A New Coat for Anna written by Harriet Ziefert and illustrated by Anita Lobel is a book that describes the story of a young girl who needs a new coat. This story is during hard economic times for her mother so her mother has to figure out a way of purchasing a new coat for Anna. Her mother decides to barter with different individuals who will help her make a coat for Anna. Anna is successful in getting a new coat for winter. The illustrations in this book are very colorful, which makes the book appealing.
“Then he gave Anna’s mother a big bag of wool and Anna’s mother gave him the gold watch.”
Curriculum Connection
This book would be very helpful for teaching students the idea of using bartering instead of using money in the exchange of goods and services. (2.8) This story would be a very good station for students to read silently to themselves and learn more about the use of bartering. Additionally, this story would be a good introduction to the idea of bartering.
Additional Resources
How Stuff Works is a great resource for teachers. This website provides a good lesson plan for teachers to use when introducing the idea of bartering to students. This website also has a good video about bartering.
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Top 5 Books is a website that provides teachers and students with the top 5 books on teaching bartering. This website is a great resource for students who are having trouble with the topic.
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Lesson Plans is a great website for teachers to use when needing lessons on bartering. This website provides a good lesson plan with multiple activities for students.
General Information
Book: A New Coat for Anna
Author: Harriet Ziefert
Illustrator:Anita Lobel
Publisher:Dragonfly Books
Publication Date: 1986-1988
Pages: 1-40
Grade Range: 1-3
ISBN 10:0-394-89861-3
ISBN 13: 978-0394898612