The Dream Quilt--Quilting in Children's Literature

 There is more than one book entitled, The Dream Quilt. After all, quilts and dreams do go together!

Ryan Celeste. The Dream Quilt. Illustrated by Mary Haverfield. Waterbrook, 1999. ISBN: 978-1578562237

 

 

 

This Christian picture book centers on the following Bible verse:

"You, O God, are strong.

And You, O Lord, are loving." (Psalm 62: 11-12)

 

Michael has nightmares. He wakes crying and his mother comforts him and tells him,"When I was little, I had scary dreams, too. Granny Rose would pray with me and cover me up with my special quilt. It made me feel so warn and safe." When Michael asks if he could use her quilt, the two of them went into the attic and found it.

That night, after Michael said his prayers and settled in bed, they played the game that Mother and Granny Rose played when she was little. She asked him to choose his favorite square on the quilt. He chose a blue one. Mother told him to pretend that he was a letter and the quilt was his envelope.

The stamp on his envelope was a kiss. A rhyme repeated through the book is "A kiss for a stamp--and quick as you can, away you go to a bright blue land!"

That night, Michael had beautiful blue dreams.

The next night he chose a yellow square, and the result was a yellow dream night.

When Granny Rose came to visit, she took the quilt home for some needed repairs. Michael was worried that without the quilt his bad dreams would come back, but his mother told him about God's promise in the rainbow, and with a prayer and her kiss, sent him to a rainbow dreamland.

Rainbow dreams

Granny Rose returned the quilt, but Michael "almost never had bad dreams again."

In this book, the quilt is a comfort and a reminder of God's love.

The Dream Quilt

The illustrations in this book are mixed media--some include collage. They are interesting to examine in detail, yet bright and simple enough to clearly depict the story. 

The text is clear and easy-to-read. The vocabulary is limited, and some word meanings can be deduced by looking at the illustrations. The recurring rhyme adds to its appeal as a read aloud book.

Happy Quilting! 😸

A reminder--you can find my posts on Quilts in Children's Literature by clicking "Children's Literature" in the list of labels on the right-hand pane of this blog.

NOTE: I found my books used from BetterWorldBooks.com. I can highly recommend this site. Not only do they always have free shipping, but they also contribute a book to someone in need for every book you buy. I was not compensated for this recommendation--I just love doing business with them.