Book Review (and a Giveaway!): The Barn Quilt by Patti Michels

The Barn Quilt on tour with Celebrate Lit

THE BARN QUILT
GENRE: Children’s Book / Christmas
PUBLISHER: Redemption Press
RELEASE DATE: November 19, 2019
PAGES: 26

Farmer Max and Miz Patti have a big red barn on their Maple Shade Farm, but one thing is missing—they need a barn quilt. But what pattern should they hang on the side of their barn? The pineapple quilt, or the corn and beans quilt, or what about a quilt with animals on it? None of them are quite right though. Since it’s Christmas, they wonder what barn quilt would have been just right for the stable where Jesus was born. Work along with their neighbor boy, Dennis, as he helps Farmer Max and Miz Patti decide on and make the perfect barn quilt.  

This is a cute book that introduces children to farm life as well as the barn quilts. In fact, I can see this as a fun project to do with elementary age children – read the story with them & have them think about (and maybe design on paper with colored paper/crayons, etc.) what sort of quilt square would be on their own house … or the church’s … or their school’s, etc.

The illustrations are absolutely darling and beautifully done. They complement the text well and enhance the story, too, as should be the case in every good children’s book. I also enjoyed learning more about quilt patterns by default as Miz Patti and Dennis try to decide what pattern to use for Maple Shade Farm’s barn. It may be a bit over the heads of the youngest readers, but I think it should be accessible at a basic level to most.

Bottom Line: The Barn Quilt is a fun book for all ages. The sweet illustrations and cozy tale appeal to young hearts – and those young at heart – and the story itself provides lots of opportunity for interaction with your reader(s), both during the reading and later. A cute gift to give this holiday season!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received via Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)

My Rating: 4 / loved it!

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Patti Michels has lived in the same rural midwestern county her entire life, thirty-nine of those with her husband. She loves designing her family’s Christmas card and working with senior citizens. At the end of a long day, she enjoys returning to the farm and looking out her kitchen window at her own barn quilt. 

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Believe it or not, the idea for this children’s book started out as a Christmas card.  Each year the Michels family produces their own original Christmas card.  This tradition started out simple, in the early 1980’s, as the Michels’ two small daughters helped with the coloring, cutting, and gluing!

Patti Michels and Max, her farmer husband of 39 years, live on a small farm in Southern Illinois.  The girls have grown and moved on, and the empty-nesters have joined others in their small farm community, in creating a barn quilt to hang on their barn.

While Max was preparing the 36″ X 36″ wood panel for Patti to paint, Patti was drawing and designing and dreaming up the best barn quilt pattern to display on the barn at Maple Shade Farm. As Patti painted their special barn quilt, a Christmas card idea popped into her head. “What if the stable where Jesus was born had a barn quilt?”

Patti feels like ideas are a gift from God, as is her husband, who helps her pull off one after another completed “project”.  Whether it’s feeding cows, baling hay, making Christmas cards, or creating a barn quilt, they continue to work side by side. This book, based on the real life story of creating the barn quilt, gives kids a glimpse into a small farm family life, while also enjoying and celebrating those things that make Christmas so special, like hot chocolate, cookies and God’s love.

To celebrate her tour Patti is giving away the grand prize of a signed copy of The Barn Quilt, and a $25 gift card from Amazon!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

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This giveaway is hosted by Celebrate Lit, not RimSP
Follow along with the tour by clicking the banner below

What about you? What interests you most about The Barn Quilt?