It’s been five years since I reviewed two picture books based on the Jewish folktale, “I Had a Little Overcoat.” Recently, a blog reader tipped me off to some other books based on the same story. Although I couldn’t get my hands on Benjy’s Blanket, I did borrow I Had a Favorite Dress and Joseph Had a Little Overcoat through inter-library loan. Here’s what I thought.

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback (Viking, 1999)

This Caldecott-winning picture book is a straightforward retelling of the Yiddish song (“Hob Ikh Mir a Mantl”) that the author loved as a child. Joseph’s overcoat is old and worn so he makes it into a vest. When the vest gets old and worn he makes it into scarf, and so on. The brief text is paired with vibrant, colourful illustrations using paint, pencil, ink, and collage. Even more playful are the cutouts that show the coat growing smaller and smaller. At the end of the story you’ll find an English translation of the folksong including sheet music. Side note: Taback first published this story in 1977, but later updated it with new illustrations.

I Had a Favorite Dress by Boni Ashburn, illustrated by Julia Denos (Abrams, 2011)

This picture book is the biggest departure from the original song, showing that the heart of the story can fit any setting. The narrator is a contemporary Black girl with a fancy dress that she can’t bear to part with. In rhythmic, conversational language the story follows the transformation of the dress as her mom teaches her how to repurpose it into ever smaller items of clothing. The text also goes through the days of the week and seasons of the year. Creative, exhuberant illustrations fit the tone well.

While Something from Nothing and My Grandfather’s Coat remain my favourite adaptations of “I Had a Little Overcoat,” I think both these books are fun to read aloud to kids.

In case you are curious, here are two renditions of the Yiddish folksong in English. The first comes from Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, but I think I might like the second translation better. 🙂