THE MAGIC RAINCOAT

A not-so-ordinary raincoat holds hidden possibilities. Emily’s disgruntlement knows no bounds when she receives a too-big orange raincoat, so when she yells out, “I wish it fit me!” and it magically shrinks to just-right, she quickly reassesses the situation. In fairly short order, she turns her brother into a dog and wishes for both a million dollars and a purple gorilla. But when she wishes that her daddy were home all the time and he suddenly loses his job, Emily realizes that wishing can be dangerous. Onto this homely fable is hung energetic collage artwork. Handmade paper in rich hues and almost-palpable textures form the appropriately surreal backgrounds; Emily, a cheery sprite with blue-and-purple hair, cavorts across the page, the only truly distinct figure amid the textured collages and scratchy ink drawings. The resolution, in which Emily’s mother trades the neighbor girl for a yellow raincoat and Emily sees the evidence of its magic run amok, is just right—trading for it back, Emily hangs it in the closet “for a rainy day.” Who ever thought a raincoat could be so much fun? (Picture book. 3-7)