Joseph Had A Little Overcoat 2000 Caldecott Award

Joseph Had A Little Overcoat by Simms Taback, 2000 Caldcott Award, is the story of frugal Joseph and the overcoat that he really liked. The overcoat eventually starts to wear out, so Joseph, not wanting to be wasteful, turns the overcoat into a jacket. The jacket soon becomes old and worn, therefore Joseph makes a vest. The vest begins to show wear... The book is told in narrative and when Joseph is getting a new article of clothing, there is a diecut window to show the new article taken from the old, worn out article. You can't wait to see what he makes next from his worn out clothes. The book is a page turner!

Simms Taback is the illustrator, as well. The illustrations are cartoon with a realistic look. The characters are drawn, but in the background you will see pictures of real things like fruit, vegetables, condiments, and pictures of real people.

This book would not be one that I would immediately be drawn to. The book jacket does not appeal to me. The character, Joseph, (my dad, my brother, and my puppy mill rescue all share this name) is why I picked it up. I thought it would be about Joseph's coat of many colors, but it wasn't. I liked the story and the diecuts and as I started looking more closely at the illustrations I saw all the textures of the drawings coming through. I realized young children would be drawn to the faces in the house windows, the animals, and the variety of the people and what they represented.