Minna’s Patchwork Coat
Minna’s Patchwork Coat
by Lauren A. Mills
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Curriculum Subject: Family Life: School, Family Life: Neighbors/Neighborhoods, Personal Development: Individuality, Personal Development: Friendship, Folk Tales/Fairy Tales/Classics: Native American Heritage, Guidance/Health: Death
Grades: 3-7
In this charming historical novel, acclaimed artist Lauren A. Mills reimagines her beloved picture book, The Rag Coat, with fifty delicate pencil illustrations and an expanded story about a resilient little girl, her patchwork coat, and how the two bring a community together.
Minna and her family don’t have much in their small Appalachian cabin, but “people only need people,” Papa always reminds her. Unable to afford a winter coat to wear to school, she’s forced to use an old feed sack to keep her warm. Then Papa’s terrible cough from working in the coal mines takes him away forever, and Minna has a hard time believing that anything will be right again…until her neighbors work tirelessly to create a coat for her out of old fabric scraps. Now Minna must show her teasing classmates that her coat is more than just rags–it’s a collection of their own cherished memories, each with a story to share.
PRAISE
“Readers can immerse themselves in a culture and time where things moved at a slower pace and common sense values created from warmth and love are given room to exist and thrive. The delicate, ethereal pencil drawings provide an additional lens into this story. The emotions of the characters are sensitively rendered, and one can almost smell the pine-scented air and wood-burning fireplace. ” — School Library Journal