Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat cover
Author Simms Taback
Illustrator Simms Taback
Country United States
Genre Children's picture book
Publisher Viking Press
Publication date
 1999
ISBN 978-0-670-87855-0
OCLC 40159006
398.2 E 21
LC Class PZ7.T1115 Jo 1999

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat is the title of a 1999 book by Simms Taback that won the 2000 Caldecott Medal.[1][2] The main character is Joseph, a 40-something Jewish farmer, who has a little striped overcoat. When it is old, Joseph makes it into a little jacket and so on until he makes it into a button. Then Joseph loses the button and makes a story out of it. The moral of the story is "you can always make something out of nothing."

The story has die-cut illustrations consisting of watercolor and collage.[3] Readers of the story say that Joseph greatly resembles Simms Taback.[4]

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat is based on the Yiddish song I Had a Little Overcoat.[3][5] Barbara Kiefer, chair of the Caldecott Award Committee, commented, "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."[1]

The story is read on the children’s show Between the Lions.[6]

Reception

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat has been favorably received. Publishers Weekly found "With its effective repetition and an abundance of visual humor, this is tailor-made for reading aloud."[7] while Common Sense Media wrote "it will nudge its way onto your list of favorites."[8] Booklist called it "a true example of accomplished bookmaking" and "Taback's mixed-media and collage illustrations are alive with warmth, humor, and humanity. Their colors are festive yet controlled, and they are filled with homey clutter, interesting characters, and a million details to bring children back again and again."[9] The School Library Journal described it as "A book bursting at the seams with ingenuity and creative spirit." [9]

References

  1. 1 2 Barbara Kiefer Chairs the Caldecott Award Committee. June 1, 1999.
  2. ↑ Caldecott Medal Winners, 1938 – Present. Association for Library Service to Children.
  3. 1 2 Judy Halpern. Green Teacher. April 1, 2003.
  4. ↑ Angie West, Jodi Stevens, Cheryl Delia, Valerie Bradshaw, and Mike Kahn. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.
  5. ↑ I Had a Little Overcoat
  6. ↑ Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.
  7. ↑ "Joseph Had a Little Overcoat". www.publishersweekly.com. PWxyz LLC. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Joseph Had a Little Overcoat". www.commonsensemedia.org. Common Sense Media Inc. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Joseph had a little overcoat". www.buffalolib.org. Buffalo & Eric County public Library. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
Awards
Preceded by
Snowflake Bentley		 Caldecott Medal recipient
2000		 Succeeded by
So You Want to Be President?


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