Bird Coat

Pierre is a tailor who has always wanted to fly. Instead of letting the wish fade, he sets out to stitch together a coat of feathers and plumage that will carry him into the sky. The story asks whether a person can really become a bird, and what might happen when confidence in one's imagined self tips into overreach.

The tale is rooted in the life of Franz Reichelt, a tailor nicknamed the flying tailor, who leapt from the Eiffel Tower in 1912 in an attempt to fly. Its focus is on the versions of ourselves we dream into existence and the pride that can grow out of those dreams.

The book is illustrated by Norwegian artist Øyvind Torseter, whose distinctive style gives the story its visual character.