Review of JOSEPH HAD A LITTLE OVERCOAT

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Title: JOSEPH HAD A LITTLE OVERCOAT (2000 Caldecott Medal Winner)
Author and Illustrator: Simms Taback
Publisher: Viking, Penguin Group, Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 1999
ISBN: 0-670-87855-3

BRIEF PLOT SUMMARY:
This is a heartwarming story about a man who keeps finding new uses for his worn overcoat. He makes a jacket, a vest, a scarf, necktie, a handkerchief, and finally a button that all had their orgins in Joseph's overcoat. He wears/uses each item until it is worn out and then his creativity kicks in and he makes something new. In the end when the smallest item that can be made, a button, is old and worn out, Joseph then creates and writes a story about his experience. This story teaches children and reminds adults that you truly can make something from nothing.

REVIEW EXCERPTS:
School Library Journal: "Pre-Grade 3-A book bursting at the seams with ingenuity and creative spirit."
Booklist: "Taback's mixed-media and collage illustrations are alive with warmth, humor, and humanity."

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Taback's characters are believable and children can relate to the story because everyone has had something that has eventually worn out through continued use. This concept book teaches a lesson in a non-threatening way and gives "food for thought." Joseph's recycling of each previous item into another "new" useful item stresses how we as human beings need to help take care of our earth and not continue this "throw away" society that we have become.

This book is also a participation book because the children are giving clues through the clever
use of die-cuts. They are given clues by the shape of the die-cut to what the next item is that Joseph made and then the next page reveals the "answer."

The reader learns about Joseph's character through his actions and the expressions, so eloquently drawn by Taback himself, on the characters faces. Taback's illustrations do a great job of conveying the message Joseph is truly a caring person.

CONNECTIONS:
1)Some other books by Simms Taback:
THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A FLY ISBN-10: 0670869392
ISBN-13: 978-0670869398
THIS IS THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT ISBN-10: 0142402001 ISBN-13: 978-0142402009
SIMM TABACK'S BIG BOOK OF WORDS, KIBITZERS AND FOOLS: TALES MY ZAYDA TOLD ME ISBN-10: 0670059552 ISBN-13: 978-0670059553
THERE WAS an OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED a FLY ISBN-10: 0670869392
ISBN-13: 978-0670869398
2)Another tie-in would be books, in particular THE GIVING TREE by Shel Silverstein (ISBN-10: 0060256656 ISBN-13: 978-0060256654) which is a story about a tree that keeps on giving and giving until it is a stump and then is still useful as a stool for the boy who at the end of the story is an old man, that are stories of how something is useful long after the original item is past its usefulness.
Another idea would be to have the students bring in something old and worn and after getting their creative juices flowing, design, and create something "new" from something "old."
3)A couple of books that deal with recycling are:
Ecoart!: Earth-Friendly Art and Craft Experiences for 3-To 9-Year-Olds (Williamson Kids Can! Series) (Paperback) by Laurie Carlson ISBN-10: 0913589683 ISBN-13: 978-0913589687
Recycle Every Day! (Paperback) by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace ISBN-10: 0761452907
ISBN-13: 978-0761452904