Sewing Stories

By Barbara Herkert, Vanessa Brantley-Newton (Illustrator)

A former slave's quilts weave family stories into timeless art.

4.0/5 Goodreads · 309 ratings

40 pages

$17.99Save 6%

In stock. Also at Amazon or Bookshop.

Bookroo's summary

Harriet Powers, once a young slave on a Georgia plantation, transforms her life through the art of quilting. Her pictorial quilts, rich with Bible stories and local legends, become priceless folk art. As she navigates the challenges of the Civil War and Reconstruction, Harriet's needlework not only sustains her family but also immortalizes her legacy. Discover how her quilts, exhibited at local fairs, transcend her humble beginnings to become celebrated pieces of African American history. What stories do her stitches tell, and how do they continue to resonate today?

From the publisher

An illuminating picture book biography of an artist and former slave whose patchwork quilts bring the stories of her family to life. Harriet Powers learned to sew and quilt as a young slave girl on a Georgia plantation. She lived through the Civil War and Reconstruction, and eventually owned a cotton farm with her family, all the while relying on her skills with the needle to clothe and feed her children. Later she began making pictorial quilts, using each square to illustrate Bible stories and local legends. She exhibited her quilts at local cotton fairs, and though she never traveled outside of Georgia, her quilts are now priceless examples of African American folk art. Barbara Herkert’s lyrical narrative and Vanessa Newton’s patchwork illustrations bring this important artist to life in a moving picture-book biography.

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