Goats Coat by Tom Percival

Stories form part of every day at Overton Preschool Playgroup, and occasionally the children at Playgroup visit the library next door to join in their Story Tots session. This is a free weekly event at Overton Library every Tuesday at 9:45am, where the children can join in singing songs and using instruments, followed by 2 stories and a craft on a theme.

This week the children really enjoyed Goats Coat, a book just arrived at the library. The story begins with Alfonzo the Goat who is feeling really happy and proud as he has a lovely new coat. As he goes about his day he comes across a succession of animals who need his help. First are some frogs whose log house has rotted away, and he feels so sorry for them he uses some stitches from his coat to make them a boat. Next is a sad cat who has hurt her tail, so he uses a piece of his coat to bandage it. This carries on until his lovely new coat is no more, and then he gets lost in a snow storm. Luckily his new friends come to his rescue. This is a beautifully illustrated and gentle story showing that love, kindness and friendship make the best recipe for happiness, and is a great way to provoke a conversation with children about helping others, how it might make you feel and why you would give up your belongings for others.

Reading is a brilliant way to spend 1-1 time with a child, but it is also special to experience a story as part of a group. If you want to explore more events like this, don’t forget Language Hour at Overton Playgroup every Monday at 10am during term-time, where families can enjoy songs and stories both familiar and new, a snack and time to play and explore.