NO ORDINARY JACKET

A special jacket flourishes in a family over time.

It arrives in shiny, metallic gift wrap. The jacket has a rich, multicolored pattern in a nubbly, carpety texture and a white collar and cuffs like fleece or sheepskin. It has “four dazzling buttons down the front.” Amelia immediately nuzzles it to her face, then proceeds to wear it everywhere—preschool, the park, bed—until the sad day it no longer fits. Now it’s little sister Lilly’s turn. Lilly, too, wears it everywhere: the library, the swingset, even—despite its warmth—the beach. Eventually Lilly outgrows it, and the family cat blissfully has kittens on it. When it’s old, a bit worn, and a bit dirty, Mom remakes it into a teddy bear. The jacket seems to shift somewhat in size, which requires a small suspension of disbelief—no problem—but why does Mom make the jacket into a bear rather than passing it down as a garment to the youngest (third) sibling? (Surely not because the youngest sibling, short-haired, might be intended as a boy and the jacket is festive, even perhaps feminine?) This question, while baffling, doesn’t override Pashley’s toasty-warm story and Baker’s captivating collaged layers of fabrics, papers, and textures. Amelia has light brown skin and straight black hair; Lilly has similar skin and corkscrew blonde curls; the toddler sibling has straight, straw-colored hair; and Mom has brown skin and wears her black hair in a bun.

Snug and enchanting.