• Age: 9 to 13
• Grade: 4 to 7

The Quilt of Belonging is Canada’s largest ever textile art project, the fruit of the labors of hundreds of volunteers from across the country who donated their talents to create patches representing every nation of the world. The finished quilt is an awesome spectacle to behold. It all began when Esther Bryan, a visual artist and proud Canadian, read that there was at least one person in Canada from every other country in the world. To celebrate this remarkable diversity, she dreamed of making a massive quilt with hundreds of blocks, each one designed to symbolize one country and made by a person originally from that place. The Quilt of Belonging is a unique and highly visual introduction for young readers to this intriguing project. Author Janice Weaver highlights dozens of stunning individual blocks, and tells the fascinating stories of the groups they represent. Each spread showcases blocks with startlingly beautiful and varied craftwork. Some are embroidered, some knitted; others are embellished with beads, butterfly wings, porcupine quills, and myriad other materials. The Quilt of Belonging places the quilt within its larger cultural context for kids, and even gives them instructions for making their own quilt of belonging with their families, friends, school group or team.

JANICE WEAVER is the award-winning author of Building America, From Head to Toe, and The A to Z of Everyday Things. She lives in Toronto.

Janice Weaver's profile page

• Commended, Canadian Children's Book Centre, Our Choice Selection
• Commended, Bank Street College of Education, Best of the Year
• Short-listed, Atlantic Library Association, Hackmatack Children's Choice Award
• Short-listed, CYBILS, Middle Grade YA Category

… a book that gives readers an intriguing way to explore our Canadian patchwork.

City Parent

Janice Weaver tells the story of the quilt from concept to completion in the first of this book’s three parts. In the second part she focuses on the individual squares…. The third section…encourages children to create their own personal quilt,…[provides] suggestions on how to get started and includes no-sew options for those not particularly handy with needle and thread. …[Readers] will enjoy the stories and photos of the creative and colorful quilt pieces.

Quill & Quire

[The Quilt of Belonging] is a beautifully produced book that succeeds in introducing this quilt to readers of all ages. Highly recommended for everyone.

Canadian Children's Book News

[A] colorful, informative and very interesting book…[Weaver] has done an excellent job of describing the history of quilts; the techniques and materials used in the creation of the blocks; and the symbolism of the visual content of the blocks…Adults, as well as children, will enjoy this tribute to the quilt and the cultural and artistic diversity of Canada. Highly recommended

CM Magazine: Canadian Review of Materials

This books is fascinating…Packed with images of the different ‘patches’, The Quilt of Belonging is truly an amazing selection of the 263 patches that make up this quilt. The photos of the selected pieces are visually appealing, and the accompanying text is succinct yet detailed enough to give you the full impression of the presentation…This book is an important piece in a library’s Canadian collection.

Resource Links

Weaver’s book is a wonderful introduction for young people to the project. Many individual squares are examined and explained giving context to the quilt’s meaning.

BC Parent

The Quilt of Belonging looks at an extraordinary symbol of Canada’s multi-culturalism…This unique and highly visual book highlights dozens of individual blocks and tells the fascinating stories of the groups they represent.

Resource Links

Brilliant photos and illustrations show the making, the whole quilt and representative squares and their meaning. A project celebrating Canada’s rich cultural diversity

Burnaby Now

The Quilt of Belonging: Stitching Together the Stories of a Nation

This book was written to accompany a project to construct a quilt representative of the nations and cultures that make up Canada’s society. Every country in the world along with seventy Canadian Aboriginal groups is represent in 263 blocks. The book explains the project, provides pictures of the quilt and describes how the blocks were made. Included is information about materials and techniques, including batik, seal skin, lace and butterfly wings. The final section gives suggestions on how to make quilt blocks to represent yourself. There is an accompanying web site.

Weaver’s other books include Building America,which was named a Notable Book by the International Reading Association, and From Head to Toe, which is a VOYA Honor Book.

The Quilt of Belonging: Stitching Together the Stories of a Nation

We end our tour of Canada with a beautiful book that documents the rich heritage of this nation through an extraordinary art project. Artist Esther Bryan decided to make a giant quilt that would represent all of the nationalities that have made Canada their home. Using volunteers from communities across the country, she produced a massive and stunning work of art comprised of 263 squares (or blocks) of original fabric art representing all of the countries of the world and 70 different First Nations groups. Thousands of volunteers from across the country worked for over six years to produce this amazing quilt that measures 36 metres (120 feet) long and 3.5 metres (10 feet) high.

The author has selected 38 blocks to discuss in detail that cover a wide range of nations and cultures. There is a colour photo of each, along with a description of the block and what it means. The photography is excellent and we get a good idea of the fabric and texture of each square. The blocks themselves are glorious in their richness and detail and symbolic representations of other places and cultures. A number of other blocks are included with little or no description.

The author includes a section on how to make your own quilt squares with simple suggestions for personalizing them. She also suggests making a virtual quilt on your computer or putting together a classroom quilt as a project.

The goal of the quilt and of this book is to highlight both our differences and similarities and to remind us that we are all connected, around the world and in our own little microcosm of the world that is Canada. It is a beautifully produced book that succeeds in introducing this quilt to readers of all ages. Highly recommended for everyone.

The Quilt of Belonging: Stitching Together the Stories of a Nation

Colourful photographs depict The Quilt of Belonging – Canada’s largest textile art project – in which stitches and stories represent the patchwork of peoples who have built this country.