Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

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View books by Simms Taback.

Look on the Bright Side! - Rated
This book could easily have been entitled, "Opportunity Knocks." The philosophy of the glass is always half full is humorously and realistically portrayed here in fairy tale fashion. The beautiful illustrations make imaginative use of die cuts to develop the story in delightful ways.

Joseph is a man who lives alone in a farming community in what could be Eastern Europe around 1900. Although he is a poor man, he always sees hope. His hope shines as a beacon to us all, like the torch held by the Statue of Liberty.

The story begins with Joseph wearing an old, worn and patched overcoat that gets older and more worn. But it can still provide benefits. He turns it into a jacket! A die-cut overlay onto the prior page makes the transformation in a way that makes the process more obvious to the young reader.

The story evolves in that general direction, and the smiles are broad as it does.

Then, just when you think that Joseph has run out of options, he finds an even more wonderful opportunity!

This is a great book to teach children to see change as a reason to think about opportunities. I would hope that every family would have a copy.

The book also can serve as a beginning reader from around ages 3 or 4 because it has few words, and much repetition in the use of words. "It got old and worn" is repeated several times, for example.

I also encourage you to ask your child what things make life challenging in her or his life, and how to turn those challenges to advantage. That can be a source of irresistible advantage for the rest of your child's life!

Have a great new wardrobe whenever you want one . . . and always see great opportunities, wherever they may come from!

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat - Rated
This is one the greatest books I have ever seen. My 2- and 4- year olds, as well as my husband and I, have all enjoyed the colorful pictures and the clever way which the overcoat gets smaller and smaller until it only is a button. And the best part is the moral of the story, which is "you can always make something out of nothing!" A lovely book to read, re-read and keep for a long, long time.