Mr. Coats is always cold, always shivering, and always huddled up next to his stoves, which make his house much too warm for visitors. And so he is always lonely. One morning, having had enough of the cold, Mr. Coats ventures into town, where he asks a shopkeeper for the “thickest” coat she has. But even three such coats layered cannot keep Mr. Coats warm, so he buys some blankets to turn into coats and dons those, too. Soon Mr. Coats wears so many coats that he cannot fit inside his home; he must resort instead to living inside his cone-shaped mound of coats. Mr. Coats’s coat-house is a spectacle attracting reporters and admirers, one of whom insists that Mr. Coats accompany him to meet someone “very special”—a similarly freezing woman who also lives in a structure made of coats. The two hit it off, their conversation yielding remarkable results: They warm up. As the pleasure of companionship and new love thaws Mr. and Mrs. Coats, they shed their coats and move in together to spend their days in the warmth of each other’s company (and a single coat each). Whimsical art featuring boldly patterned coats in brilliant colors accompanies an absurd but charming story translated from Dutch.     (Ages 3-7)