Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Title: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
Genre: Caldecott
Author: Simms Taback
Major Awards: Caldecott Medal
Age Group: Preschool-Kindergarten

This is the story of Joseph and how his overcoat goes from being an overcoat to a button. He had an overcoat, but it got old, so he made it into a jacket. The jacket got old, so he made it into a vest. The vest got old, so he made it into a scarf. The scarf got old, so he made it into a necktie. The necktie got old, so he made it into a handkerchief. The handkerchief got old, so he made it into a button. Well, the button ended up getting lost, so Joseph was left with nothing. In the end, the author explains that he chose to make a book out of this event that occurred in his life, and wants readers to know that you can always make something out of nothing. 

This book is incredibly illustrated, so it's no wonder it won a Caldecott Medal. With that said, I do not think the story compares to its illustrations. The story does not have much of a plot, and I did not find it incredibly interesting. I am not sure that I would want it in my classroom for this reason. The illustrations really "make" the book, but the actual content was lagging, in my opinion.

I believe that Preschool through Kindergarten is the most appropriate audience for this story. There are only a few words on each page, with the illustrations taking up most of the room on the pages, so I think that this would be the perfect book for a new reader to read on their own. I do believe that young children would enjoy this book because of the amazing illustrations, but may be bored by the storyline. 

In my classroom, I could give my students a blank canvas of an overcoat, and they could design and color it to their liking, making their very own overcoats. I could also have them recall the events from the book by giving them a paper with an overcoat, jacket, vest, scarf, necktie, handkerchief, and button, and they would have to arrange them in order that Joseph created them. I could also cut out paper overcoats from card stock, and give the students small pieces of fabric, letting them design their own overcoats in a different way. There are also many worksheets online that have the students color and identify different articles of clothing from the story that I could have them complete, as well.