My Grandfather's Coat

Using the Yiddish folk song Hob Ikh Mir a Mantel ("I Had a Little Overcoat") as a starting point, author Jim Aylesworth and illustrator Barbara McClintock tell the tale of a man—the narrator's grandfather—who made himself a handsome coat for his wedding. A tailor by trade, the man wore his coat out, at which point he transformed it into a sharp jacket. Repeating the process, with the jacket becoming a vest, the vest a tie, the tie a kitten's toy, and the kitten's toy a mouse's nest, the narrative follows the grandfather through the years, as he raises a daughter, cherishes a granddaughter, and adores a great-granddaughter. Eventually the coat became nothing—nothing but a story...

Having greatly enjoyed many of the other show more picture-books created by this author/illustrator team—The Gingerbread Man, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Tale of Tricky Fox, etc.—I went into My Grandfather's Coat with pleased anticipation, and I was not disappointed. I found the story engaging, and appreciated the message about being frugal and remaking items in our possession, and the themes of hard work and family love. The accompanying artwork by McClintock, done in ink and watercolor, was lovely, although I don't know that I would say it was the best work she had done. There is another picture-book retelling of this song, Simms Taback's Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, which won the Caldecott Medal in 2000, that has a very different illustrative style. I enjoyed that telling as well, and think reading the two together would be an interesting exercise for young people on the idea that different authors and artists interpret the same source material differently. Recommended to fellow fans of this author and artist, as well as to those seeking picture-books with a Jewish cultural background. show less

I enjoyed this book for several reasons.
I enjoyed the repetition in the book! The plot centers around the narrator’s grandfather re-stitching his old coat into new materials and every time the coat got worn out the narrator would repeat and slightly alter the phrase “and he snipped and he clipped, and he stitched and he sewed, and out of the ____ he made ….”. This added an element of repetition but still signified to the reader that a change was about to happen in the story.
I also really enjoyed the narrative style of the book. The book begins when the narrators grandfather was a young boy and traveled to America and ends with when the narrator’s child is born. The story shows the grandfather in all of the different stages show more of his life which makes the book easy to follow and understand the storyline.
The illustrations fit the story well and were extremely important in understanding the story. For one, the pictures showed that the grandfather was Jewish by his yamaka and a picture that shows the grandfather and his family celebrating Hanukah. Readers would not have learned this important fact without the illustrations. The illustrations also showed key points in the grandfather’s life – when his child (the narrator) was born, as well as the narrator growing up and having her own child. These elements were not explicitly stated in the text, but the pictures allowed the reader to follow the grandfather’s journey throughout his life! The pictures also allowed the reader to follow all of the different objects the grandfather’s old coat was turned into – a new jacket, vest, a tie, and a toy for a child.
The central message of the story is about appreciating family heritage, traditions and passing things down through generations. The grandfather’s jacket was long worn out, but he created many different objects out of the material of his coat that eventually lead to the creation of a toy for his grandchild. show less

I like this book for many reasons. First, I like how the writing can be very engaging because the children can be invited to read along after a few pages. The book has a lot of repetition, which children can pick up on when the book is being read. For example, the book has a line that says, "... and he wore it, and he wore it. And little bit by little bit, he frayed it and he tore it, until at last...". This is a good line for children to be invited reading the book because it is repetition and they can say it without looking at the book. Also, the writing is engaging because the children can make predictions on what the grandfather would make next. Second, I liked this book because the language was very descriptive. In this book, I saw show more many examples of the language being descriptive, such as when it talks about the vest, jacket, coat, and tie. For example, the book would describe the vest as snazzy, and the tie as stylish. This shows children how to use adjectives to describe multiple things. The big idea of this book is to show children repetition, and to show them that they can use one thing in many different ways. show less

This is a story of a hard working immigrant that many Americans will relate to. A grandfather makes a brand new coat since to honor his new life in America. He wore the coat everywhere. It tattered so grandfather made a jacket. He continued recycling this coat until only a mouse bed was remaining. McClintock makes an excellent choice by retelling this story in the first person from the granddaughter’s perspective. Although the illustrations are simplistic, joy is displayed on the characters faces. She accurately depicts the life that many immigrants face when migrating to a new country. Themes of conservation, family, and tradition are embedded throughout this story. This is truly one of my favorite books because I believe many show more readers can find characteristics of their own family’s heritage.
Conservation show less

This story tells about a man who comes to America as a tailor. He meets his wife and decides to make a jacket for their wedding. He wears t so much thatvit gets worn down and he stitches it back together. Over the years he keeps mending the jacket that he wears and it gets smaller and smaller. He eventually makes it into a vest, and then a tie. He utilized every part of the jacket and keeps the remains of it around as long as possible. It really shows the mindset of a hard worker and a family man. It is a very sweet story that I think kids of any age would really enjoy.

So many atmospheric and historical details in the clear & bright pictures. I love the grand opening of the tailor shop best I think. Good story of thrift and repurposing in any adaptation. Don't miss the notes in the back.

My Grandfather's Coat is a beautiful story based on the Yiddish folksong,"I Had a Little Overcoat."

The story starts with a Grandfather coming to America and getting his start. He then makes himself a coat. "How many wonderful things can Grandfather make out of that old coat?" Read along in the story to find out!

It's such a heartwarming story with beautiful illustrations. Children will love it.

I especially loved the author's and artist's note in the back which tells their own stories.

5*****