"Paul provides information about pioneer life through speculation about the origins of 26 quilt patterns, one for each letter of the alphabet. The variety of colors and designs makes the quilts themselves the real stars of the book [and] will [encourage] students to develop their own creations in cloth or on paper." —SLJ. Outstanding Books of 1991 (NYT) Notable 1991 Childrens' Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC) Books for Vacation Reading (NYT)

Introduces the letters of the alphabet with names of early American patchwork quilt patterns and explains the origins of the designs by describing the activity or occupation they derive from.

The Education Place, a service of the Houghton Mifflin Co., presents a TeacherView, prepared by Katy Smith and based on "Eight Hands Round," by American author Ann Whitford Paul. Smith offers a brief summary of the book and suggests reading extension activities appropriate for use with elementary classes. "Eight Hands Round" is an alphabet book that focuses on various quilt patterns used by American pioneers.

Students solve multiplication and division problems, and color the answers to make 100 different quilt designs.