Oma’s Quilt was written by Paulette Boureois and illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch. It was published by Kids Can Press Ltd. in 2001.
Emily’s grumpy grandmother, Oma, is about to move out of her house and into an old folk’s home. For the grandmother it’s a big challenge to adjust to these new surroundings. To make her feel more comfortable Emily and her mother make a quilt out of old materials. By the end they give the grandmother the quilt which makes her recall many fond memories. The grandmother eventually adjusts to her new surroundings.
Oma’s Quilt is a “soft” story. I always like negative characters that can spice up stories so the grandmother is a welcome character.
Most young children probably don’t know what grandparents have to go through when moving to retirement homes. All of the memories that they have to leave behind and the idea of adjusting to new surrounding can be traumatizing.
I’ve had a few grandparents in retirement homes and their minds slow disintegrated while they were in them. Oma’s Quilt may help some children realize that support for these old people living in these places can come from anyone in the family. I certainly wouldn’t want to live in one of those places...
A lot of the illustrations seem to be done in watercolors and there’s a lot of detail. I especially like some of the drawings that take up two full pages.
All of the characters in this story are female, so I’m not sure if rambunctious little boys would fancy this story. I don’t think too many boys could identify with two females going looking through boxes and trying on various clothes.
Recommend for girls.
