Powers learned to quilt from a young age, developing into a skilled artist. Brantley-Newton’s collages incorporate photographic snippets of burlap, cotton, and other textiles, while Herkert ably places Powers’s life in historical context, as she was eventually forced to sell the two “story quilts” she created in order to make ends meet after the Civil War. The quilts themselves (which now hang in museums) get large-scale reproductions on the endpapers, as well as numbered explanations of the biblical and real-life events reflected within their panels. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Karen Grencik, Red Fox Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words.

August 1, 2015
The story of a little-known historical figure whose life was sewn together with quilts. Harriet Powers, born a slave near Athens, Georgia, grew up surrounded by textile arts: carding, dyeing, and weaving cloth and sewing and stuffing batting into quilts. The women and girls in her family taught her these arts at an early age, and she promised one day to "sew a magic world." After she married and had children, the Civil War came and went, leaving her large family with no livelihood. Harriet picked up her needle and began to turn nothing into something...something that she loved but sold to feed her family. Though Harriet sewed only two story quilts in her lifetime, their uniqueness and intricacy have made them museum-worthy; the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston now house these works of art. Each of the 11 panels in the "Bible" quilt and the 15 in the "Pictorial" quilt contain a story from the Bible or from history. Punctuating Herkert's narrative of Powers' life are informative historical tidbits imposed onto small, frayed swatches of fabric. Brantley-Newton's airy, colorful mixed-media illustrations include a wonderful array of fabrics with different designs and textures, and the skin tones of the black characters depict a realistically diverse range. Unsourced dialogue makes the book problematic as nonfiction, but as a picture-book introduction to an unsung artist, it inspires. Harriet Powers: an artist worth knowing. (author's notes, bibliography, quilt explanations) (Picture book. 5-8)

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August 1, 2015

K-Gr 3-This picture book biography introduces readers to Harriet Powers, an African American artist who grew up as a slave and was freed by the end of the Civil War. As a young girl on a Georgia plantation, she learned how to make cloth, dye it using natural colorings, and make quilts with applique designs stitched on fabric. Powers married and became a wife and mother of five, using her skills as a quilter to help support her family. The story is told in a folksy, conversational tone. Multiple text boxes provide additional information in a clear, direct style, supporting the main text. Upbeat and cheerful, the mixed-media illustrations (a combination of digital art and gouache) present Powers in a positive light and provide details of her daily life. The endpapers feature reproductions of Powers's two existing quilts, and back matter includes an author's note, a photograph of the artist, and an explanation of each of the story quilts. Overall, this is an illuminating introduction to a largely unknown artist. However, teachers and librarians should be aware that there is a considerable amount of fictionalized dialogue: no sources are provided for the quotes from the subject. VERDICT Despite some limitations, this is a much-needed introduction to the life of a little known African American artist, with many possible curriculum connections: artists, quilters, women's history, and the Civil War.-Myra Zarnowski, City University of New York

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2015
Grades 2-4 Harriet Powers was born a slave, lived in poverty, and probably died without knowing what a tremendous contribution she and her story quilts made to history, culture, and art. Sewing Stories brings to contemporary readers the old tradition of quilt making and applique. Powers' earliest days were spent in the cotton fields where her family was enslaved, picking, weaving, and dyeing the cotton that eventually made its way into the fabric of her quilts. Pieced into the narrative of quilting traditions is the story of Powers' own life: marriage, children, work, and endurance in the Jim Crow South. Just as seamlessly integrated are the book's tender multimedia illustrations in collage, applique, and paint that render history, craft, and personal narrative inextricable from each other. Superimposed quilt squares of informational text supplement the biography like much-needed patches. Both of her quilts are displayed and explained in the back matter. Powers' story is sure to inspire curiosity about quilting and its significance in African American history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)