As you may recall, I'm a big fan of making something new from something old. So when my mom (the librarian) sent me this book, it was love at first read! Not only has the book won a Caldecott award, but also has an adorable Yiddish song that was the inspiration for the book. The author Simms Taback has written another Caldecott winner; There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. If you have time, do click on the link above and explore his official website. He has written and illustrated over thirty different books. His biography is also very interesting!
Done in his signature technique of using watercolor, Guache, pencil, ink and collage, the artwork in this book is so much fun to explore. There is so much detail on each page, the few words used are more than made up for by the excitement of the art. (There are also some really great surprises as you turn each page, it's so fun to watch the kids anticipate what will come next!)
It's the story of a man named Joseph who wears a lovely plaid wool coat. As time passes, it gets old and worn. Rather than tossing the overcoat into the "goodwill bin", the brilliant man makes it into a jacket! When this too becomes tattered and worn, he again takes to the sewing machine to transform it into a vest. (Which of course he wears to dance at his nephew's wedding!)
The fabric available to use gets smaller and smaller with each new transformation. The joy of re-using and re purposing is not lost on this Jewish man! He finally transforms the overcoat into a button. But what will happen when he loses the button? Pick up this delightful story to find out!
1 comment:
that looks great, i will be sure to look for it.
Post a Comment