This story takes us on an adventure with Lily Rose and her family who are traveling to California. It’s the year 1859 and the family is traveling out west. Her brother proudly shouts, “We’re going to see an Elephant!”. Typically this is what people used to say when they are headed out west on a journey. It means to find something powerful strange. As they travel along Lily and her grandmother sew an adventure into an elephant quilt. Her grandmother tells Lily that every quilt tells a story and this is theirs. I believe this book shows that every adventure we take we also are creating memories that will last for a lifetime. ( )

I really liked this story for several reasons. One reason I liked it was because of the point of view it was told. Being told in first person, the reader gets to intimately know Lily and her family and what life was like traveling out west. Though this picture book would be classified in the historical fiction category, the events in this book seem to be very believable. Another reason I Iike this book is because the plot and the characters are believable. Though there is no message or moral lesson to be learned from this story, the purpose of this story is to inform readers of life traveling west during the gold rush era. ( )

Review:
In this story, young Lily-Rose tells the story of her family's journey west to California in a covered wagon. Along the way, the family encounters several new adventures, each of which is carefully chronicled in the quilt Lily-Rose is sewing with her grandmother.
Critique:
Overall, this is a fair example of historical fiction. While the story itself is fictional, it combines various true stories of life from this period of time, giving the reader a glimpse into what life was like during the period of westward expansion in American history,
Use:
1. One way to use this book would be to read it out loud to the class. Then, after reading, students can work on writing about journey in their own life before creating their own quilts like the one Lily-Rose sews.
2. Another way to use this text would be during a unit on Pioneers or the California Gold Rush. After, or during, the reading, the teacher can ask students to pick out details from the story that match what they have already learned about traveling by covered wagon. Students can also use the text to ask questions for further exploration.
Age Appropriateness: Primary, Intermediate
Media: oil paint ( )

The book shares a family’s adventurous story of moving from Missouri to California by wagon. Lily and her grandmother make a quilt, each session they stitch together something meaningful or symbolic along the way. When the trip is over, they have made a beautiful quilt that tells their traveling story. The overall theme is the history and geographical facts about the life changing journeys people experienced while moving out west, specifically for the Gold Rush. ( )

Review: This book is about a girl who is traveling west with her family in a covered wagon. The girl is traveling with her mom, dad, grandma, and brother and she has a sister who is born on the journey. The girl and her grandma make a quilt the whole time they are on the trip. The stitch different pictures from the different place that they traveled to. The girl and her family make it to California safely.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Genre Critique: This book is based off of events that took place during the time when people traveled West. The events that take place in the story are accurate and they create a clear picture of what it would have been like to travel with them. ( )