Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

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Taback, Simms. 1999. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. New York: Viking Children's Books. ISBN 0670878553. 


This story begins with Joseph in a field of flowers with chickens, a turkey, a cat, and a goose. Joseph is wearing an overcoat which reaches to the top of his shoes. The overcoat is tattered and patched along the bottom edge. Rather than tossing the coat, he finds another use for the overcoat by trimming off the bottom and creating a jacket. When the jacket becomes worn, Joseph trims it to make a vest. When the vest becomes worn, he makes a scarf, then a necktie, then a hanker-chief, then a button. Joseph loses the button and now has nothing. He decides to make a book about the overcoat to show "you can always make something out of nothing". 


This is a wonderful story with wonderful watercolor, pencil, and collage illustrations. The illustrations help make this story more appealing to children. Also appealing, are cut-outs within the story. Each time a clothing item becomes too tattered and worn, a cut-out can be found in the shape of the next item Joseph will make. Children will have fun guessing what the item is just by the shape. Assorted Jewish items can be found within the collages, but children may not identify what those items are. Although recognizing these items is not vital to the story, finding them can still be fun and perhaps lead into learning opportunities on Jewish culture. 

On the first page of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, are the words "He wore the coat for a long time and then something happened to it". Time is represented in this story by each clothing item becoming tattered and children are able to witness the transformation of  the overcoat into something smaller each time. This story can open up discussions about appreciating what you have, recycling clothing, and recycling in general. 


Joseph Had a Little Overcoat is the 2000 Caldecott Medal Winner and the National Jewish Book Award winner for 1999. It can also be found on the Texas 2x2 List. 


If you enjoyed this story by Simms Taback, you may also enjoy There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly,  and This is the House that Jack Built.


School Library Journal (01/01/2000):
Pre-Gr 3." 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."

Booklist (01/01/2000):
Ages 4-7. "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."

Further activities for Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, can be found at: 
http://www.wordsalive.org/vol_resources/elibookenrichmentguide_josephhadalittleovercoat.pdf

http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/westonwoods/study_guides/joseph_has_a_little_overcoat.pdf

http://pjlibrary.org/pj-blog/index.php/archives/2436/simms-taback-joseph-had-a-little-overcoat/