My Review of a Review by Linda Ludke of the School Library Journal

School Library Journal:
Pre-Gr 3-A book bursting at the seams with ingenuity and creative spirit. When Joseph's overcoat becomes "old and worn," he snips off the patches and turns it into a jacket. When his jacket is beyond repair, he makes a vest. Joseph recycles his garments until he has nothing left. But by trading in his scissors for a pen and paintbrush he creates a story, showing "you can always make something out of nothing." Clever die-cut holes provide clues as to what Joseph will make next: windowpanes in one scene become a scarf upon turning the page. Striking gouache, watercolor, and collage illustrations are chock-full of witty details-letters to read, proverbs on the walls, even a fiddler on the roof. Taback adapted this tale from a Yiddish folk song and the music and English lyrics are appended. The rhythm and repetition make it a perfect story time read-aloud.
-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.


I think that the review by Linda Ludke is a great representation of "Joseph Had a Little Overcoat! It got in all the main parts of the book into the review and even mentioned all the little Jewish details that Simms Taback spent so much time sneaking into the artwork of his book. I also am glad that she included the moral of the story that "you can always make something out of nothing". Not only did she include the great aspects of the story, but also included why it would be a great read aloud for the classroom. I did my review before I found her review and I found that I had mentioned all of the items, minus the reason why it is good for read aloud, she mentioned and I think that that shows this book is a great read and it can easily be seen not only by a professional reader, but also by just someone coming across the book.