Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback

Genre: Historical Fiction, Picture Book
Theme: Creativity, Yiddish/Jewish folktales
Grade Level: K-2
Curricular Connections: Art (cut and paste), Music ("I Had a Little Overcoat / Hob Ich Mir a Mantl" printed at the end), English (repeated text)

Using repeated text ("Joseph had a little overcoat. It was old and worn.") the book tells the story of how Joseph's overcoat becomes a jacket ("Joseph had a little jacket. It got old and worn."), then a vest, a scarf, a necktie, a handkerchief, and a button. When the button is lost, Joseph made a book out of it, "which shows...you can always make something out of nothing."

As each items gets old and worn, the illustrations use cutouts in the pages to show the new item being made from the old item. For example, on the left page Joseph wears the old and worn vest. On the right page two friends look in his open window which are actual cutouts on the page. When the page is turned, the holes cover Josephs vest creating the new scarf. The gentlemen looking the window are now part of the men's chorus.

Classroom Suggestions:

1. Students can copy the text, changing the items that are being created to match their lives.

2. In art class students can copy the illustration style, cutting holes of various shapes to create new objects from old ones by letting part of an old illustration show through.

3. In computer class, students can use a drawing program to cut out new shapes from larger illustrations. For example, a yellow shirt could have a sun cut out, leaving a sun shaped "hole" in the shirt. Creating a new picture with sun, students then could cut out a flower. The final project could show the series of pictures, from largest to smallest, each showing the hole that created the new picture.

4. Sing "I Had a Little Overcoat / Hob Ich Mir a Mantl" printed on the last page.