Scan barcode
readinginthe_pnw's review against another edition
4.0
This is a cute story about how you can always make something out of nothing. I like that it was based on a Yiddish folk song, and I think it would be a good launch into some sort of art project where students are using recycled materials. Its's also just a good reminder that we should try to find new uses for things rather than jumping to throwing them away.
amanda_sauer's review against another edition
5.0
LOVE the pictures!! Very unique and i loved the die cuts. I also loved how much Jewish culture is involved in the pictures. Kids would love the repeated words that are easy to memorize.
sarahfett's review against another edition
5.0
book tells the story of a man named Joseph, whose overcoat had become tattered and worn.
Instead of throwing it away, he turned his overcoat into a jacket. When the jacket became
shabby he turned it into a vest, which then became a scarf, a necktie, a handkerchief, and
finally a button. When the button was lost, leaving Joseph with nothing, he decided to write a
story about his clothing recycling. The book’s ending reminds us that “…you can always make
something out of nothing.”
The book won the Caldecott Medal in 2000 for its distinguished artwork. Pencil and ink
drawings, watercolors, and collage were used to create vibrant images. Each page is full of small
details that will amuse both children and adults. Cut outs were used on many pages to show
the evolution of Joseph’s overcoat into other items of clothing.
It is a happy story that teaches children about using their imaginations to find new uses for old
things instead of simply throwing everything away. Publisher’s Weekly wrote that “children of
all ages will joyfully swallow this book whole.”
(From my church's newsletter, November 2011)
Instead of throwing it away, he turned his overcoat into a jacket. When the jacket became
shabby he turned it into a vest, which then became a scarf, a necktie, a handkerchief, and
finally a button. When the button was lost, leaving Joseph with nothing, he decided to write a
story about his clothing recycling. The book’s ending reminds us that “…you can always make
something out of nothing.”
The book won the Caldecott Medal in 2000 for its distinguished artwork. Pencil and ink
drawings, watercolors, and collage were used to create vibrant images. Each page is full of small
details that will amuse both children and adults. Cut outs were used on many pages to show
the evolution of Joseph’s overcoat into other items of clothing.
It is a happy story that teaches children about using their imaginations to find new uses for old
things instead of simply throwing everything away. Publisher’s Weekly wrote that “children of
all ages will joyfully swallow this book whole.”
(From my church's newsletter, November 2011)
car_car22's review against another edition
3.0
This book was quite different from any book that I have read, even for a picture book. There were very little words but even so it told a story about a man with a coat that he loved. He had an overcoat but when it got older he had to change it to a jacket. After the jacket became old it became a vest, scarf, necktie, handkerchief, and a button until finally he lost it. With each of these articles of clothing he did something else exciting; such as singing in the choir or going to see his married sister. After he lost the button he decided to write a story about how his coat went into a button. This he hoped to make people see that you can make something out of nothing.
This book had almost no words at all. The pictures made the story what it was, without them the book would have been less than a page long. This is important because the pictures were a collage of Joseph's life and every stage of it. The coat changed but so did Joseph and the things he experienced. The pictures are so vivid they provide us with a guideline of the different places that we could be at in life and providing us with an example of how to make the most out of anything, even an old overcoat.
This book had almost no words at all. The pictures made the story what it was, without them the book would have been less than a page long. This is important because the pictures were a collage of Joseph's life and every stage of it. The coat changed but so did Joseph and the things he experienced. The pictures are so vivid they provide us with a guideline of the different places that we could be at in life and providing us with an example of how to make the most out of anything, even an old overcoat.
libraryrobin's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely adore the story and the way die-cuts illustrate the changing of the overcoat into many useful items.
jessalynn_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
December 2014 - We've read this several times this month - I chose it the first time, and Ben has chosen it each time after that. He loves the fabric scraps on the endpapers, the buttons on the back cover, the coat, and he frequently points out several animals. I appreciate the rhythm of the repetition in the text, and the brevity. We spend longer looking at the pictures than it takes to read the text (I'm noticing all the mottoes on Joseph's walls and the use of photographs on some pages).
March 2018 - we hadn't read this in a long time, long enough that I think he forgot all about it and thought it was funny that he loved it as a baby/toddler. This time he was really interested in how the cutouts worked, and wanted to flip back and forth between all the versions of the coat.
March 2018 - we hadn't read this in a long time, long enough that I think he forgot all about it and thought it was funny that he loved it as a baby/toddler. This time he was really interested in how the cutouts worked, and wanted to flip back and forth between all the versions of the coat.
veritas19's review against another edition
5.0
I think Simms Taback is my favorite author/illustrator! I love his mixture of murals and paintings. He uses so many bright colors in the peoples clothing, the animals and in the scenery. Joseph started with a little over coat and it got smaller and smaller with each two page spread. The over coat became a jacket, the jacket became a vest, the vest became a scarf, the scarf became necktie, the necktie became a handkerchief and the handkerchief became a button which he eventually lost. Then he had nothing in the end and the moral, you can make anything out of nothing. That is a great moral, especially for the aspiring artist. This was a nice engineered book because he used the hole to show how the overcoat made its transformation. I love his mural work with the flowers and vegetables. I especially like the newspaper clippings, black and white pictures of people and the people in the windows when he went to meet his sister. There is a lot of work put into his books and I enjoy every page of it. I wish I knew the Yiddish tune at the end because I'm sure this would be a fun song to sing too. I love Mr. Tabacks work and I hope I can find and read more of his books soon. Ages 4-8
michelle_neuwirth_gray9311's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this one. Loved the cutout parts that made his little overcoat tinier and tinier. A good length for a storytime read.
2000 Winner
2000 Winner
katieckb's review against another edition
4.0
This is a cute children’s picture book that is based around a Yiddish children’s song about a man named Joseph and his overcoat that he repurposes for many different uses as it becomes worn out over the years.