The Coat - Séverine Vidal

Author: Séverine Vidal

Illustrator: Louis Thomas

Genre: Children's Picture Book

Rating: 2.5 stars.

A story that would have worked wonders had it incorporated some changes in its approach.

Elise has finally got her hands on her elder sister’s “perfect red coat”, a hand-me-down she has been eagerly waiting for “since forever”. The very next day, she proudly wears the coat and sets off to school, making sure her precious coat is safe. On the way, she spots a homeless woman sitting with her little daughter on the roadside. Elise feels sad that the girl isn’t as warm as she is but she walks on. All today long, the thought torments her. The next day, Elise spots the little girl again shivering in the cold. You know what Elise will do next.

Elise is a precious little girl who is portrayed just as a child of her age would be. She is peppy, bright, mischievous and impatient. At the same time, she is caring and concerned about the well-being of others.

The thought of the story is wonderful. It carries a warm vibe despite being set during winter. However, I wasn’t happy with the way the ending was written. There were many wasted opportunities here:

👉 The turnaround was too abrupt. Elise had been so excited about that red coat; why did she give that very coat away to the homeless girl instead of donating her old coat that she didn’t plan to use anymore?

👉 Elise is shown to have a healthy and communicative relationship with her mother and her sister. Why didn’t she broach the topic of the homeless duo with them? Children reading the story would have learnt the value of direct communication had Elise done so.

👉 Elise ends up donating not just her beloved coat to the girl but also her scarf and her woollen cap to the girl’s mother. Children should be taught that there’s a limit to giving. When we give at the cost of depriving ourselves, it isn’t healthy. (One reason why I now hate “The Giving Tree” though I liked it in my childhood.)

👉 Elise was walking to school with her elder sister but ends up being locked out of school as she become late because of her interaction with the homeless duo. How come her elder sister didn’t even realise that her little sister hadn’t reached school?

This story was originally published in French as ‘Le Manteau’ in 2020. It is aimed at the 3-7 year age group. The content is a little more text-intensive than is common for this age range. There are about 2-3 paragraphs on text on each page. The vocabulary level is easy, no worries there.

The illustrations are lovely. As the story is set during winter, there is a lot of white on the pages, which makes the colour detailing on the characters pop out. Elise with her big bright eyes and curly hair was cute. That said, the sketches don’t show Elise’s face on the final two pages, a detailing that might have reduced the feeling of abruptness to a certain extent.

All in all, a thoughtful book with a good message that will work better under adult guidance about setting limits and relying on conversations rather than assumptions.

My thanks to Flyaway Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Coat”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.