Children’s attachments…

I was talking to a friend this morning and she told me both of her children loved their new winter coats; and that even before the recent cold snap, both the 2-year-old and the 5-year-old wore their new apparel with glee.

It reminded me that many children develop a fondness for a particular item. My son loved to wear his Batman cape long — even a year — after Halloween and he had an old worn burp cloth that was his “lovie,” not unlike Owen’s Fuzzy in the book entitled Owen (opens in a new window) (Greenwillow) by Kevin Henkes.

Author Amy Hest shows a particular sensitivity to children and the power of particular items of clothing. In her book called In the Rain with Baby Duck (opens in a new window)(Candlewick), Hest introduces Baby Duck who dislikes wet weather — quite unusual for a duck. But a trip to the attic with Grandpa where they find a bit of family history and red boots certainly improves the situation.

Another grandfather in Hest’s Purple Coat (opens in a new window) (Simon & Schuster) comes up with a creative solution to the annual navy blue coat for Gabrielle (who really wants a purple coat).

Children do develop connections to odd things and peculiar pieces of clothing (I wonder what ever happened to my cowgirl boots!?) but recognition by a concerned adult — and even a suggested solution found in a book — may make it an opportunity to share something special.