The Rag Coat is a good story about a girl that takes old rags from people around the town and turns them into a beautiful coat to keep her warm.The towns people at first make fun of her, but when they realize what she has done they are so thankful. This book is a good representation of being thankful for what you have and to see the beauty in everything. ( )

Minna is a young Appalachian girl that wants nothing more than to go to school but she doesn't have a coat. Her father recently died and her mother can't afford to buy her one. A group of mothers come together to make her one using pieces of left over fabric. She is thrilled but once she wears it to school the other kids make fun of her for wearing a coat of rags.

With paintings that capture all the beauty of Appalachia in authentic detail, this tender story about a resourceful mountain girl's special coat will touch readers with its affirming message of love and friendship.
https://www.amazon.com/Rag-Coat-Lauren-Mills/dp/0316574074/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&am...

The Rag Coat is a good introduction to Appalachian culture as it touches on all the highlights of the historical struggles that area has faced, poverty, mining, mountains, religion, etc. It is also a good story for talking about the negative impacts of mining, family deaths, poverty restricting school, not having winter clothes, compensating for lack of materials, friends, school, You could also touch on pride, frugality, and generosity. Students could relate to the stories in the rags that made up the coat, or research mining and living conditions.

Minna is a child of poverty. Living in Appalachia, when her father dies as a result of working in the mines, life is even more difficult. Minna longs to attend school, but does not have a winter coat to protect her from the cold.

When her mother's friends from a quilting society, gather their unused scraps of material, a beautiful coat of many colors is sewn for Minna.

Happy to attend school, Minna discovers that her rag coat is an object for bullying. Trying to fit in, Minna turns the table and points to specific blocks of material which were sewn from her classmates objects.

This lovely illustrated book deals with difficult subjects of death, poverty and bullying. ( )

The Rag Coat is a longer picture book that is easy to read. It handles tough topics such as family deaths. bullying, and apologizing. The main character shows that not everything is what it seems. The other students make fun of her coat, but apologize for their wrong doings when they find out how much meaning it has.