Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Bibliography
Taback, Simms. 1999. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. New York, NY: The Penguin Group. ISBN 0-670-87855-3


Plot Summary
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat is a simply written story about a man named Joseph who turns his overcoat into a jacket, then a vest, then a scarf, then a tie, then a handkerchief, then a button, until he lost it. He then writes a book about his overcoat's transformation proving the moral that "you can always make something out of nothing."


Critical Analysis
The actual text of the story may be simple, but the illustrations, created from watercolor, Gouache, pencil, ink and collage, add intricacy to the book. There are "holes" in the book creating Joseph's next project from the overcoat and each page is filled with meaningful adages and fun quirks in the background. (My favorite is the newspaper with the title "Fiddler On Roof Falls Off Roof.")  


The repetition of lines throughout the book makes this a great book to read-aloud and have children participate. They can repeat the "Joseph had a little..." line and then make guesses about what he will make next. 


Review Excerpts
2000 Caldecott Medal 


Connections
*Have the children re-tell the story using first and then to develop an understanding about order of events
*Have the children create a piece of artwork, and then have them turn it into something else, and then something else