JOSEPH HAD A LITTLE OVERCOAT written and illustrated by Simms Taback

Bibliography

Taback, Simms. 1999.  Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.  New York: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers.  ISBN 0-670-87855-3

Plot Summary

     Joseph begins his story with an old and worn out overcoat.  Instead of getting rid of it, he finds new and inventive ways to use the fabric from the coat to create new clothing items to show that you can make something out of nothing.

Critical Analysis

     Taback’s inventive and simple tale of frugality stems from a traditional Yiddish folk song, and his textual style gives a musical quality to the writing that reads well aloud.  Inventive die-cuts guide and pique the interest of the reader as the overcoat is turned into a jacket, the jacket into a vest, etc.  Much of the book is conventionally illustrated through hand drawing or painting, but there are also clever elements of cutting and pasting much like a child might cut images out of magazines and glue them down to create arts and crafts projects.  Taback uses these imaginative mixed-media illustrations to parallel the cutting and patching of the fabric that Joseph performs in the story.  This colorful book is packed with illustrative details, many of which convey the Jewish cultural roots of the story (e.g., clothing features such as prayer shawls and yarmulkes and everyday items such as bilingual Hebrew and English newspapers).  The more one reads it, the more details one will find.  In the end, Joseph is left with nothing for he has lost the button that was the final incarnation of the original overcoat.  In a whimsical turn on providing the moral of the story, Joseph turns his experience into a book to teach today’s children, living in an ever-growing disposable society, that “you can always make something out of nothing.”

Awards and Review Excerpts

• 2000 Caldecott Medal
• School Library Journal: “bursting at the seams with ingenuity and creative spirit.”
• Booklist: “a true example of accomplished bookmaking…Taback's mixed-media and collage illustrations are alive with warmth, humor, and humanity.”
• Publishers Weekly: “Taback's inventive use of die-cut pages shows off his signature artwork.”

Connections

• For pre-K or kindergarteners: give students a swatch of fabric at least 12”x12”.  Tell them they can cut, glue, twist, tie, etc. the fabric any way they want but they must create some kind of two or three dimensional item of clothing.  Have students share what they made, then read the story aloud to the class.
• Read this book during a science unit on recycling. Have children brainstorm ideas about what other durable and semi-durable materials, like the overcoat, could be turned into other, usable items.  Older students could use Pinterest to research possible upcycling projects.
• The last page of the book contains both the music and lyrics to the original Yiddish folk song that the story is based on.  Using YouTube, have students listen to the song as it is meant to be sung and have them sing along with the original lyrics.
• As the teacher or librarian reads the story aloud, another adult or student volunteer could use felt cutouts of Joseph and all the varied items created from the overcoat to display on a felt board to add another level of visual interest.