However, even then (after Joseph has lost this button), with the sweet and added moral that one can also and even make something out of nothing, the story of the little overcoat continues and is finally transformed into a book (namely this very book, Joseph Had a Little Overcoat). Joseph's beloved but worn and patched overcoat gets recycled and reused over and over again, and by necessity of course becomes ever smaller and smaller (but still always purposeful), and finally ends its existence as a button. Based on a traditional Yiddish folksong (the lyrics and musical score of which are, in fact, featured on the last or rather the second to last page, much appreciated, although I would prefer to have both the English and the Yiddish lyrics included), Simms Taback's Joseph Had a Little Overcoat presents a totally and utterly magical marriage of text and image (I can more than well understand why and how this gem of a picture book was awarded the Caldecott Medal, as the illustrations are a true feast for the eyes, bright, lively, intensely descriptive and absolutely teeming with details and delightful fun).

Joseph had a little over coat