Do you have a favorite quilt or blanket that brings you comfort every time you wrap up in it? We do and that’s why we chose to read The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston and Tomie dePaola. It’s a wonderful story about a little girl, Abigail, and her beloved quilt. Abigail and her family move miles from home and across the prairie. The quilt keeps her company the entire way. Many, many years later, another little girl finds the quilt in the attic of her new home. She had just moved miles and miles away from her home. The quilt, which had once comforted Abigail, now provides the new little girl with the same amount of comfort.

After reading the book, we made our own quilts. Instead of using fabric, we used paper. The girls each had a piece of construction paper and a stack of construction paper squares. We also brought out the markers and glue sticks. They worked hard designing their quilt squares.

We colored and glued while creating our quilts. We talked about Abigail and her special quilt. Why was it special? How did it help Abigail? What is special about our own beloved blankets? I’ve found that the girls and I can have some wonderful conversations about books while crafting.

My oldest daughter, who is 5, took some cues from the book and had her quilt tell a story. She drew a picture of grasslands and flowers. She also had a picture of a house and a little girls named Melody who lived in the house. You can see the “M” in the picture for Melody. She also drew the shooting star as a reminder of Abigail’s quilt in the story. After we were done, the quilt was given to one of her favorite dolls.

Our afternoon with The Quilt Story gave us many riches. Not only did we read a wonderful book and do a fun craft, but we learned about home and comfort. We talked about loneliness, moving, quilts, and finding comfort in home. We learned how to be storytellers and also learned how to use pictures to tell a story. But, most of all, we spent a lovely afternoon enjoying each other and all the comforts we can find in our own family.