Ida Lou's Story

A family, like a quilt, can be pieced together in many ways. And a quilt, like a family, is rich with stories. Lacey's great-grandmother has a trunkful of family quilts, and stories, she loves to share with Lacey. And the stories the old quilts tell help Lacey understand not only the generations that have come before her, but her own family as well.Take Lacey's great-great-aunt Ida Lou, living with her brother, Vic, and their struggling single mother in Bloomington, Illinois, in 1918. Vic wants to join the fighting overseas, while Ida Lou dreams of becoming an aerialist like her heroes, The Flying Wards. She's sure that traveling with the circus will enable her to find her long-absent father. But even as a rich suitor for Ida Lou's mother promises a bright future for the family, a near-tragic accident threatens to put an end to Ida Lou's dreams.

Dan Andreasen is the illustrator of numerous picture books, including By the Dawn’s Early Light: The Story of the Star-Spangled Banner by Steven Kroll, which was named an ABA Kids’ Pick of the Lists and a Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies; A Quiet Place by Douglas Wood; and Sailor Boy Jig by Margaret Wise Brown. He has also authored several picture books, including With a Little Help from Daddy and A Special Day for Mommy. Dan lives with his family in Medina, Ohio.