Peaceful Pieces

Peaceful Pieces

Written & illustrated by: Anna Grossnickle Hines

Henry Holt and Company, 2011

32 pages

Picture Book – Poetry

I chose this book because the illustrations are absolutely exquisite. The title of the book, Peaceful Pieces really intrigued me. This is collection of poems about quilts and peace. Tolerance, friendship, and understanding are other themes in this book. Reading the book, the reader feels extremely peaceful. The pictures of the quilts are comforting and make me think of pleasant memories.

The illustrator and author of this book, Anna Grossnickle Hines, used handmade quilts as illustrations and they were reproduced in full color. The original quilts are the same size as printed. The author wrote the story, made the quilts, and used the quilts as illustrations. These quilts are intricate and absolutely breathtaking. Quilts often have a calming effect, especially in this book. The reader feels a sense of peace as they read the poems and reflect on the beauty of the quilts.

This book is appropriate for preschoolers and grades K-3. I believe everyone could benefit from this book. I would use this book for a 3^rd grade history lesson. The poem called, “Big Shoes” talks about the people in history who strived for peace. There are pictures of some of these peoples’ faces in the quilt. I would discuss this poem with my students and talk about influential leaders who promoted peace.  I could also use this book in the 1^st grade. The poem called, “Weightless” talks about forgiveness. This would be a great character education lesson for first graders. The poem, “Dominoes” could be read to 2^nd graders before a math lesson. Students could use dominoes for addition and subtraction. Reading “Dominoes” to the students would be a great way to introduce the lesson.