Joseph Had a Little Overcoat facts for kids
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat cover
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| Author | Simms Taback |
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| Illustrator | Simms Taback |
| Country | United States |
| Genre | Children's picture book |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
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Publication date
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1999 |
| ISBN | 978-0-670-87855-0 |
| OCLC | 40159006 |
| 398.2 E 21 | |
| LC Class | PZ7.T1115 Jo 1999 |
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat is the title of a 1999 book by Simms Taback that won the 2000 Caldecott Medal. The main character is Joseph, a Jewish farmer, who has a little striped overcoat. When it is old, Joseph makes it into a little jacket and so on until he makes it into a button. Then Joseph loses the button and makes a story out of it. The moral of the story is "you can always make something out of nothing."
The story has die-cut illustrations consisting of watercolor and collage. Readers of the story say that Joseph greatly resembles Simms Taback.
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat is based on the Yiddish song I Had a Little Overcoat. Barbara Kiefer, chair of the Caldecott Award Committee, commented, "Vibrant rich colors, playful details, and skillfully-placed die cuts contribute to the books raucous merriment that takes this Yiddish folk song far beyond the simple words."
An animated version of the book was read on the children's show Between the Lions.
Awards
- 1999: National Jewish Book Award for Children's Picture Book
- 2000: Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration
