Reuben and his Amish family make a beautiful Log Cabin quilt to raise money for a sick neighbor, but then it is stolen before they can take it to auction.
Reuben was ducking strawberries in the truckpatch when his dad got the idea about making a quilt. The whole family would help (even Sadie, who threw the plump red berries). They would make it as beautiful as possible. Then they would sell it at the auction to raise money for an operation needed by their neighbor on the next farm. But the colorful Log Cabin quilt disappears before they have a chance to give it away. This hearty Amish family faces a new adventure!
Moss and Good’s new collaboration is as rich and lively as their two highly successful earlier books—Reuben and the Fire and Reuben and the Blizzard.
Merle Good is writer, dramatist, and publisher from Lancaster, PA. His books have sold nearly a million copies. His Op-Ed pieces have appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. Academy-Award-winning actress Geraldine Page starred in the movie (Hazel's People), based on Good's first novel, Happy as the Grass Was Green. His play, The Preacher and the Shrink, opened Off-Broadway in New York in 2013. As Publisher of Good Books (1979-2013), Good oversaw the acquisition, publication, and marketing of more than 1,000 different books by more than one hundred different authors. Three Good Books titles became #1 New York Times bestsellers. Good is currently at work on a new novel and on two new plays.
I saw this book online and quickly ordered it. I love to collect quilt books for children and this one is charming. Kids will learn a bit about the Amish and turning the other cheek. A good addition to my collection.
This book provides a great moral lesson to students and help lead into a discussion between things that are right and wrong and being generous towards others. This book reminds me of other books I have read in the past that teach moral lessons.
Summary: This book is about Reuben and his Amish family. Their family friend’s grandfather is sick and in need of money to pay for the hospital bills. To help raise money for the grandfather, Reuben’s family decides to sew a quilt and sell it. They all work extremely hard to make the quilt but it gets stolen. They decide to leave the thief extra pillow cases to see if he or she would bring the quilt back. Eventually, the thief brings back the quilt and they can help the man with his hospital bills.
Theme: A possible theme is knowing the difference between right and wrong
Personal Connection to the Book: I did not realize that this book was about an Amish family until I got around halfway through the book. The author provides the reader with pronunciations/lessons at the end of the book to help readers who don’t know much about the Amish culture. I found this interesting because I was able to learn things I didn’t know prior to reading this book.
Why I Recommend this Book: While I don’t think that this book is extremely important to read to every child, I do think it provides readers with good life lessons. Datt, Reuban’s dad, is full of wisdom and has lots of moral lessons for his children to learn. For example, he says, “it is wrong to steal, but how you respond can also be wrong”. I think that students can take strong moral advice from this book and apply it to every day life.
“It’s wrong to steal … but how we respond can also be wrong.”
Reuben and his family are making a quilt for an auction to raise money for a community member who has expensive medical bills. But before they can take it to the auction, someone steals it from their porch. Living in an Amish community, this seems almost unthinkable. Reuben’s Datt (father) wants to think the best and thinks the thief is probably poor and needed. So, he decides that they should put pillow cases out for the thief to take, as well, with a note: “To the Quilt-Taker. Here are two pillow cases which match.” Amazingly, the next morning not only are the pillow cases still there, but the quilt as also been returned. “Sometimes when we decide to help others, there’s not telling how much good will come of it.”
This is a sweet little book for young children(very short & rather simplistic) I enjoyed the story & will read it to the grandbabies if the rest of the Reuben books are as good as this one I may just buy the whole set of at least three more stories
The art shines as it always does from the awesome P. Buckley Moss - it is the icing on the cake i am becoming a collector of this artist's work. & it doesn't hurt that it always seems to be in conjunction with excellent children's books
This is a heartwarming story about an Amish family who comes together to make a gorgeous quilt to help a sick neighbor and what they do when it is stolen. The narrative is fairly long, so I would recommend this book for older children. The story has a good message and a happy ending.
The illustrations are colorful (more colorful than I expected for an Amish community) and the simplicity of their lifestyle is depicted nicely. We enjoyed reading this book together, especially after participating in a 'storybook' quilting program at our local library.