Anna's New Coat - Dragonfly Books for Kids' Storytime

This is a sweet story about how a little girl gets a new coat during the difficult years after World War II. Her resourceful mother must trade some of her treasures to get the wool, the spinning, the weaving, and the sewing done for Anna's new coat.My daughter belongs to a FIAR (Five in a Row by Jane Claire Lambert) co-op of six 1st-2nd girls this year, and I hosted the co-op for this book. This book is featured in FIAR Volume 2, and the book has plenty of ideas for activities and discussions.Using the FIAR book as a springboard, this is what we discussed/did:1. WWII and how devastating it was. How difficult the aftermath of war is for ordinary people, no matter which side of the war they are on. Interestingly, we are not told where Anna and her mother live.2. Sacrifice, how Anna's mother gave up her special treasures so that Anna would be warm, comfortable, and healthy in the winter with her new coat.3. Sheep, how important they are to farmers in many countries because they provide milk, sheepskin, meat, and wool. Also discussed shearing. Activity: Made a spring sheep picture with a template I found on the Internet and cotton balls.4. Measurement, metric versus U.S. Customary Unit. Activity: Measured items of their choosing in both US and metric units, and filled out a chart.5. Dyes, how roots, nuts, and flowers were used for thousands of years to add color to clothing and make paints. Activity: Tie Dye tee shirts.6. Bartering, its history, the problems with bartering and why it was generally replaced by money, but how Anna's mother was able to barter when she had no money.7. Weaving, its history, some vocabulary, types of looms. Activity: Weaving on small looms I made out of foamcore. The kids wove with yarn, strips of fabric, and beads.8. Vocabulary - clothesline, war, shear, porcelain, card, ligonberries, garnet, and weave.This book is VERY similar to the book, "Pelle's New Suit" by Elsa Beskow, published in the 1920s, even down to the thanking of the lambs at the end! That book is also worth hunting down, the illustrations are just lovely. It could be a nice project to compare and contrast the two stories.