My Grandfather's Coat

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My Grandfather's Coat

Hardcover

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Hardcover
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Overview

A rollicking, rhyming, fun rendition of a favorite folksong about a many-times recycled coat--by the award-winning, bestselling team of Jim Aylesworth and Barbara McClintock.

When my grandfather came to America he made himself a handsome coat!
Then he wore it and he wore it and he wore it--
until it was all worn out!
So what did he do?

He snipped and he clipped--
and he stitched and he sewed. . .
and out of the still-good cloth of his coat--
he made himself a smart jacket!
How many things can Grandfather make out of that old frayed coat?

Jim Aylesworth's satisfying retelling and Barbara McClintock's heart-warming pictures celebrate how Grandfather cleverly recycles his beloved coat through four generations.

Product Details
About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780439925457
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	10/21/2014
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	204,537
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD910L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jim Aylesworth tells his stories with generous doses of "out loud" sounds, rhythms, and rhymes. His 25-year teaching career taught him exactly what children love best in a story. He lives in Chicago, IL with his wife.

Barbara McClintock's distinguished books have four times been honored as NEW YORK TIMES Best Illustrated Children's Books.

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

Aylesworth's adaptation…reads aloud beautifully…The Yiddish song is clever. In Aylesworth's hands it's also a moving tale of love and regeneration. We might not even know this, though, without McClintock's equally moving illustrations. In an impressive example of text seamlessly handing the storytelling off to the pictures, her carefully watercolored ink drawings take the simple words…and give them whole worlds of meaning…McClintock has drawing skills in spades.

The New York Times Book Review - Paul O. Zelinsky

★ 08/11/2014
Based on the Yiddish folksong “I Had a Little Overcoat,” this splendid tale chronicles four generations. Aylesworth and McClintock (who collaborated on Our Abe Lincoln) perform a lovely pas de deux, from a boy’s arrival at Ellis Island (“He came alone and with little more than nothing at all”) to his story being shared with a great-grandson. In America, the young man becomes a tailor and, for his wedding, “He snipped, and he clipped, and he stitched, and he sewed, and he made for himself a handsome coat.” The midnight-blue, knee-length coat serves him for years, “until at last.../ he wore it out!” In meticulous panels, McClintock pictures the man and his wife working and caring for a daughter, who grows up to have a daughter of her own, and so on. Aylesworth repeats the snipping-and-clipping, stitching-and-sewing formula, with the grandfather altering his coat into “a smart jacket,” “a snazzy vest,” and finally “a stylish tie that he wore on my mother’s wedding day!” Warmth emanates from this thoughtful book, which deserves to become a multigenerational family favorite. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for THE MITTEN:
A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year
An Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award Winner
A Parents' Choice Award Winner
A Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice
* "A satisfying blend of cozy comforts and slapstick farce, this will be a top choice for winter story hours." -- BOOKLIST, starred review
* "The lifelike animals recall Joel Chandler Harris's folktales, and the naturalism--which is an unlikely but inspired vehicle for comedy--is full of surprises." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review
Praise for THE GINGERBREAD MAN:
A NEW YORK TIMES Best Illustrated Book of the Year
A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year
A SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Best Book of the Year
A SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Starred Review
A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Starred Review
A Capitol Choice
"With a chanting, rhythmic text and vital narrative pictures, this version of the popular folktale will be a favorite for storytelling with young preschoolers." -- BOOKLIST
"There's enormous child appeal in the cookie chase involving McClintock's wonderfully costumed butcher with a knife, a black-and-white cow, and a muddy old sow." -- CCBC
Praise for THE TALE OF TRICKY FOX:
A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year
A Golden Sower Award Nominee
A Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee
A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Starred Review
A SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Starred Review
"Aylesworth's words, in bouncy rhythms and nursery rhymes, will get kids to cheer along with the story. An infectious choice for fans of the team's previous titles." -- BOOKLIST
" . . . made for reading aloud." -- KIRKUS REVIEWS
Praise for GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS:
A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Book of the Year
A SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Best Book of the Year
A Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee
* "A conversational voice, delightfully fussy pictures and a recipe for "Mama Bear's Porridge Cookies" make for a satisfying nursery story." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review
*"The narrative and illustrations make a perfect whole. Sweet and tender and joyful." Kirkus Reviews, starred review
*"This is a tale worth reading again and again."–Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Public Library, OH, starred review
*"Warmth emanates from this thoughtful book, which deserves to become a multigenerational family favorite."- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review

From the Publisher

A young immigrant lad arrives in America and becomes a tailor; for his wedding day, he crafts himself a handsome blue coat. In this skilled retelling of the traditional Yiddish song, he wears it until it frays and tears and then refitted over the years as a smart jacket, a snazzy vest, a stylish tie, and finally a toy for a great-grandson! Even that is eventually reused—when it tatters, it becomes a nest for a mouse and her family! McClintock’s pen, ink and watercolor illustrations beautifully extend the deftly written text and show this family over the years working, playing, reading, and celebrating. Her use of soft colors allows the deep blue coat and its reiterations to stand out on the clean white pages. Subtle details, such as the sewing machine changing over time, a sole loosening on a shoe, and a synagogue setting for weddings add reality and depth to the tale. The story is told through the granddaughter’s voice, giving it immediacy as she recalls this intergenerational story. There is repetition and a rhyming refrain (“He snipped, and he clipped, and he stitched, and he sewed”), making this a perfect read-aloud at home, school, or library. Both Aylesworth and McKlintock have written endnotes, explaining their sense of connection to the tale and a recipe for Grandfather’s Coat Cookies is on the back cover. Sure to become a favorite! Reviewer: Peg Glisson; Ages 3 to 7.

Children's Literature - Peg Glisson

★ 08/01/2014
PreS-Gr 2—This new adaptation of the Yiddish folk song presented in Simms Taback's Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (Viking, 1999) and Phoebe Gilman's Something from Nothing (Scholastic, 1992) is a fresh rhythmic retelling with charming cartoon-style illustrations that deserves a place even in collections that own the other two. Aylesworth's story, told in the voice of the main character's granddaughter, recounts highlights of her grandfather's life: coming to America, becoming a tailor, and making himself "a handsome coat…that he wore on his wedding day!" The worn coat becomes "a smart jacket"; the shabby jacket, "a snazzy vest"; the frayed vest, "a stylish tie." In this version, the threadbare tie is transformed into a toy for a great grandson's kittens, then a cozy nest for a mouse and her babies. As in both older versions, this one features repetition and a rhyming refrain. McClintock's pen-and-ink detailed watercolor illustrations highlight four generations of family history. Following the title-page scene that shows ships streaming toward Ellis Island, then a photolike pose of grandfather as a boy on deck passing the Statue of Liberty, the story unfolds in two-to-three small vignettes per page, each accompanied by a snippet of text, with a full-page scene at each major juncture. The paintings highlight McClintock's special skill for aging grandpa. Her eye for detail is apparent in ever-changing clothing styles; in a sole coming loose from young grandpa's shoe; and the evolution of his sewing machines from treadle to modern motorized. This is a tale worth reading again and again.—Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Public Library, OH

School Library Journal

★ 2014-07-22
An immigrant tailor passes the American dream on to new generations, one stitch at a time. He made a coat for his wedding and wore it for years until it was ragged and torn, at which point he cut it down to make a jacket. The pattern continues, with each item becoming smaller. The jacket became a vest, then a tie, then a toy for a great-grandchild. The worn-out toy provides a nest for a mouse until that also disintegrates into nothing. But, of course there's more to it, for it is now a wonderful story. Aylesworth takes an old Yiddish folk song and tale and, just like the tailor, brings it to fresh, new life. Two sprightly snatches of singsong repetition accompany the deterioration of each of the garments and the stitching of the new one. "He wore it, and he wore it.…[H]e frayed it, and he tore it" is followed by "he snipped, and he clipped, and he stitched, and he sewed." Each incarnation comes after years of hard work and rites of passage, only a few of which are stated in the text. McClintock's depictions of the tailor through his lifetime, rendered in pen, ink and watercolor, are detailed evocations of a warm, loving family. The narrative and illustrations make a perfect whole. Sweet and tender and joyful. (author's note, illustrator's note) (Picture book. 4-9)

Kirkus Reviews

Customer Reviews

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