Historical Fiction

Under the Quilt of Night

Written By: Deborah Hopkinson

Illustrated By: James E. Ransome

An Anne Schwartz Book. 2002

40 pages

Historical Fiction

              Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genres. History elements in these stories really draw me to these books. This genre is great for students who love history elements like I do. I also think if students do not really get interested in history it is a good genre to get in some of the knowledge. I picked this book because it was highlighted at my public library near where I live.  Under the Quilt of Night is a story about the Underground Railroad. The story highlights a young girl and her journey to freedom. It shows the dangers and struggles they endured as well. Showing the travel dangers as well as running from her master throughout the story. It tells a story about how the quilt lets the runaways know if you are taking them in or not.

              The illustrations are oil paintings. The paintings are deep and very detailed. Without the illustrations this story wouldn’t deliever the point as well as it does. These give a realistic look to the pictures. It makes it easy to put yourself in those pictures because they are so detailed. The illustrations also highlight the text.

              I think this book is appropriate for grades third through fifth. This content is a little to in depth for most children below third grade. For writing you can pose the question “If this book was set in todays time period what are some challenges they would face?” This gives them more critical thinking of relating their journeys in the present as apposed to the past. In social studies you could have a Underground Railroad journey throughout the school. This would be a fun activity for the children to get them moving and keep them engaged. An art activity would be to draw a quilt patch like they have in the book, and once they are done with their square you can put them altogether.