QUILT COUNTING

Cline-Ransome and Ransome (Quilt Alphabet, 2001) team up again and count a colorful homage to quilts and the memories they hold. Short rhyming text accompanies each bold, crisp painting. The poems create a patchwork quilt of their own. The first ten poems portray quilting equipment and the special techniques quilters use: four scissors, five thimbles, eight baskets, etc. The last nine—counting back down—celebrate the agrarian life that inspires the three generations of quilters who are creating the patchwork: eight sheep, seven butterflies, and so on. Most of the poems flow easily from the reader’s lips and match the illustrations. Despite some awkward writing, this is a visual treat. Ransome’s signature acrylic palette is infused with rich blues and blue-greens which draw the eye to the nostalgic images of rural life: grazing sheep, inviting ears of golden corn, blooming sunflowers, and rooting pink-eared pigs. The stacks of colorful fabrics, gleaming thimbles, and collectible pincushions are reminiscent of a grandmother’s attic. Careful examination reveals the agrarian images reflected in the finished quilt on the final page and in the stunning folk-art endpages. Will wrap readers in its warmth. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-7)