"We will make a quilt to help us always remember home," Anna'smother said. "It will be like heaving the family in backhome Russiadance around us at night. And so it was. From a basket of old clothes,Anna's babushka, Uncle Vladimir's shirt, Aunt Havalah's nightdressand an apron of Aunt Natasha's become The Keeping Quilt, passed along from mother to daughter for almost a century. For fourgenerations the quilt is a Sabbath tablecloth, a wedding canopy,and a blanket that welcomes babies warmly into the world. In strongly moving pictures that are asheartwarming as they are real, patricia Polacco tells the story ofher own family, and the quilt that remains a symbol of theirenduring love and faith.
Only a child can find the way to bring Saint George back to the play. The Boy works for the Magician, and he wants more than anything to learn magic. But the Magician always says, "Not yet, Boy. Not till the time is right." So the Boy has to be content with polishing the Magician's wand, taking care of the rabbits the Magician pulls out of hats, and doing his favorite job: operating the puppets for the play Saint George and the Dragon, which the Magician always performs as part of his act. Until one day the Saint George puppet disappears, and the angry Magician hurls the Boy into the strange Land of Story to find Saint George. His quest is full of adventures with oddly familiar people, from the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe to the Giant at the top of Jack's beanstalk. But the Boy's last adventure is the most amazing of all -- and changes his life forever.
