Joseph Had a Little Overcoat is a Caldecott winner and a charming book for young children. Author and illustrator Simms Taback based the story on an old Yiddish folksong. The lyrics and music for the song are in the back of the book. The illustrations are vibrant, utilizing unique multimedia methods and die cut holes.
The wording is simple. “Joseph had a little overcoat. It was old and worn.” One page shows Joseph with his worn and patched overcoat. The other has a jacket shaped hole in the page. When you turn the page the hole matches up with the overcoat. And that’s what Joseph has done, he’s made a jacket out of his overcoat. When that becomes worn, he makes a vest. And then he dances in his vest at his nephew’s wedding. When that becomes worn he makes a scarf, and then a necktie. Each page has the cut out hint of what the next item will be. And after Joseph makes each item, he goes visiting, or shopping, or some other activity. After the necktie comes a handkerchief, and after that he makes a button for his suspenders. Kids love to see the cut outs and love to see the items getting smaller.
But one day, Joseph loses the button. Now he had nothing. But even nothing is something and Joseph made a book out of it. Which shows you can always make something out of nothing. The illustration shows a picture of Joseph holding this same story.
The illustrations have all sorts of things hidden in them, more for adults than children. One illustration has a man playing a fiddle on a roof. Another picture shows a newspaper headline “Fiddler on Roof Falls Off”. There are pictures of all sorts of famous Jewish people on the walls of Joseph’s house, and a menorah. And I’m sure someone with a Jewish background could spot lots of other things. I love this story of using what you have, and I love the twist of making something from nothing.
Also See:
The Snowy Day – Ezra Jack Keats
Snowflake Bentley – Jacqueline Briggs Martin