This is a sweet little story told without actually "telling" the ending which I like and found refreshing since it gives room for discussion when reading with or to children.

Elise is the younger sister who has coveted her big sister's red coat for a long time. When she is finally able to wear the coat, she does so with much pride as she walks to school with all her friends knowing she finally got the red coat. What they do not know is what is deep in Elise's heart once she saw a homeless mother and child; child about Elise's age. (In the real world, I have the strong feeling the child would have been in school but then the story could not happen in the way it did.)

The day after Elise has seen the homeless mother/daughter, Elise stops as she walks to school to give the girl a bag of candy, (Spoilers here but I figure adults are reading this,not children.) Elise "stayed for a moment," which caused her to be late for school and while she waited to be able to get into the locked school gate, she was cold...but she "didn't mind. " Nothing is said but the observant child will notice that in the final picture (no words), themother/daughter are together with the child in a red coat and the mother in a scarf and hat.

For me, I found this a wonderful story for children to learn about how important it is to care for others in the world around them. At no time did the author state that Elise shared with her family about the homeless people she had seen yet the sight of them affected her greatly. To show such empathy for another person is a great thing at any age; for a young child to show it, it wonderful.

What a great way to discuss caring for others with children. I think, in all honesty, this is a book better to read aloud to students as you discuss the pictures. At the end, showing kids the final picture to see what they understand would be important. There are children who won't "get it," but for those who do, it is priceless. A wonderful book to read at the holidays when many school do activities to encourgae children to give to those less fortunate.

If you want to picture book to make you cry, this one will do it. There are so many things to love about this book. First off Elise is a little girl and the one thing she really wants is to be big enough for her sister’s hand me down coat. It’s red, it has a big pocket, a hood, and it is absolutely perfect. She can’t wait for it to be hers. The day comes when she gets the coat. She wears it to school but on the way, they see a mom and a little girl out in the cold with no coats. She goes back home but feels yucky because something is wrong. She realizes that people look at their phones, they look away, they did everything to pretend not to notice the mom and the little girl in the cold. The next day Elise said “Hi”. Elise accidentally got locked out of school while it was cold, but not too cold. What I love is that the author doesn’t tell you what Elise did, you see it in the pictures. You see it in the authors words that her thoughts were enough to keep her warm. This book didn’t have to say Elise gave away her coat, no one made Elise giveaway her coat. Elise did it because it was the right thing to do and didn’t need to brag or point out that this good deed was done. I love this book! it’s well done and well-illustrated. The story is a joyful sadness that is important for kids to experience growing up.

The Coat is the beautiful and moving story of Elise and the red coat. The coat belonged to her older sister for what seemed like forever, and Elise dreamed of it being hers one day. When she finally grows into it and gets to wear it herself, she sees a homeless woman and a girl about her age out in the cold. The girl doesn't have a coat to keep her warm.

Elise tries to walk past them, to ignore the girl who could use her help, but she just can't! She ends up giving her precious coat to the homeless girl. Such a heartfelt message for kids to see empathy and a caring heart and how you can make a difference for someone.

❤️ Wonderful book, beautiful message, lovely illustrations. Must-have for your home or school library! ❤️

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this advanced review copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review on the book!

A heartwarming story about a sweet girl who has so much excitement and care in her heart. I loved the character so much. Her enthusiasm for such a small thing as a jacket was nice to read.

Words and pictures are equally extremely important. This sweet book has both. Excellent! Will definitely be using this book for a lesson!

This book has a really nice message that everyone could appreciate. The last page or two may throw a few readers off but it provides an excellent opening for digging deeper and connecting the text with the illustrations.

This is a story of a girl who's younger child in her home and she fond of wearing red coat of her elder sister that she passed in size off her age. She, Elise her name, roam all day with that coat she.waited so long to wear and enjoy in.
But when she watched a person who's in more need that her she donated that coat of hers to that person.

This story must be tell by parents and teachers must convey to children by this story as a lesson of respect, empathy and compassion for kindness.

A nice story about giving and receiving. I really liked the illustrations and the premise behind the story but felt it was a little text heavy.

The Coat is a children's picture book that teaches a lesson about kindness and generosity. In the book, a little girl named Mia is anxiously awaiting for her sister to grow out of her gorgeous red coat, because then it will be passed down to Mia. Once Mia receives the coat, she is excited to wear it to school. However, she sees something on the way to school that dampens her excitement. What will she do?

Spoiler: The ending of the book is a little confusing. We see and read that Mia gives her candy to the homeless mother and daughter. Then we see the school gate and read that Mia is cold and late to school. Then we see the homeless mom and daughter in Mia's coat and scarf. I had to reread the last few pages to understand that Mia must have given them the clothing, without that being directly illustrated.

I wish that the ending of the book was clearer rather than making us guess what happened (that is especially not a good tactic for young children). However, I don't even like this ending of the book overall, because Mia has given up everything that is keeping her safe and warm. Children should not learn to sacrifice their safety for others'. Why didn't Mia give the little girl her old coat that she grew out of? Why didn't she talk with her mom and/or sister about how to help the homeless family?

Furthermore, I did not understand what the story was about until we were first shown the homeless family (this was in the middle of the book). Maybe we could have seen them in the background of the first few pages while Mia is walking to school in her old coat?

The illustrations were good, but the rest of the issues I had with this book make me not want to recommend it.

The Coat by Séverine Vidal is such a kind, heartwarming story with a dash of learning to be patient. I loved how this book showed sustainability with a hand-me-down coat, but the joy that this coat brought her, was not as strong as the joy she got from being kind and showing empathy, by giving the coat to someone who needed it more.

Thank you, Netgalley and Flyaway Books, for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received a free digital copy to read from the author.

The Coat, written by Séverine Vidal, is a heartwarming and uplifting story that explores the importance of kindness and empathy. The story follows Elise, a young girl who dreams of owning a beautiful red coat. However, her encounter with a homeless woman and her child changes her perspective and teaches her that the joy of helping others far outweighs the pleasure of material belongings.

The book is beautifully written, and the illustrations by Louis Thomas perfectly capture the emotions and experiences of the characters. Vidal's narrative is simple yet effective, and the story is perfect for children of all ages. It offers an important lesson about compassion and the struggles that homeless people face.

The Coat is a must-read for teachers and parents who are looking for a meaningful story to share with their children. The book's message is full of heart, and children will love engaging in "what would I do?" scenarios.
In summary, The Coat is a beautifully told story with a powerful message. It is a must-have for all libraries and a book that children and adults alike will enjoy reading and discussing together.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Although two of my three children are well past picture book reading level, they do enjoy a good picture book still every now and then. So I'm always on the look out for picture books with great illustrations and a great story. The Coat, unfortunately, did not meet my high expectations. The illustrations are beautiful and the message is great, but the story failed to captivate me. I spent several minutes thinking that the author should have teed up the girl's desire for her sister's hand me down coat a little more than just in the first page. It didn't seem believable that the younger sister was pining after this coat for such a long time. And, while the moral was sweet, I think there are definitely other books out there that deal with similar topics (food insecurity, homelessness) in a less forced fashion.

Thank you net galley for providing me with a free arc of from The Coat in exchange for a honest review.

This was honestly such a great read and I'd definitely recommend for all children libraries. It was a sweet story that has a deeper meaning also good for all ages.

Teach your children well and teach them to appreciate all that they have and to share when they can.
Use this book to show them that appreciating what they have can also include understanding what others don't have.

I always tell my daughter that we are fortunate and blessed to have all that we do, as a lot of people don’t have even a third of what we have.


If the book is targeted at early elementary schoolers, something lighter text wise, but heavier on the illustrations would have worked just as well.


However, I definitely smiled at the end because of the complete sincerity and generosity that Mia had.
All kids should be like that. And all adults too!

Darling illustrations I would recommend this book for patrons looking stories for children about issues like homelessness, poverty, and generosity. One nice touch about this story was how excited the main character was to get a hand-me-down coat. Parents interested in stories about sustainability might like this story for that aspect.

The story is such a great way to show young audiences how their actions can affect others. The story beautifully deals with complex emotions and issues without making it too complicated for a younger reader. Beautiful and Vivid illustrations

I loved this book it was about a young girl looking forward to receiving her sister's beautiful red coat and how sometimes we have to make decisions in our lives for the better good of humanity. Lovely book about kindness and how one person and make the world a better place.

This was an adorable book with cute illustrations. I liked the majority of the book, maybe not a favorite, but still cute.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This is a gentle picture book story focusing on a girl called Mia. She lives in a loving family unit and is counting the days until she receives the most beautiful coat in the world, her big sister’s red coat! But when that day finally arrives, she finds herself presented with a difficult decision.

There is a very clear emotional journey for Mia which is conveyed very well through both text and illustrations, which makes it easy for children to understand.

I’ve not read a story like this before and I think it is a brave concept to tackle, highlighting the realities of the world in a sensitive way and one child’s response to them. It is a wonderful story of kindness and would be a great book to share in schools when they are asking the children to think about examples of acts of kindness, what these might look like and what they themselves might do in Mia’s situation.

Precious and heartwarming children’s book. This would be great for teachers like myself to use in their classroom. Thankful to have gotten to read it.