Ludelphia Bennett may be blind in one eye, but she can still put in a good stitch. Ludelphia sews all the time, especially when things go wrong.read full description
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Sep 12, 2011
Karen
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I read this book because I saw the exhibit of the quilts made by the women of Gee's Bend at the Art Museum in Houston, TX. According to Wikipedia, Gee's Bend is a "poverty-stricken African-American community in a large bend of the Alabama River in Wilcox County, Alabama." The women of the community have been recycling fabric into quilts for generations. When an item of clothing was too worn to wear, it was cut up to be reused. They made those quilts from whatever they had, and they
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Jul 18, 2011
Kimberly
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Ten-year-old Ludelphia Bennett had never set her bare feet on any dirt outside the small sharecropping community of Gee's Bend, Alabama. There was never a need for it. While her daddy and brother were in the fields pulling cotton, Ludelphia helped her mama around the house. When there wasn't work to be done she pulled the small scraps of cloth and needle from her pocket to work on her story quilt. Stitching the tiny pieces together settled her thoughts and comforted her.
As time pass More...
As time pass More...
Nov 29, 2010
Shannon
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Leaving Gee’s Bend is a book my 9 year old chose one week at the library. I was interested in reading it since I’ve heard of the quilts of Gee’s Bend, but didn’t know much about the area itself. This juvenile fiction novel follows Ludelphia Bennett as she leaves Gee’s Bend for the city of Camden, situated across the Alabama River from Gee’s Bend.
I read quite a few young adult and juvenile novels each year and I’ve found they fall into one of two categories: 1) they are classified More...
I read quite a few young adult and juvenile novels each year and I’ve found they fall into one of two categories: 1) they are classified More...
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Aug 13, 2010
Margo
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Latham was inspired to write this book by an exhibit she visited in New York on the quilts of Gee's Bend, a small rural community in Alabama. After the Civil War, the freed slaves, who worked as sharecroppers, founded an all-black community nearly isolated from the surrounding world. The town’s women developed a distinctive quilting style passed down through at least six generations; these quilts have been exhibited in a museum show which toured major museums around the country.
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Jan 31, 2010
Nicola
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Reason for Reading: I love books set in 1930s Southern USA.
Summary: Ludelphia Bennett is ten years old, her family is part of a sharecropping community. Ludelphia wears a patch over one eye as she accidentally went blind in it when a tiny sliver of wood flew into it when she was younger. She has a passion for quilting and is working on a special quilt now for her Mama that will tell Ludelphia's story to her. Mama is ill with a terrible cough and large with a baby on the way but when Ma More...
Summary: Ludelphia Bennett is ten years old, her family is part of a sharecropping community. Ludelphia wears a patch over one eye as she accidentally went blind in it when a tiny sliver of wood flew into it when she was younger. She has a passion for quilting and is working on a special quilt now for her Mama that will tell Ludelphia's story to her. Mama is ill with a terrible cough and large with a baby on the way but when Ma More...
Jan 28, 2010
GoldenjoyBazyll
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If you do not know about Gee's Bend- it's a little community in Alabama. The folks there are very poor but they are known as a quilting community. I first heard about Gee's Bend through a book that came out displaying the quilts made in that area. Since then the Walters Art Museum has had the exhibit.
Anyhow.... this book is BEAUTIFULLY written. It is the story of a 10 year old girl and her life in Gee's Bend- with a particular focus on the day her mom gave birth to a new baby. H More...
Anyhow.... this book is BEAUTIFULLY written. It is the story of a 10 year old girl and her life in Gee's Bend- with a particular focus on the day her mom gave birth to a new baby. H More...
Jan 21, 2012
Patricia
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Ten-year-old Ludelphia Bennett has never left Gee’s Bend, a sharecropping village on the Alabama River. But her mother is deathly ill and Ludelphia feels it is her fault, having let an accused witch tend to Mama while she gave birth to baby Rose. So, with just her sewing needle, thread and a few scrap patches in the pocket of her apron, Ludelphia sets out for the closest town to ask the white doctor for help. Quilting calms her when there is trouble, and Ludelphia feels the need to quilt a lot
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Jun 25, 2010
Phoebe
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Ludelphia is forced to take matters into her own hands the day her desperately ill and pregnant mother goes into labor. Her father and brother are working in the fields, and 10-year-old Ludelphia and her neighbor, 16-year-old Etta Mae, must deliver the baby. While the baby is born healthy, Ludelphia's mother begins coughing up blood. Ludelphia refuses to give up and heads out for Camden and Doc Nelson, 40 miles away, hoping for a miracle. All the while she has her quilt piece and needle in h
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Mar 01, 2010
Aubrey
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Leaving Gee's Bend by Irene Latham
Description via Goodreads,
A young girl sets out to save her sick mother and records her
adventures in quilt pieces.
Ludelphia Bennett may be blind in one eye, but she can still put in a good stitch. Ludelphia sews all the time, especially when things go wrong.
But when Mama goes into labor early and gets deathly ill, it seems like even quilting won’t help. That’s when Ludelphia decides to do something drastic—leave Gee’ More...
Description via Goodreads,
A young girl sets out to save her sick mother and records her
adventures in quilt pieces.
Ludelphia Bennett may be blind in one eye, but she can still put in a good stitch. Ludelphia sews all the time, especially when things go wrong.
But when Mama goes into labor early and gets deathly ill, it seems like even quilting won’t help. That’s when Ludelphia decides to do something drastic—leave Gee’ More...
Apr 12, 2011
Doret
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When I saw this advertised in a catalog I got very excited. A novel set in Gee's Bend, I couldn't wait to read it. I wish I could say I liked it.
When I started Leaving Gee's Bend, I had high hopes. My initial thoughts the Southern dialect is good and I liked 10 yr old Ludelphia. Lu,with only one working eye but still took to quilting. I was ready to follow Lu on a great adventure. I was ready to listen as Lu talked about the quilt she was making her mother and the stories that came with ea More...
When I started Leaving Gee's Bend, I had high hopes. My initial thoughts the Southern dialect is good and I liked 10 yr old Ludelphia. Lu,with only one working eye but still took to quilting. I was ready to follow Lu on a great adventure. I was ready to listen as Lu talked about the quilt she was making her mother and the stories that came with ea More...
Mar 28, 2010
Scarlett
rated it:
I received my copy of this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Ludelphia Bennett has lived in the small, impoverished community of Gee's Bend for her entire life. When her mother gets sick and no one in town can do anything to help, Ludelphia must seek help from a world she knows nothing about. Irene Latham's middle-grade novel tells an exciting story, as well as bringing to light a community and a culture than many readers know nothing about. The way the quilting culture More...
Ludelphia Bennett has lived in the small, impoverished community of Gee's Bend for her entire life. When her mother gets sick and no one in town can do anything to help, Ludelphia must seek help from a world she knows nothing about. Irene Latham's middle-grade novel tells an exciting story, as well as bringing to light a community and a culture than many readers know nothing about. The way the quilting culture More...
Feb 07, 2010
Paula
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This beautifully written book is as good as it gets. A wonderful historical fiction novel, Leaving Gee's Bend provides a window into the share cropping South of the early 20th Century. Lathan writes strong believable characters that leave the reader sobbing with their loss, rejoicing with their triumphs, and wanting much more when the tale is over.
This book is perfect for Middle School age children and would be an excellent novel study for the classroom. It's complex look at the More...
This book is perfect for Middle School age children and would be an excellent novel study for the classroom. It's complex look at the More...
Nov 29, 2011
Elaine
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KBA 2012 nominee for grades 3-5. Ludelphia Bennett is 10 years old, an African-American girl, living with her sharecropping family and neighbors in dire poverty in Gee's Bend, Alabama. She is blind in one eye due to a childhood injury and loves to quilt. Ludelphia's mother is gravely ill with pneumonia and influenza and has just given birth to a baby girl. Ludelphia decides to travel to the nearest city (without her parent's permission) to fetch the doctor. While there she encounters a mean-
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Mar 10, 2010
Crystal
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Leaving Gee's Bend is a marvelous debut book by Irene Latham. I was immediately consumed by the book and kept turning the pages. I found the look at Ludelphia's life to be fascinating. The 1930's are something I know very little about, and this book gave me just a slice of life then. The funny thing is is this book could easily take place now - as there are some rural areas that are just that poor. So with that in mind it was really easy to get into the novel.
I really loved how More...
I really loved how More...
Aug 15, 2009
Kimberly
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From the very first sentence, Latham draws you in with her masterful use of language, making you feel as if *she* is a 10-year-old black girl from 1930's Alabama speaking to you from the pages. To say that Leaving Gee's Bend is brilliant is an understatement, and to give it only five-stars feels lacking.
Ludelphia's story, while laced with tragedy and fear is brimming with the kind of hope only a child can posses. The lyrical words wrap around you like the threads Ludelphia stitch More...
Ludelphia's story, while laced with tragedy and fear is brimming with the kind of hope only a child can posses. The lyrical words wrap around you like the threads Ludelphia stitch More...
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Feb 13, 2011
Nancy
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Like first time author, Irene Latham, I was very much affected after touring the Gees Bend quilt exhibit more than ten years ago. I went to this incredible exhibit while visiting relatives in Birmingham. The quilts, each with their story and the accompanying photographs by Arthur Rothstein that were taken for the Resettlement Adm. in 1937 were so engaging that I spent hours going from one quilt to the next, from one photo to the next. To this day I feel touched by the quilters and stories of
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Feb 21, 2011
Kathy
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The fictional Ludelphia Bennett lives in Gee's Bend, Alabama, a real town famous for it's quilts and quilters. I recently read about this town when a local theater group put on a play about it and I checked out a pile of books from the library. Ludelphia has a lot of problems for a 10 year old. She's making a quilt for her pregnant mother and each piece tells part of her story. She pricks her thumb, and when it stops bleeding she thinks, "If only evertything else was that easy to fix. Ma
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Jun 06, 2010
Sandra
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Leaving Gee's Bend was a book I really enjoyed. It had everything I love in a book. It had a character that at first glance seems weak and then shows how strong a character they are. It has the history part that I loved. To top all of this off they merged all of this with one of my favorite things, quilting.
Leaving Gee's Bend is the story of Ludelphia Bennett, a ten year old black girl who must seek medical help for her mother. Her mother was pregnant and had been having terrible c More...
Leaving Gee's Bend is the story of Ludelphia Bennett, a ten year old black girl who must seek medical help for her mother. Her mother was pregnant and had been having terrible c More...
Feb 19, 2011
Joyce
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I first met Irene Latham and heard about her book, "Leaving Gee's Bend," at a Midsouth SCBWI Writer's Conference. Although Irene is a nice person, I honestly had no desire to read a book about people stitching quilts in the south. Boy had I misjudged her book! I thoroughly enjoyed Irene's delightful tale of Ludelphia Bennet, a poor African American girl from the 1930s, who only wanted to save her dying mother by traveling to Camden to bring Doc Nelson to her mom's bedside. I found myse
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Oct 30, 2010
Ms-Heather
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I really wasn't sure if I'd like this novel. Gee's Bend has never really interested me, and I wasn't sure if a white adult novelist would be able to convincingly tell a story as a ten-year-old poor black child. But everyone was raving about the book, and the author is from my state, so I gave it a go. And am I ever glad that I did!
Ludelphia Bennett is such a wonderful character. She jumped into my mind and heart and took over as I raced through her story. Secondary characters were ju More...
Ludelphia Bennett is such a wonderful character. She jumped into my mind and heart and took over as I raced through her story. Secondary characters were ju More...
Oct 30, 2010
Heather
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I really wasn't sure if I'd like this novel. Gee's Bend has never really interested me, and I wasn't sure if a white adult novelist would be able to convincingly tell a story as a ten-year-old poor black child. But everyone was raving about the book, and the author is from my state, so I gave it a go. And am I ever glad that I did!
Ludelphia Bennett is such a wonderful character. She jumped into my mind and heart and took over as I raced through her story. Secondary characters were ju More...
Ludelphia Bennett is such a wonderful character. She jumped into my mind and heart and took over as I raced through her story. Secondary characters were ju More...
Apr 24, 2010
McKenzie
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Ludelphia Bennett, only ten years old and blind in one eye, must set out on a dangerous journey to save her mom. After giving birth to another daughter, Ludelphia's mom is sick. The only medicine available is miles away from Gee's Bend, their hometown. Ludelphia sets off to get the medicine and save her mom, often coming across difficulties that slow her down. Quilting plays an integral part in the story, offering Ludelphia solace and hope.
Leaving Gee's Bend is a great example of YA More...
Leaving Gee's Bend is a great example of YA More...
Feb 24, 2010
Laura
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Ludelphia Bennett is a ten year old girl growing up in Gee's Bend Alabama. Gee's Bend in 1932 consists of a number of tenent farmer's shacks and a church. It is cut off from the nearest town by the Alabama River which can be crossed only by a primitive ferry boat powered by Willie Joe. The action and conflict in the story revolve around the extreme poverty and superstition of the people and Ludelphia's quest to get medical aid for her seriously ill mother.
I love the way Mrs. Latham has w More...
I love the way Mrs. Latham has w More...
Dec 06, 2010
Kathy
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A nice job of really getting the place to come alive (Gee's Bend, Alabama - best known for amazing quilts). Ludelphia, the 10 year old at the center of the tale, is a very believeable character and I really got vested in her. After her mother gives birth and needs a doctor's care because she is wretchedly sick, Ludelphia sets out to Camden, 40 miles away. Armed with nothing more than a few quilt squares and a story she is telling by stitching, she makes a journey that not only tells us about
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Apr 14, 2011
Emma
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Leaving Gee's Bend is like a mountain among hills, standing out among the rest proudly. It gives a new point of view of Gee's Bend during the 1900's, from the eyes of a young girl, Ludelphia Bennett. You follow Ludelphia through many sticky situations, including the birth of her baby sister, Rose. Her mother catches pnuomia, and you really see how it shakes the family to the core, leading Ludelphia on her quest to Camden to get help. After meeting Mrs.Cobb, everything seems to go terribly for he
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Jul 04, 2011
JG (The Introverted Reader)
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Ludelphia Bennett is worried about her mom. After several miscarriages, Mama finally seems to be carrying a baby to term. But she is coughing a lot and looking weaker every day. When the baby comes early, Ludelphia doesn't know what to do. She asks their neighbor, Etta Mae, for help. But Etta Mae has a bad reputation since she came back to the little town of Gee's Bend, and everyone thinks she made things worse instead of better. When Mama gets sicker and sicker after the birth, Etta Mae c
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Oct 22, 2010
June
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Currently, we have an exhibit sponsored by many organizations in Columbia, SC called Gee's Bend. I bought LEAVING GEE'S BEND several weeks ago, but did not make the connection between the exhibit and this book until I started reading the book. What a wonderful coincidence!
The book, Leaving Gee's Bend, tells the story of a small sharecropper's community called Gee's Bend. The nearest town is Camden. All of the sharecroppers live extremely simple. Each family is indebted to the owner o More...
The book, Leaving Gee's Bend, tells the story of a small sharecropper's community called Gee's Bend. The nearest town is Camden. All of the sharecroppers live extremely simple. Each family is indebted to the owner o More...
Jun 24, 2010
Holly
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Sep 03, 2010
Keyona
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From the Blog:
I haven't read any Middle Grade books in years because I figured that at my age I would find them silly. Well I'm really glad I took a chance on this one. I enjoy reading books set in the South. There's something so realistic about them even when it's fiction.
Ludelphia is one of my favorite main characters. She's only ten but she's smart, and extremely courageous. At times she's a little naive but what ten-year-olds aren't? I'm glad the author captured the f More...
I haven't read any Middle Grade books in years because I figured that at my age I would find them silly. Well I'm really glad I took a chance on this one. I enjoy reading books set in the South. There's something so realistic about them even when it's fiction.
Ludelphia is one of my favorite main characters. She's only ten but she's smart, and extremely courageous. At times she's a little naive but what ten-year-olds aren't? I'm glad the author captured the f More...
Jun 03, 2010
Steph Su
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A great main character unfortunately doesn’t make up for the contrived plot in this lukewarm debut novel that attempts to be a moving journey of familial resilience in the face of racism and other elements.
At the beginning, I thought this book was almost magical. Ludelphia is a fantastic narrator, her voice so genuine, earnest, and warm. She’s ten years old but will be loved by readers of all ages, a classic protagonist going on a seemingly straightforward journey for someone else and disc More...
At the beginning, I thought this book was almost magical. Ludelphia is a fantastic narrator, her voice so genuine, earnest, and warm. She’s ten years old but will be loved by readers of all ages, a classic protagonist going on a seemingly straightforward journey for someone else and disc More...
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