Plot Summary - Joseph Had a Little Overcoat is a traditional tale based off of a Yiddish song. Joseph, a peasant, begins the story with a plaid overcoat that becomes old and starts fraying at the edges. Each time the plaid overcoat fabric becomes worn out Joseph turns it into something else to wear.
Personal Reaction - I enjoyed this witty book. This is a story of not being wasteful, optimism, and being imaginative.
Memorable Literary Element - Taback portrays cultural elements throughout the story. The pictures and words show Joseph interacting with the people of his town who are wearing traditional clothing. There are also objects such as a menorah and a dreidel on some of the pages. Taback puts letters, newspapers, song lyrics, and saying on many of the pages with English and Hebrew writing on them to give the reader clues about Joseph’s culture. The letters show that Joseph lives in Poland and communicates with family. He also visits family in the story showing that family is an important part of his life and culture. The lyrics and choir Joseph sings in show that music is important to him and the people of his town. The sayings on Josephs walls and the way that Joseph turns his coat into different clothes when it gets worn out, show the simple side of Josephs life and that he is not wasteful. The overall message that Taback portrays with this story is that “you can always make something out of nothing.”
Illustrations - Taback keeps Tomak the reader guessing throughout the story as Joseph transforms the plaid overcoat fabric into different articles of clothing. Taback uses watercolor, gouache, pencil, ink, and collage to create the pictures in this story. Each picture is outlined in black shading.
Review - School Library Journal Pre-Gr 3-A book bursting at the seams with ingenuity and creative spirit. When Joseph's overcoat becomes "old and worn," he snips off the patches and turns it into a jacket. When his jacket is beyond repair, he makes a vest. Joseph recycles his garments until he has nothing left. But by trading in his scissors for a pen and paintbrush he creates a story, showing "you can always make something out of nothing." Clever die-cut holes provide clues as to what Joseph will make next: windowpanes in one scene become a scarf upon turning the page. Striking gouache, watercolor, and collage illustrations are chock-full of witty details-letters to read, proverbs on the walls, even a fiddler on the roof. Taback adapted this tale from a Yiddish folk song and the music and English lyrics are appended. The rhythm and repetition make it a perfect storytime read-aloud.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Promotion - Discuss the message or moral of the story. Talk about a time when you turned something old into something new. Discuss concepts about recycling and talk about different ways to do so. Plan a recycling project such as an old coat drive.
Talk about the different kinds of writing in the newspapers, letters, and sayings on the walls. Then research information about Yiddish or Jewish culture. Read other traditional books about the Jewish culture.
Personal Reaction - I enjoyed this witty book. This is a story of not being wasteful, optimism, and being imaginative.
Memorable Literary Element - Taback portrays cultural elements throughout the story. The pictures and words show Joseph interacting with the people of his town who are wearing traditional clothing. There are also objects such as a menorah and a dreidel on some of the pages. Taback puts letters, newspapers, song lyrics, and saying on many of the pages with English and Hebrew writing on them to give the reader clues about Joseph’s culture. The letters show that Joseph lives in Poland and communicates with family. He also visits family in the story showing that family is an important part of his life and culture. The lyrics and choir Joseph sings in show that music is important to him and the people of his town. The sayings on Josephs walls and the way that Joseph turns his coat into different clothes when it gets worn out, show the simple side of Josephs life and that he is not wasteful. The overall message that Taback portrays with this story is that “you can always make something out of nothing.”
Illustrations - Taback keeps Tomak the reader guessing throughout the story as Joseph transforms the plaid overcoat fabric into different articles of clothing. Taback uses watercolor, gouache, pencil, ink, and collage to create the pictures in this story. Each picture is outlined in black shading.
Review - School Library Journal Pre-Gr 3-A book bursting at the seams with ingenuity and creative spirit. When Joseph's overcoat becomes "old and worn," he snips off the patches and turns it into a jacket. When his jacket is beyond repair, he makes a vest. Joseph recycles his garments until he has nothing left. But by trading in his scissors for a pen and paintbrush he creates a story, showing "you can always make something out of nothing." Clever die-cut holes provide clues as to what Joseph will make next: windowpanes in one scene become a scarf upon turning the page. Striking gouache, watercolor, and collage illustrations are chock-full of witty details-letters to read, proverbs on the walls, even a fiddler on the roof. Taback adapted this tale from a Yiddish folk song and the music and English lyrics are appended. The rhythm and repetition make it a perfect storytime read-aloud.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Promotion - Discuss the message or moral of the story. Talk about a time when you turned something old into something new. Discuss concepts about recycling and talk about different ways to do so. Plan a recycling project such as an old coat drive.
Talk about the different kinds of writing in the newspapers, letters, and sayings on the walls. Then research information about Yiddish or Jewish culture. Read other traditional books about the Jewish culture.