The Promise Quilt book review by Taali

Title of the Book: The Promise Quilt 

 Author Name: Candice F. Ransom (Illustrator: Ellen Beier) 

Reviewer's Name: Taali 

Publisher: Walker Publishing Company, Inc. 

 Date of Publication: 1999 

 Rating: 1-5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

The book The Promise Quilt by Candice Ransom is about the effect the Civil War had on families, specifically the ones living in the south. Addie, the main character, is very close to her dad as a child, but when she’s only 5, he leaves her for the war. He promises that he’ll come back and that he’ll help her go to school, but he dies before the war ends. Addie is heartbroken without her dad and the only thing she has left of him are memories are his red flannel, the one he was wearing the day he left for the war. Her dad dying leaves her family without money so they end up struggling a lot over the next couple years. They end up planting a corn field with the little money left and thankfully it was a good crop. Soon after, it was time for Addie to go to school, but the war had blown up the school. Addie was really disappointed but with the help of a lady in Pennsylvania, they managed to raise money to buy books and supplies. Soon Addie was able to attend school with other kids. 

I really liked this book, it was an easy read and it held some importance behind it. It was also sort of informational. It talked about the effects that war has on families, during, and after the war. War is not always on a designated battlefield and a lot of casualties are innocent people who are not soldiers. No one really talks about the effect battle has on families after the war either. It can be very hard, having to wait years for your family member to come home, and then never coming back. And you never really know what happened to them. This book is really good for beginners and has nice pictures in it to help you read along and understand. I give this book a 5/5 stars because it was sort of informational and it was sweet. Its also something nice to show to little kids to inform them about these kinds of situations. Overall this was a great book. 

This book about the effect of war on families was really nice. I think Addie was really strong, she continued to help her mom after her dad died even though she was just a little kid and she had just lost a parent she was really close to. She never verbally complained to her mom when she lost everything and when they were living off boiled turnips because they were poor. And she was strong enough to give up her dad’s flannel, the last thing she had of him, to the quilt her mom was making because she was thinking about the others and knew it was the right thing to do. I also really liked the mom because she stayed strong for her kids even when she just lost her husband. She also worked really hard to support her family and then to get Addie to school. My favorite part was when Addie gave up the flannel for the quilt because it shows how strong she is.