About the Book

Book: The Barn Quilt

Author: Patti Michels
Genre: Children’s Book
Release Date: November 19, 2019

Farmer Max and Miz Patti have a big red barn on their Maple Shade Farm, but one thing is missing—they need a barn quilt. But what pattern should they hang on the side of their barn? The pineapple quilt, or the corn and beans quilt, or what about a quilt with animals on it? None of them are quite right though. Since it’s Christmas, they wonder what barn quilt would have been just right for the stable where Jesus was born. Work along with their neighbor boy, Dennis, as he helps Farmer Max and Miz Patti decide on and make the perfect barn quilt.

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MY THOUGHTS.....

I truly enjoyed this children's book because I lived on a farm for many years and barn quilts are very popular in our area but I can imagine how interesting The Barn Quilt would be for young people who live in cities or urban areas. It follows Dennis as he visits his neighbors Farmer Max and Miz Patti on their farm and it relates his efforts to help them decide a pattern for their barn quilt. Patti Michel's story is both fun and educational, the illustrations by Nate Myers are colorful and appealing, and it is also especially appropriate for this time of year. There is the mention of what a barn quilt might have looked like on the stable where Jesus Christ was born and reading this with children offers a great opportunity to discuss the true meaning of Christmas.

The Barn Quilt is a wonderful book for parents/grandparents to read and discuss with their children/grandchildren and I can see it also being a great resource for teachers. Reading it as a class and creating the quilt patterns would provide several learning opportunities. Bottom line: great book to give and even better to keep!

I received a copy of this book through Celebrate Lit and Redemption Press. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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About the Author

Patti Michels has lived in the same rural midwestern county her entire life, thirty-nine of those with her husband. She loves designing her family’s Christmas card and working with senior citizens. At the end of a long day, she enjoys returning to the farm and looking out her kitchen window at her own barn quilt.

More from Patti

Believe it or not, the idea for this children’s book started out as a Christmas card. Each year the Michels family produces their own original Christmas card. This tradition started out simple, in the early 1980’s, as the Michels’ two small daughters helped with the coloring, cutting, and gluing!

Patti Michels and Max, her farmer husband of 39 years, live on a small farm in Southern Illinois. The girls have grown and moved on, and the empty-nesters have joined others in their small farm community, in creating a barn quilt to hang on their barn.

While Max was preparing the 36″ X 36″ wood panel for Patti to paint, Patti was drawing and designing and dreaming up the best barn quilt pattern to display on the barn at Maple Shade Farm. As Patti painted their special barn quilt, a Christmas card idea popped into her head. ”What if the stable where Jesus was born had a barn quilt?”

Patti feels like ideas are a gift from God, as is her husband, who helps her pull off one after another completed “project”. Whether it’s feeding cows, baling hay, making Christmas cards, or creating a barn quilt, they continue to work side by side. This book, based on the real life story of creating the barn quilt, gives kids a glimpse into a small farm family life, while also enjoying and celebrating those things that make Christmas so special, like hot chocolate, cookies and God’s love.