On This Date in Minnesota History:
The Memory Quilt
A Tale of Friends & Family, Lost & Found in the Great Cloquet Fire of 1918
I liked that the book was based on a true event that happened in MN history, but it had a good storyline to go along with it. The characters were all helpful to each other and strong, and I liked the love story between Pedar and Liisa. - Burnsville elementary student
History, fantasy, and mystery in this story about 14-year-old Lisa Hanson and a beloved family heirloom €“ a memory quilt made by her grandmother €“ that helps her rediscover a piece of family history lost during the great 1918 Cloquet Fire. This fictional account of the Cloquet Fire and its aftermath is woven against the small northeastern Minnesota town€™s genuine concerns over World War I and the escalating Spanish flu epidemic. Lisa Hanson falls asleep in present day Cloquet, and wakes up to find she€™s been transported back in time to Cloquet on the day of the fire. Everyone she meets thinks she€™s Liisa Maki, her grandma€™s oldest sister who disappeared that day and was never heard of again. Lisa, who was named after her great-aunt (though without the Finnish spelling), has the benefit of hindsight, but is unable to do anything about the unfathomable events that are about to take place. The one thing she can do is find out what happened to Liisa. By the end of her eye-opening journey into the past, Lisa not only solves that mystery, but receives answers to questions in the present that she didn€™t even know she had.
Young Adult Historical Fiction
Letters from elementary school readers
...When we were reading your book I felt like I was inside the book. I like how you put lots of details and how you described it. -- 4th grade reader
...My class just got done reading. The Memory Quilt, and it was soooooooo good. I really enjoyed it. -- 4th grade reader
...Our class just finished reading your book . The Memory Quilt. I was really into it, and I didn't want our teacher to stop reading the book. - 4th grade reader
...Before I read your book I hated reading. After I read your book, I learned that reading is creative and surprising. -- 4th grade reader
...I loved this book because it is in the time period that I like to read about. I couldn't
put this book down. -- 5th grade reader
...This was the first fictional history book that caught my attention in the beginning and
kept it throughout the story. -- 13-year old reader
Order an E-Media Kit (PDF) at: TheMemoryQuilt@q.com
Reviews and Remarks
The Memory Quilt is a wonderful Young Adult novel filled with adventure, mystery,
history, and terrifying events that will keep the reader turning the pages and will
encourage them to ask questions about their own family history. And they too can play
a grand game of "what if?" Armchair Interviews strongly recommends The Memory Quilt
for a grand and exciting read. The part the quilt plays in the mystery is fascinating!
--- Armchair Interviews
The Memory Quilt€ was named the Merit Award winner in the Juvenile-Young
Adult Fiction category for the 15th Annual Midwest Independent Publishers
Association (MIPA) Book Awards. The MIPA awards, a competition for excellence in
independent or non-profit publishing, was presented at the Minnesota Humanities
Commission in
in content and execution, overall book quality, and the book's unique contribution
to its subject area.
states:
Dakota
Publishing, an imprint of Expert Publishing, Inc.,
The Memory Quilt€ was nominated for the 17th Annual Northeastern MN
Book Awards presented by the University of Minnesota Duluth Library and the
Friends of the Duluth Public Library on Wednesday, May 18, 2005. The NEMBA awards
recognize books about northeastern Minnesota that substantially represent the history,
culture, heritage or lifestyle.
The Memory Quilt was one of 10 books chosen by a juried process to participate in
New Voices in the Valley on October 30, 2004. Sponsored by The Valley Bookseller,
Stillwater, Minn., this daylong event was designed to introduce area readers to new
and little-known but outstanding regional authors.
Quilt a great read for all ages Erickson weaves a fascinating tale€
-- The Finnish American Reporter, May 2004
Erickson's strength as a writer lies in her descriptions of the characters' feelings.
-- BookLoons Review
Pamela Erickson successfully weaves details of history and rural life in Minnesota. The
Memory Quilt gives us a glimpse of the bittersweet story of Lisa's relationship with her
grandmother, the maker of the quilt. -- booksnbytes.com
"The Memory Quilt A Tale of Friends & Family, Lost & Found in the Great Cloquet Fire of 1918"; et al. Publishing, an imprint of Expert Publishing Inc ./ Baker & Taylor and Partners; Ó2004; ISBN 1-931945-08-X; 128 pages; $9.95