American Booksellers Association Pick of the Lists

Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Book Award

Carnegie Medal Honor Book

This beloved and bestselling picture book tells the story of one family’s history through the generations and the powerful bond of their love.

“We will make a quilt to help us always remember home,” Anna’s mother said. “It will be like having the family in backhome Russia dance around us at night.”

And so it was. A basket of old clothes, Anna’s babushka, Uncle Vladimir’s shirt, Aunt Havalah’s nightdress, and an apron of Aunt Natasha’s become The Keeping Quilt, passed along from mother to daughter for almost a century. For four generations the quilt is a Sabbath tablecloth, a wedding canopy, and a blanket that welcomes babies warmly into the world.

In strongly moving illustrations that are as heartwarming as they are real, Patricia Polacco tells the story of her own family and the quilt’s further story that remains a symbol of their enduring love and faith.