• Publication Season/Year: Spring  2010
• Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
• Release Date: Jan 7, 2010
• ISBN (hardcover): TBD
• ISBN (paperback): TBD

Every quilt tells a story.

When ten year old Ludelphia Bennett decides to make a quilt for her mama, she thinks it will tell the story of her quiet life in the isolated sharecropper community of Gee’s Bend, Alabama. But when Mama gets deathly ill and rumors start flying about the “witches of Gee’s Bend,” life gets tangled and Ludelphia worries that it’s all her fault.

Determined to fix things, Ludelphia takes her needle and thread and leaves Gee’s Bend for the very first time. Her adventures take her across the river and into a world she could never have imagined — where there’s indoor plumbing and motorcars and white folks. As Ludelphia’s quilt grows, her understanding of the world grows too. But is it enough to save Mama?

At the heart of this story of survival and courage is the real-life 1932 raid on Gee’s Bend and the subsequent Red Cross rescue.

About the Author

A poet in the adult market, Irene Latham is the author of the award-winning book of poems WHAT CAME BEFORE and currently serves as poetry editor for Birmingham Arts Journal. She is pleased to be making her debut in the children’s market and finds mid-grade historical fiction a wonderful genre that allows her to explore her obsessions and gives her an excuse to travel to all sorts of curious places.  Read more about how to book or contact Irene Latham.