Karen Leggett (Children's Literature)
Gary Paulsen tells us in the foreword that "because of the pain of remembering the emotional disaster that was my mother," he never expected to write more about his early years after publishing The Cookcamp. He concluded, however, because of his grandmother, that he is "all that I am." And so now we have The Quilt. The boy--never named in the actual story--is six years old and living with his grandmother Alida while his father is away at war and his mother is fighting her own wars in the city. The story is powerful in its simplicity, touching and poignant in its detail. There are descriptive gems that will bring a laugh: "It was hard to decide on who was older or in worse shape, Elmer or his truck." That truck took the boy and his grandmother to Kristina's farm. Kristina was about to have a baby, but her husband was also away at war. The story is sprinkled with female anger at the male penchant for war. On the farm the boy learned chores like chasing cats from the backs of the cows and he learned about babies, though he was always chased from the room right when the conversation became interesting. He also learned about the quilt. Special squares are added to the quilt for every one in the family who passes away. As the women waited for Kristina's baby, they quilted and the boy learned the stories of Karl and Gunnar and Pearl. Readers will also learn about the strength of women, women who "go on and on even when the men are gone." 2004, Random House, $15.95. Ages 10 to 15.

Kathryn Erskine (Children's Literature)
Third in his series of books paying tribute to his grandmother, this book follows The Cookcamp and Alida’s Song. It tells the story of the comfort and memories woven into a quilt by the women who hold down the fort when the men go off to war. The main character, a 6-year-old boy, watches the women, interested in their actions, often confused by them, and ultimately learning of their love and strength symbolized in the quilt. A worthwhile story to be told, it is better intended for adult audiences. The slow pace and reminiscent tone gives it the feel of a memoir, which it partially is. The boy is not so much a main character as an observer. The book is an interesting historical piece on how women helped each other in small communities and took on all the tasks of life while they were on their own, supporting one another through the pain of birth to the pain of death. 2004, Yearling/Random House, $5.50. Ages 12 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 7))
In 1944, with his father at war and his mother working the night shift at the munitions factory, the narrator-"the boy"-goes to live with his grandmother Alida in northern Minnesota. At a neighboring farm, seven miles and seven hours away, Alida and several local women have gathered for the birth of Kristina's baby. They share a ritual of holding a quilt and telling "quilt stories" about their lives and those who have passed. It's a quiet, beautiful tale of magic in the faces and hands of the women holding the cloth. So much of life, death, and the strength of women is told in evocative prose rich in vivid details. Begun in The Cookcamp (1991) and continued in Alida's Song (1999), this is Paulsen's ode to his grandmother and what women "had to do to keep life, and families, together during the war." A story to savor and share and Paulsen at his best. 2004, Wendy Lamb/Random, 96p, $15.95. Category: Fiction. Ages 8 to 12. Starred Review. © 2004 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Dian Boysen (Library Media Connection, November/December 2004)
In 1944 a boy, (author Gary Paulsen), goes to spend the summer with his grandmother, Alida, in a small town in Minnesota. With all the men off fighting the war, the women must take care of the farms. He has much to learn and do on the farm. When his cousin, Kristina, goes into labor, the women of the area gather to help, wait, and work on a quilt. The quilt is the story of the boy's family. In this novella readers are given another chapter in the life of Paulsen's grandmother. He began her story in The Cookcamp (Orchard Books, 1991), and continued it in Alida's Song (Bantam, Doubleday, Dell, 1999). His fans will enjoy the heartwarming, sensitive stories of his family as told while the ladies make the quilt. Recommended. 2004, Wendy Lamb Books (Random House), 96pp., $15.95 hc. Ages 10 to 14.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2004)
Though this companion to The Cookcamp and Alida's Song is autobiographical, Paulsen uses a distancing narrative technique, referring to his protagonist only as "the boy." During World War II, the six-year-old and his grandmother stay at a farm with a pregnant cousin. The plot is sketchy, and the central motif—a quilt stitched with the names of deceased relatives—remains undeveloped. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2004, Random/Lamb, 85pp, $15.95, $17.99. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 5: Marginal, seriously flawed, but with some redeeming quality.