Zoe and the Story Quilt | 1
Zoe and the Story Quilt
An original fairy tale
Zoe has a quilt.
It is red, gold, and blue.
“Sit with me,” says Grandma.
“Tell it, tell it!” says Zoe.
“I will, I will!” says Grandma.
“We are African American.
Our family has stories to tell.”
Pop!
A blue patch can glow!
Zoe and the Story Quilt | 2
Up, up goes the quilt!
A star is on it.
“I am lost,” says the star.
Zoe gives it a pat.
“I can help,” she says.
“Come with me.
Home we go.
Slow, slow, slow!”
Zoe and the Story Quilt | 3
“Tell it, tell it!” says Zoe.
“I will, I will!” says Grandma.
“My mom and I made this quilt.
She helped me.
Now I help you.”
Zoe tells the star.
The star can glow!
Up, up it goes.
“Tell it, tell it!” calls Zoe.
“I will, I will!” sings the star.
Zoe and the Story Quilt | 4
Read Talk and Create
Talk together
1. Who helps the star?
2. Who helped Grandma?
3. Point to something magic.
Say and play
Say pat. Say sat. They rhyme!
Clap each time you say “Tell it, tell it!”
Make a family story patch
Draw a square. Fill it with a happy memory. Tell someone
about your picture.
For the Grownup
Read the family words together first: Zoe, Grandma, quilt, story. A quilt is a blanket made with layers
of cloth. A patch is a piece of cloth. In this book, the patches are sewn together.
Zoe and Grandma are African American. Quilt-making and spoken storytelling have rich histories in
African American communities. This fictional family shares those traditions; families have many
different traditions. Say this connection aloud before or after reading. Invite a family memory without
assuming any particular family structure.
These are reading-level targets, not formally leveled or fully decodable texts. Preview unfamiliar
words, read together, then invite rereading. The quilt and star are make-believe. The family traditions
are real.
Cultural background: Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, African American Quilts; Library of Congress, African
American storytelling.
https://anacostia.si.edu/collection/spotlight/african-american-quilts
https://guides.loc.gov/folktales-oral-storytelling/African-American-storytelling
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