Poppy's Family Patterns

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Today I get to share another new picture book (released this week). It is a multicultural book and is near and dear to my heart for the memories it invokes. The book is Poppy's Family Patterns by Lauren Semmer. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8. At the end of the post there will be free printable activities to go with the book!

From the Publisher:

Discover the magic of patterns and the power of fixing things in this heartwarming children's book. Written and illustrated by New York Times bestselling illustrator Lauren Semmer, this book shows that each pattern is unique, but together they can be magical—just like families!

Poppy is sad when her toy bunny’s dress rips. Now she’ll have to throw it away! But her mom has other ideas. She shows Poppy the trunk in her sewing room, and it’s full of fabric scraps!

There are so many patterns—dots and stripes, checkers and chevron. Each scrap has its own story. Fabric from Granddad’s tie, Nana’s dress, and her auntie’s scarf come together with Mom’s sewing machine to make something special—just like their family!

New York Times bestselling illustrator Lauren Semmer weaves an introduction to patterns in this heartwarming story of family history and traditions.

From Me:

As a math teacher I love that this book teaches about patterns. It names patterns like chevron and describes patterns in words and shows them in illustration. As a quilter I love that the mother has a chest of pieces of fabric from various family members' clothing and makes a patchwork dress for Poppy and her doll from it. This book is packed with so many wonderful ideas and topics. Poppy is sad her doll's dress ripped. Her mother says it is ok and shares with her this colorful chest of scraps of fabric and each scrap has a story about a family member and memories attached to it. Her mom shares the memories with Poppy. She also shares pattern names like chevron and paisley as well as some types of fabric like silk. Then she sews the scraps together and makes a new dress for Poppy and her doll. It is a story about memories, family, and fixing things. 

The book shares how we are all connected and how important memories are. It is such a wonderful way to share memories and keep them. Whether making a dress or a quilt from old favorite things it is powerful. The story shares the importance of family and keeping memories alive. It is such a sweet story. 

When Hazel outgrew some of her favorite clothes I would make doll clothes from them. We always passed some on to younger friends, but I tried to keep her favorites full of memories. I have a couple of drawers full of her clothes from when she was young so she can put them on her own child, or we can make a quilt from them. I love the idea of the patchwork dress for her and her doll though. To go with this book I thought about what kids in the 4 to 8 age range could do and came up with a few activities. 

The first is a coloring page of different patterns that may be found on fabric. Let kids color their own patterned "patchwork". This will be great for the younger age group. 

The next activity is for the kids to create their own colorful patterns patchwork. They get to choose the patterns and colors. At the end of the book there is a pattern library to help them get started. It has common patterns like polka dots and stripes but also things like ankara and shibori and animal prints like leopard and zebra. 

The final activity is to use fabric scraps or pieces of scrapbook paper with patterns on them to create a piece of patchwork. Kids can experiment with which patterns look good next to each other and the combination of colors. You can download all three of these activities here. Enjoy!