The Olden Days Coat

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

Since its initial publication in 1979, Margaret Laurence’s The Olden
Days Coat has become a Canadian classic. A generation of readers has
empathized with 10-year-old Sal, who is disappointed and bored at having
to spend Christmas with her recently widowed grandmother instead of at
home with her friends. Those same readers have leafed through the old
photo albums with Sal and marveled with her at finding the
never-before-noticed olden days coat. As Sal tries the coat on and is
magically transported to another time, they’ve puzzled as to how
she’ll manage to get “home.” And finally, they’ve sat breathless
with anticipation as Sal opened her “early present.”

This edition with new full-color illustrations by Muriel Wood, the
original artist, is a must-have purchase for those for whom the reading
of The Olden Days Coat has become a Christmas holiday tradition. For
those not yet acquainted with the story, what better way to introduce
them to this treasure than with this stunning picture book version?
Highly recommended for all ages.