Bess' Log Cabin Quilt - Hardcover

Bess Morgan longs for the day when her Pa will come back home. He's been working on the Oregon Trail, bringing settlers out West, and his return is long overdue. Bess and Mama pass the time by singing, quilting, and taking care of their farm. Then disaster strikes when Bess's mama comes down with swamp fever and a collector comes for the hundred dollars Pa owes him. If Bess and her mama don't pay the money in 30 days, they'll lose the farm. Bess's only hope of getting the money is to win a quilt contest at the town fair. From that moment on, Bess works day and night on the Log Cabin quilt that could save the family farm.

Grade 3-4?Bess Morgan, 10, and her mother are alone on their farm in the Oregon Territory while her father travels with a wagon train. When Mrs. Morgan becomes ill and the family is threatened with eviction by a frontier loan shark, Bess decides to enter her first quilt in a contest to win enough money to pay the debt. Would that we all had children like brave Bess! She bakes biscuits for breakfast, takes care of her mother and the farm, then comes in and works on her quilt until her fingers are pricked and her eyes are burning. Wait, there's more. When Indians break into the cabin and Mrs. Morgan faints, Bess fires Papa's gun and scares them away. Pioneers survived by helping one another, and adults do come to the Morgans' aid. Many plot elements, however, seem unrealistic. At the beginning of the book, Mrs. Morgan is teaching young Bess how to make a quilt. The child is impatient and repeatedly makes mistakes. After the bill collector's threatening visit, she works hard and finishes the quilt in three weeks. The front-runner in the competition withdraws when she realizes Bess's situation, but cautions the child that she is up against many accomplished and experienced quilters. Bess does not win?she ties for second?but it still seems unlikely. When Bess gets home with her prize money (the exact amount needed to erase the debt), Papa has returned, and has already paid it off. Too facile, too saccharine, too much.?Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.