Written and Illustrated by Simms Taback.
Viking Juvenile, 1999. 32 pages. Tr. $16.99. ISBN 978-0-670-87855-0.
Using the die cut technique he popularized in his book There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, Simms Taback presents another award winning story, this one about a Jewish farmer named Joseph whose resourcefulness allows him to continually remake his overcoat into something new. Taback’s inspiration for the story comes from a Yiddish folksong which is included at the end of the book. Young readers will enjoy the predictable pattern of the text, and older readers will find numerous interesting bits of Jewish culture sprinkled throughout the richly textured illustrations. A joyful story with a moral readers of all cultures can take to heart.
Cited in Essentials of Children’s Literature 6th Edition pages 94, 97, 113, 224, 311 and the 2000 Caldecott Medal winner:
Other Information:
Other in-print formats available for this title:
- Gagne, P.R. & Reilly, M. (Producers) & Ivanick, D. (Director). (2001). Joseph had a
little overcoat . Norwalk, CT: Weston Woods.
Awards won by this item
Author/Illustrator website
- Simms Taback, b. 1932: http://www.simmstaback.com/This_Is_The_Official_Simms_Taback_Site.html
Author/Illustrator biographies
- Simms Taback, b. 1932: http://www.simmstaback.com/About_Simms_Taback_-_Biography.html
- “Simms Taback: Interview with the year 2000 Caldecott gold medal winner”: http://www.creativeparents.com/simmsinterv.html
Subjects/themes that could be used in programming
- Jewish culture
- Reusing Resources
- Folk songs
Programming Ideas and/or lesson plans
- PBS Kids Cornerstones: http://pbskids.org/lions/cornerstones/joseph/
- Kinney, S. “Joseph Had a Little Overcoat Lesson Plan.”: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=%20%20945
Additional Resources
- Excerpt from the DVD video Joseph Had a Little Overcoat: http://www.simmstaback.com/Simms_Taback_Videos_-_Joseph_Had_a_Little_Overcoat.html
- Six versions of the story in various formats: http://pbskids.org/lions/cornerstones/joseph/story/