The Keeping Quilt

Patricia Polacco

Kind of Story

Non-Fiction

Personal Narrative

A true story with actual events or characters.

Vocabularyborder

gathering

needles

scraps

sewn

threaded

border

A part that forms the outside

edge of something

gathering

A coming together of people

needles

Small, thin tools used for sewing

scraps

Leftover bits of cloth

sewn

Fastened with stitches, using a

needle and thread

threaded

Passed thread through the

eye of a needle

Vocabulary The Keeping Quilt

Border A part that forms the outside edge of

something

Gathering A coming together of people

Needles Small, thin tools used for sewing

Scraps Leftover bits of cloth

Sewn Fastened with stitches, using a needle

and thread

Threaded Passed thread through the eye of a

needle

Think About the Selection

1. Why does Anna’s mother start the

tradition of the Keeping Quilt?

2. Compare each daughter’s wedding to her

mother’s wedding. How is each wedding

different and the same?

3. How do you think Patricia Polacco feels

about her family? Give examples from

the story?

4. What does the Keeping Quilt help the

family keep? In what other ways might a

family keep something?

5. Why do you think Polacco has drawn only

part of each illustration in color?

6. Connecting/Comparing

How does this story help you understand

traditions and what they mean to

families?