Quilts and Blankets Storytime:

Books:

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Anderson, Janet S.
Sunflower Sal. Illustrated by Elizabeth Johns. 
Morton Grove, Ill.: A. Whitman, c1997. 
Sal, a very big girl, cannot sew a quilt like Gran's no matter how hard she tries, but eventually she finds that her talents lie elsewhere.

Brown, Marc.
D.W.'s lost blankie.
Boston : Little, Brown, c1998.
When D.W. cannot find her special blanket, Arthur and Dad try help her, but with no success, until Mom saves the day. 

Cole, Barbara Hancock.
Texas star. Pictures by Barbara Minton. 
New York: Orchard Books, c1990.
Papa grumbles that the family doesn't need another quilt, but is happy to use it after the quilting bee. 

Graham, Bob.
The red woolen blanket .
Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press, 1996. 
Little Julia carries her blanket everywhere with her until one day when she outgrows it. 

Henkes, Kevin.
Owen.
New York: Greenwillow Books, c1993.
Owen's parents try to get him to give up his favorite blanket before he starts school, but when their efforts fail, they come up with a solution that makes everyone happy. 

Hughes, Shirley.
Alfie gives a hand.
New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, c1983.
Holding tightly to his old bit of blanket as he attends his first birthday party, Alfie finds a way to be helpful, but it means putting down his blanket first. 

Johnston, Tony.
The quilt story. Pictures by Tomie dePaola.
New York: Putnam, c1985. 
A pioneer mother lovingly stitches a beautiful quilt which warms and comforts her daughter Abigail; many years later another mother mends and patches it for her little girl. 

Jonas, Ann.
The quilt.
New York: Greenwillow books, c1984.
A child's new patchwork quilt recalls old memories and provides new adventure at bedtime. 

Keller, Holly.
Geraldine's blanket.
New York: Greenwillow Books, 1984
When her mother and father insist that Geraldine get rid of her baby blanket, she finds a new way to keep it with her all the time. 

Kuskin, Karla.
Patchwork island. Illustrated by Petra Mathers. 
New York: HarperCollins, c1994.
A mother making a quilt for her child stitches the varied topography of their beautiful island into her patchwork pattern. 

Polacco, Patricia.
The keeping quilt. 
New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1998.
A homemade quilt ties together the lives of four generations of an immigrant Jewish family, remaining a symbol of their enduring love and faith. 

Richards, Nancy Wilcox.
Farmer Joe baby-sits. Illustrated by Werner Zimmermann. 
Richmond Hill, Ont.: North Winds Press, c1997.
While babysitting Jennifer, Farmer Joe loses the blanket which she needs to take a nap, so both of them search the entire farm for this necessary item. 

Turner, Ann.
Sewing quilts. Illustrated by Thomas B. Allen. 
New York: Maxwell Macmillan International Pub. Group, c1994.
A pioneer girl sees pieces of her life sewn into the quilts she, her sister, and her mother make.


Flannelboard:

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Grandmother's Aprons: A Quilt Story for the Flannel board

Cut out a square of felt in each of the colors described in the story.  Lay them out on the flannelboard as you tell the story to form a quilt.

    Long ago, when John was a little boy, he went to visit his grandparents who lived on a farm in the country. Grandmother always wore aprons. Most of them were white, but some of them were brightly colored.
    One rainy day, John was cross because it was raining and he couldn't go outdoors, so, Grandmother made a playhouse inside using chairs with their backs apart and then she placed her blue apron with big yellow dots over the top of the chairs. John had lots of suns that day!
    The next day John went with Grandmother to collect eggs. John and Grandmother put the eggs in Grandmother's white apron. One broke and made yellow spots on the apron, so she dyed it yellow.
    On a walk one day with Grandmother and Grandfather, John spotted a patch of ripe, wild strawberries. Since they had nothing to put them in, they used Grandmother's white apron. But when they got home, some of the strawberries had stained Grandmother's white apron, so she dyed it pink.
    One Sunday, they went on a picnic, but forgot to bring anything to sit on. Grandmother gave John her white apron to sit on and when John picked up the apron it was covered with green stains from the grass. So Grandmother dyed that apron green.
On the 4th of July, they all went to town to see the parade. John saw people waving flags so Grandmother took off her special red-white-and-blue apron and let John wave it. It was the biggest flag there!
    Every Saturday, Grandfather shined his shoes. He asked John to bring him a cloth to shine them with. John thought he was in Grandmother's rag drawer. But, when he was finished shining the shoes, he discovered it was one of Grandmother's white aprons instead. So Grandmother dyed it brown.
    One day when John was running barefoot, he cut his foot. Grandmother took off her white apron, and wound it around John's foot and carried him into the house. John was just fine after Grandmother washed the cut and bandaged it up, but the white apron had red splotches all over it. So Grandmother dyed it red.
When the evenings began to have a chill to them, it was time to pick huckleberries. John ate as many as he picked and soon his hands were sticky. So Grandmother told John to wipe his hands on her apron. Soon there were purple stains all over the apron, so Grandmother dyed it a beautiful purple.
    Halloween was coming and Grandmother wore a special black and orange apron while John carved pumpkins with her.
    They even painted part of the fence orange just so they would always remember Halloween. Some of the paint dripped on Grandmother's apron, so she dyed it orange.
All too soon it was time to go home. They headed for John's house in a horse and buggy. It was a long ride and when evening came, John grew sleepy and chilly. Grandmother took off her beautiful blue going-to-town apron and put it around John.
    Now, when John grew up, he married and had children of his own. His grandmother and grandfather became old and died, but John never forgot them. After many years, John himself became a grandfather. He loved to tell stories to his grandchildren. He would tuck them into bed under a quilt, and then he would point to the colorful patches in the quilt, one by one, and tell the children what had happened a long time ago, when the squares had been pieces of his grandmother's aprons.

Storytelling:

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Willie Mackie's Blanket
Hide various objects under a small blanket or quilt, and pull them out as you sing this song, to the tune of Old MacDonald had a Farm. Objects might include stuffed animals, musical instruments, balloon, feather, toy train, etc.

Willlie Mackie had a blanket
La-de-da-de-da
And under this blanket he had a object
With a noise noise here and a noise noise there
Here a noise, there a noise,
Every where a noise noise
Willie Mackie had a blanket
La-de-da-de-da!


Creative Dramatics:

Oh Me, Oh Me, Oh My
Hand out patterned paper towels cut into quarters as "blankets" to wash and hang out to dry.

At breakfast time,
Milk spilled on my blanket
Oh me, oh me, oh my!
Have to wash my blanket,
And hang it out to dry.

At lunch time,
Peanut butter got on my blanket
Oh me, oh me, oh my!
Have to wash my blanket,
And hang it out to dry.

At snack time,
Banana smeared on my blanket,
Oh me, oh me, oh my!
Have to wash my blanket,
And hang it out to dry.

At dinner time,
Spaghetti sauce dripped on my blanket,
Oh me, oh me, oh my!
Have to wash my blanket,
And hang it out to dry.

Fingerplays:

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Sewing

My Blanket

I Love my Blanket
Tune: Rock a bye baby

I love my blanket,
It's old and soft
It makes me feel 
So safe and secure

I take my blanket
Where ever I go,
But I will outgrow that,
Someday I know.

Baby

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