• Age: 3 to 6
• Grade: p to 1

Selina is a Mennonite girl living in Pennsylvania in the 1860s. She loves her farm delights in the spring flowers and most of all, takes pleasure in watching her grandmother piece together a quilt.

Grandmother is following the Bear Paw pattern using stitches and techniques that were brought to America by the early pioneers. By making the of some once-treasured fabrics - scraps from her own wedding dress and those from Selina'a favourite baby clothes - Grandmother is able to recreate the family history in every square of the quilt.

Sadly, as the Civil War rages closer and closer, Selina's idyllic world is torn apart. Because she and her family are pacifists, they refuse to take up arms and must flee to Canada. When Grandmother decides she is too old to make the long journey, her treasured Bear Paw quilt - which is reproduced on the end pages of this book - becomes a precious link between countries and generations.

Barbara Smucker was one of Canada’s best-known and best-loved authors of fiction for children and young adults. Throughout her career, she was profoundly affected by civil rights issues, which informed works such as Days of Terror, White Mist, and Underground To Canada. She won multiple awards for her work, including the Vicky Metcalf Award, the Canada Council Children’s Literature Prize, and the IODE Violet Downey Book Award. She passed away in 2003.

Barbara Smucker's profile page