Should young Faith's pet hen Josefina be allowed to come in the covered wagon headed for California? She does, and later Faith stitches a square for her pet for the family memory quilt. A brief historical note at the story's end adds background about westward migration in the mid-1800's and indicates that handmade quilts sometimes became diaries recording the events of wagon train living. (Ages 5-8)

This sweet story is a favorite for units on the American pioneer era as well as using quilting to preserve memories.

Faith's family is heading west! It's 1850, and it's time to pack their covered wagon to prepare for the journey to California and a new life.

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?

As a five-star review from a teacher put it: "My students love this one! Each chapter has a quilt block to go with it. Faith works on the quilt blocks as they travel and each block tells a story about part of the journey. In the end they sew the blocks together to make a Josefina story quilt."

The Josefina Story Quilt is a Level Three I Can Read book. Level 3 includes many fun subjects kids love to read about on their own. Themes include friendship, adventure, historical fiction, and science. Level Three books are written for early independent readers. They include some challenging words and more complex themes and stories.