Contributed Photo

Heidi Dewey holds the “Hooray for Authors!” quilt presented to Library Media Specialist Tiffany Ray by Debi Parker’s first grade class and Tina McCay’s second grade class recently at the Goochland Elementary School Media Center.

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Debi Parker’s first grade class and Tina McCay’s second grade class presented Library Media Specialist Tiffany Ray with a very special quilt recently at the Goochland Elementary School Media Center.

The quilt is titled “Hooray for Authors!” and is the culmination of months of research, correspondence, waiting and sewing. The students, under the direction of Glenda Hawk, Young Explorers Resource Teacher, researched more than 50 authors and illustrators of children’s books, then wrote them letters accompanied by blank quilt blocks which had been prepared by some of the students’ parents. 

Then the anticipation began! By mid-April about 25 blocks had been returned, autographed by the authors and many including drawings or special messages to the students. Some of the authors were Kevin Henkes (Lilly’s Big Day), Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar), Bill Adler (the Cam Jansen series), Janet Stevens (illustrator of the Anansi Books), and Laura Numeroff (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie). 

A few more weeks passed and the blocks were transformed into a quilt by Heidi Dewey, mother of Patrick, one of Mrs. Parker’s students. Dewey added a title block and a block that lists the teachers and every student who participated in this project.

The title block includes a short poem that encapsulates the process. The finishing touch was added when Dewey helped the students attach buttons to the quilt last week. And finally, on Thursday at 1 p.m., the students and teachers witnessed the finished product and rejoiced over a job well done! So many hands touched this project, and it will hold treasured memories for years to come. 

The quilt will be displayed in the hallway outside the GES Media Center, where all passersby can enjoy its cheerfulness.

Here’s the poem in the title block:

We learned about these authors

are pieced into this quilt.