A Name On The Quilt: A Story Of Remembrance - Hardcover

Weaving themes of grief and remembrance into a story about the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, Atkins (Aani and the Tree Huggers) imagines family and friends piecing together a quilt panel to commemorate a loved one. Told from the perspective of Lauren, the picture book affords some exploration of the mourning process, but leaves some key questions unanswered. AIDS, for example, is never mentioned in the body of the story (an afterword includes a brief mention). Various passages assume a level of sophistication that may be beyond the intended audience, as in veiled references to Grandpa's absences from an earlier memorial gathering and from the quilting party ("Grandpa says he doesn't know how to sew," says Grandma). Atkins is eloquent at times ("Lauren's stitches didn't always go where she aimed them, the way a tossed ball didn't always land where she meant it to"), but her tone is so measured as to seem self-conscious. First-time illustrator Hills's muted works are mostly still lifes or frozen-seeming portraits, and even the few "action" scenes (e.g., of Lauren's brother proffering a contribution to the quilt) seem static. Uncle Ron (to whom they dedicate the quilt square) himself is seen only with his face hidden from readers, as he and Lauren ice-skate outdoors. Hills contributes a clever homespun touch?a border of "cross-stitching" that outlines each block of text and grows longer on each spread. While a picture book introduction to the AIDS Memorial Quilt may be welcomed, on the whole, this studied offering may leave children cold. Ages 5-up. (Feb.) FYI: A portion of the book's proceeds will be donated to the NAMES Project Foundation.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A family gathers to remember one of their own: a brother, an uncle, a mate, a son. Uncle Ron has died of AIDS (obviously, though it is never spelled out), and his mother, brother and sister-in-law, niece and nephew, and companion are sewing a panel for the great national memorial quilt. Lauren, the niece, narrates as the assembled recall Ron fondly while they pick and choose various items to sew on the panel. The sting of his death is particularly acute for Lauren; her uncle treated her as an adult, but knew how to throw his great protective arms around herhe was her teacher and her friend. Heartache a mile wide runs through this story, named in Lauren, hinted at in the brother, forceful in an old companion, and most apparent in Lauren's grandmother, with clues that she will have to suffer alone (``Grandpa hadn't come after Uncle Ron's memorial service either,'' and `` `Grandpa says he doesn't know how to sew,' ''). The endingthe somber mood dissolves as everyone dancesfeels contrived, but that doesn't negate the value of this book, which allows readers to explore, as they so choose or not, related issues. In his first picture book, Hills's soft-focus artwork serves mostly as a buffer to all the sharp emotions of the text. (Picture book. 7-9) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.