25 copies

I can't believe I found this in the local Little Free Library! I thought for sure this was one of those mass-produced, easily disposable books that I'd never see again, but there it was, and it's even got full-color illustrations, which seems pretty nice for a teeny weeny little paperback.

Josephina is a chicken that's "too old to lay eggs and too tough to eat", as I've remembered for years and years. She's basically just a pet for little Faith, and there really isn't room for pets in the covered wagon in which she and her family are traveling west to California. Still, Faith convinces her parents to let Josephina comes along and, of course, hijinks ensue--and for each incident, Faith stitches a square for a story quilt all about her trip across the country. I'll be honest, I totally forgot about the quilt part of this book even though it's part of the title and everything--all I remembered was the chicken!

It's a bit odd to critique a leveled reader, but if I'd make one improvement, it would be to have the little quilt square illustrations above the chapter headings actually look like the square that Faith sews instead of just a random pretty square.

A cute little introduction to westward pioneers for kids, complete with quick mentions of the very real hardships faced on the way. Yeah, it's a bit unrealistic how long Josefina sticks with the family uneaten and untraded, but hey, it's a kids book. ( )

I gave this four stars only because it does not explicitly state why they are going west or what part of history this describes so I am not sure that a child would understand what was happening when reading this alone. It may take some additional background knowledge. However, I do love the images in this book and the hardships that it represents. It is a story of the Oregon trail told through a young girl's perspective. It describes the sacrifices families had to make in order to go, things they had to leave behind, dangers that occurred along the way (disclaimer: it does refer to native americans as indians in this story, this could be a good opportunity to explain this concept to students). It also introduces death and loss of a pet and how the young girl grieves this and finds comfort in the memories she has. While there is a historical aspect to this story I think that a lot of the aspects that would stand out to students are timeless. ( )

California,here we come! Faith's Pa says there's no room on a wagon train for Josefina, a chicken who's too tough to eat and too old to lay eggs. But Faith loves her pet. Can Josefina show Pa that she still has a few surprises left in her?

In this story young Faith is moving west with her family in the wagon train. She is almost forced to leave her beloved pet chicken Josephina behind because Papa says there is no room left in the wagon. Papa finally relents and they begin out on there adventure. Many adventures take place, some good and some not so good. Faith learns the importance of documenting these adventures with small pieces of cloth into a story quilt. The quilt will be a memory she will be able to treasure forever.
Source: Pierce County Library
Ages: 5-7