Southwest Children's Literature

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The Tortilla Quilt

Book Review:

The Tortilla Quilt, written and illustrated by Jane Tenorio-Coscarelli, follows a young girl's journey in making memories through a quilt. As the quilt grows so do the memories.

Maria lived with her grandmother, Lupita, on a ranch. Every day, Maria gathered eggs in the coop, while her grandmother made tortillas. After doing chores, Maria spent the rest of the day playing with her best friend, Sarah. At night, Maria secretly watched Sarah and her mom quilting together. She too longed to make a quilt of her own but knew it would be too costly to put together. After talking to her grandma about it, her grandma thought bags from her tortillas would help in making Maria's quilt. Day by day, Maria and Sarah worked at completing their quilt. They felt it needed color; so old clothing that had a specific memory was used to form each piece on the quilt. They worked diligently stitching each section together. Then Maria, Sarah, Sarah's mom, and Grandma Lupita put the finishing touches on the border. As a gift, the girls presented the quilt to Grandma Lupita, and together they reminisced about making the quilt.

Tenorio-Coscarelli's illustrations in this book show the love she has for quilts. Each picture has a different quilt-like border that adds detail to the page. She uses great eye-catching colors that will make children intrigued with the pictures as much as they are with the words,
This book will have children wanting to make a quilt of their own. In the back of the book, readers will find patterns they can use to create their own quilt of memories.

For more information about the author and books she writes and illustrates, you can visit the following website: http://www.quarterinchpublishing.com/index.htm


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