The Keeping Quilt

　　安娜離開家鄉時，陪伴她離家的只有一件洋裝和一條頭巾。待她長大不能穿時，媽媽決定用這洋裝和頭巾，加上親戚們的舊衣物，縫製一條可以懷念家鄉的百衲被。至此之後，百衲被變成一家人聚餐的桌布、互相許下婚約並見證誓言的神聖地毯、新婚時的遮棚和迎接新生命到來的裹巾。從外曾祖母、外祖母、母親到作者自己，一條串起個人生命紀錄和家族集體記憶的百衲被，將繼續在家族中一代傳承一代。一樣的花色，卻承載著不同的生命印記，縱然被子會退色、會老舊，但親情、愛情、傳統和鄉愁只會越來越鮮明，而生命的故事將繼續延續下去。俄籍猶太人作家波拉蔻不僅是此書的畫家和作者，而這個扣人心弦的故事即源自於她的人生經歷。【文∕博客來外文館】

＂We will make a quilt to help us always remember home,＂ Anna’s mother said. ＂It will be like heaving the family in backhome Russia dance around us at night.
And so it was. From a basket of old clothes, Anna’s babushka, Uncle Vladimir’s shirt, Aunt Havalah’s nightdress and an apron of Aunt Natasha’s become The Keeping Quilt, passed along from mother to daughter for almost a century. For four generations the quilt is a Sabbath tablecloth, a wedding canopy, and a blanket that welcomes babies warmly into the world.
In strongly moving pictures that are as heartwarming as they are real, patricia Polacco tells the story of her own family, and the quilt that remains a symbol of their enduring love and faith.

作者簡介　

　　Patricia Polacco comes from a family of storytellers, poets, dirt farmers, teachers and artists. They came from many parts of the world, but mainly Russia. She grew up to be an illustrator, a designer, and a writer of children's books. She now lives in Oakland, California with her husband and two children, and she is the present caretaker of the quilt.