Cassie's Word Quilt

Cassie's Word Quilt

I chose the book, Cassie's Word Quilt by Faith Ringgold. This is a picture book about a little girl that lives in Harlem and she takes you on a tour of her home, neighborhood, and school. 



This book is part memoir and historical fiction. Faith Ringgold grew up in Harlem, New York where these books take place. She was born in 1930. The book is set in  1939. In one of the pictures there is a date given on a picture of a blackboard. There are subtle hints in the illustrations of when the time period is.

Cassie's Word Quilt is good for younger readers since there are pictures with their descriptive word under each one. There are a lot of different colors in the illustrations. The items are easily identifiable for children and it teaches them word association. 

There are a few motivational activities that can be done with this book. 

• A students can be asked to make a list of things that they also have in their home, school, and neighborhood that are shown in the book.
•  Also on those same pages a search for certain items can be done. For example they can be asked to find the book bag in the picture. They can either identify it by the picture or the word.
• Students can be asked what type of people they see in the pictures. There are a vast amount of pictures with people performing different jobs or doing different activities.

This is a very good cultural book for younger children. It will teach new words and give them a glimpse back in time to the 1930's in Harlem. The illustrations are bright and colorful and have a lot of small details that will keep their eyes moving about the page.

 

Reader Response Questions

 

1.  What things do you and Cassie both have in your house?

 

2. Where does Cassie live?

References:

Faith Ringgold, . (2002). Cassie's Word Quilt. New York: Alfred A Knopf.

Lee , G., Cullinan, B., & Sipe, L. (2006). Literature and the Child. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.