Bella's Fall Coat

Illustrations © Susan Gal

Bella's Fall Coat

by Lynn Plourde Illustrated by Susan Gal Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2016

Bella twirled and whirled.
She crinkled and crackled.
She dove down deep
and pop-popped back up.

Bella loves EVERYTHING about fall, and she wants it to last FOREVER!

But nothing lasts forever, not even Bella's favorite coat that her Grams made for her. Bella is too busy jumping in leaves and picking apples and flying with the geese to talk about that coat of hers. But Grams has a plan for a new coat for Bella, and Bella knows exactly what to do with her outgrown coat.

A celebration of fall and intergenerational love.

Reviews

Plourde's lovely text about the ephemeral nature of objects and seasons--and the lasting love of family--is beautifully realized by Gal's expressive, digital collage illustrations. Vibrant and spontaneous, they recall Keats and Isadora . . . (Y)oung readers will be introduced to the enticing lure of autumn and the joys of sharing it with someone they love.
Kirkus (starred review)

A treat for eye and ear. A first choice for fall units.
School Library Journal (starred review)

The pages fly by like autumn leaves in the wind: Bella is a whirl of messy, lovely girl-energy, while Grams is a warm whiz-bang wonder of a grandmother.
The New York Times

The mutual adoration between Bella and Grams is abundantly evident in the tender exchanges Plourde puts together, as well as in Gal's gauzy, multilayered images, which capture both Bella's near-inexhaustible energy and that of a woodland landscape in flux.
Publishers Weekly