Reviews

I Lay My Stitches Down: Poems of American Slavery by Michele Wood, Cynthia Grady

katenetz's review against another edition

4.0

A wonderful little book. The poems were beautiful but also interesting - I learned much more than I expected and the different perspectives of each poem were fascinating. Perhaps the best thing about the book, though, was the combination of word and illustration.

artransvet's review against another edition

5.0

Cynthia's poetry about American Slavery was not only very well written, but Michele's illustrations were incorporated so beautifully into the book that it was impossible to separate one from the other. Although it looks like a picture book on the outside, the books is perfectly suited for the middle grades or higher. At the bottom of each poem is a small section of explanations about things quilting, slavery, or spiritually related that are expressed in that individual poem. For someone that knows NOTHING about quilting, I found this to be helpful. This book would be a wonderful tool for Black History Month or for a history lesson on slavery in America.

chachacenteno's review against another edition

5.0

Beautiful illustrations, powerful stories. Not a book to hurry through.

elllie's review against another edition

5.0

Beautiful. The illustrations are amazing and the thought and care put into each of these poems is masterful. Grady pairs each of her poems with information and facts behind every bit of the poem, so kids actually have a chance at understanding some of the slightly abstract/little-known history and ideas in her poetry. Maybe not the best for an introduction to slavery, but a perfect complementary work for any teacher's unit on slavery. Fantastic.

steamy_earl_of_grey's review against another edition

3.0

I Lay My Stitches Down is a book of verse of American slavery. Each poem is based on a quilt pattern and includes three references: biblical/spiritual, musical and a sewing/fiber arts. It could have been better if it had included what all these references where instead of just a few. Overall, a tome that would be well-suited for older elementary students.