Simms Taback's, "Joseph Had a Little Overcoat" Book Review

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Taback, Simms. 1999. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. Ill. by Simms Taback. Penguin Group: New York, New York. ISBN 0-329-15300-5

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, is a retelling of a Yiddish folk song turned folktale. In this version, the Yiddish song was transformed into a story, in which a humble man cherishes his worn overcoat. As the story progresses, Joseph’s overcoat is used continuously by the protagonist, the overcoat is transformed into a jacket, then vest, next a scarf, followed by a necktie, to a handkerchief, and lastly ends up being used in a button. This story’s time period has a lot to do with its development, it was during a time where resources were scarce and limited. People were resourceful and used everything to the max, at the end of the story there is a surprise that links back to the moral of the story. The moral of the story is that you can always make something out of nothing. The silver lining is to learn to appreciate what you have, be content with what you have and cherish it!

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Taback’s retelling is a very creative approach that captures the attention of the reader, the artwork is jovial and bold. Taback’s inventive use of the die-cut pages ups the ante and intrigues the intermediate readers. The protagonist Joseph, looks similar to author/illustrator Taback. The story is an ode to the Jewish culture. A neat aspect, which adds to the book’s uniqueness, is that throughout the book there are cut-outs in Joseph’s overcoat. The cut-outs serve as a point of interest, because you can use it to hold the reader’s attention and have them predict what the overcoat will be made into next! The book is a narration, the protagonist Joseph does not speak, but is used to display the development of the story. The illustrations were pencil, ink, watercolor, and collage, with the dominant colors being paired to autumn, shades of brown, a forest green and black are incorporated in the images resolution.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

The Caldecott Medal.

Publishers Weekly starred review: “As in his Caldecott Honor book, There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly, Taback’s inventive use of die-cut pages shows of his signature artwork, were newly created for his 1977 adaptation of a Yiddish folk song.”

Common Sense Media starred review: “Simms Taback is a master of collage: Dozens of photographed faces peek out of an apartment scene and pointed plants are topped with real vegetables. Kids find the clothing-shaped, die-cut holes irresistible…”

5. CONNECTIONS

*This story can be used in a read-aloud setting, and at the end of the story, the Yiddish song “I Had a Little Overcoat” can be song in a chorus. The tale’s moral is that one can always make something out of nothing, this is a good theme in which students can be taught a valuable lesson.

*Other stories like this one:

Taback, Simms. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. ISBN 978-0670869398

Pfister, Marcus. The Rainbow Fish. ISBN 978-1558580091