Joseph Had A Little Overcoat by Simms Taback

Taback, Simms. 1999. Joseph Had A Little Overcoat. Ill. by Simms Taback. New York: Viking. ISBN o670878553

This Caldecott-winning picture book features Joseph, who has an overcoat which gets worn and old. He finds a way (again and again) to make the old, worn overcoat useful in a new way. The overcoat becomes, among other things, a vest, a scarf, a button, and finally, when nothing else can be made, Joseph makes "something" from "nothing" and turns his overcoat's journey into a story.

This is an engineered book with cutouts on various pages to show the new form of the original overcoat. Children will enjoy turning the pages to see what the coat becomes, but they will also enjoy seeing how Taback works the back side of the cutout into his illustrations.

The simply told story is based on a Yiddish folk song, and the text is fairly sparse but follows a somewhat predictable pattern ("Joseph had a little handkerchief. It got old and worn. So he made a button out of it") that will help struggling readers navigate the text more easily.

One of the best things about this picture book are the folk art-style illustrations which complement the story well. The bright colors and detailed drawings make this book a pleasure to read over and over again (and my children asked for it over and over again). This multicultural book explores the themes of frugality and making-do with an overall tone of joyousness. When I went to write this response, I had to search for the book because my own children had commandeered it (it was in the car, next to my son's prized McDonald's toy). They love the simple, easy-to-read text and the little surprises in the illustrations (like the mouse hole with little mouse eyes).

AWARDS & REVIEWS:

Caldecott Medal Book, 2000
"Vibrant rich colors, playful details, and skillfully-placed die cuts contribute to the books raucous merriment that takes this Yiddish folk song far beyond the simple words." Barbara Kiefer, chair of the Caldecott Award Committee

CONNECTIONS:

My kids pulled out the book Something from Nothing by Phoebe Gilman and did an informal compare/contrast of the language and illustrations that give the same story a much different feeling in the two books.
Another series which shares the same theme of frugality and making do is The Boxcar Children (particularly the first couple in the series). For older readers, Little House on the Prairie also shares the same theme.
During a read aloud of this book, students could use simple, cut out props (maybe even cut them themselves as each page of the story is read?) to make the reading more interactive.
Also this book would be a good one to use for choral reading or group reading.