Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson

Every time she heard something new she added it to her map. She listened for information about the world beyond the plantation. She took bits of fabric whenever she could to add to her quilt. First they drew it in the dirt.Ĭlara got the idea to sew her map onto a quilt. Young Jack knew more about what lay beyond the plantation, and helped Clara. Clara decided she would try to create a map to freedom. She asked Rachel about it and Rachel explained, but warned that if Clara tried to run away, she'd be beaten.Ĭlara asked the cook more about the Underground Railroad. She overheard the cook talking about Canada and the Underground Railroad.

One day, Clara became a seamstress in the Big House. Her goal was to teach young Clara how to sew really well so that their enslavers would move her from working in the fields to doing domestic work in the Big House.

Young Jack knew it was better to have hope and encouraged her to keep believing in her dreams.Īunt Rachel took care of Clara now that she was so far from her mother. The Underground Railroad is people who been helpin' folks get there, secret-like'ġ1 year old Clara was forced away from her mother and sent to work as a slave in the cotton fields. Under that star, far up north, is Canada. James currently lives in Poughkeepsie, New York, with his wife, Lesa, their two daughters, and their Dalmatian, Clinton.'See there? That's the North Star. One of James's paintings is in the Charlotte (North Carolina) Public Library's permanent children's book art collection. His illustrations also appear on book jackets, greeting cards, puzzles and shopping bags, as well as in magazines and calendars. Currently a member of the Society of Illustrators, James has illustrated numerous books for children, including Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt and Freedom's Fruit. After graduation, James continued to study painting at the Art Students League where his entry into the Society of Illustrators Annual Student Scholarship Competition received the Jellybean award. While still a student at Pratt, James was one of twelve finalists out of two thousand selected to illustrate the annual Citibank calendar. Born in North Carolina, James Ransome is a graduate of the Pratt Institute with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration.

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson