Something from Nothing

A retelling of a simple Jewish folktale. A little boy is born, and his grandfather, a tailor, makes him a special blue blanket. The child loves the blanket, and carries it everywhere as he grows...until the blanket is so raggedy his mother insists it must be thrown out. But the child says "NO. Grandpa can fix it." And Grandpa does, turning it into a little jacket. When the boy outgrows the jacket, Grandpa makes it a vest...and on until there is nothing left of the original material, EXCEPT the scraps which all along have fallen through the floor boards, becoming blankets, shawls, curtains and more for the family of tiny mice living under the family's home. The tale is SO simple, with the sort of repetition and suspense children love, show more but in this version, the illustrations are everything, with such detail that many more stories can be invented by active imaginations, providing hours of entertainment and delight to all ages. In fact, if the words were taken away I would still give this one 5 bright stars. show less

My memories of reading this story as a kid are of how enraptured I was with the illustrations, particularly of the shiny blue blanket material. That bedazzlement has not faded.

This book has SO MUCH going on. The main story, yes, but also the exquisite illustrations of the shtetl that show the stories of its inhabitants; the understated character actions like Joseph's sister trying to comfort him with her own doll; the parallel story of the mouse family living under the house; the message about not letting materials go to waste (both in the main house and in the mouse house). There are relatively few words, but the incredible illustrations inspire several minutes of perusal before turning the page.

Also there's an adorable panel of little show more mice children attending Hebrew school, and if that at least doesn't get you to pick up this book, I don't know what else to say. show less

I LOVE this story! It was always one of my favorite when I was little. It is about a little boy and his relationship with his grandfather. The story mainly focuses on the tendency for the little boy to run to his grandfather when he is in some sort of trouble, especially if there was something that needed fixing. He fixed his toys, his blanket, everything! Then, one day the boy loses his button, and they said that even the grandfather couldn’t fix something from nothing. The boy was very sad…but he went to school and wrote a story, saying that even though he couldn’t fix his shirt, he got a good story out of it—so something always can come from nothing! I would have my students write a story about a time when they felt show more disappointed about something and felt like nothing could be done about it, but in the end, something good did come out of it. show less

Oh my goodness, what a wonderful version of the classic story. The repetition is good for reading aloud and for young learners, the illustrations that are so detailed they tell a second story, the theme, all make this a special book. I do wonder that the mother has so little sense of thrift, but I love that the grandfather can sew. I read this on openlibrary.org.

The title of this folklore says it all, you can always make "something from nothing." It is true when people say it is the small things in life that matter the most and this story is proof to that. When Joseph was born his grandfather made him a blanket that he grew to cherish, but when Joseph grew older so did his blanket. He knew his grandfather could fix and he did. As Joseph was growing his grandfather made him a jacket, a vest, a tie, a handkerchief, and lastly a button all from the same blanket. When Joseph lost the button, his grandfather assured him there was just nothing he could do fix it again. But they sure did make "something out of nothing." A story. At the end of this blanket's journey a beautiful story will be passed on show more for generations and generations. I absolutely loved this book! It's simplistic style went perfectly with the setting and theme. The Jewish culture shined through out the entire setting. You can tell this was a lower class people, maybe even people in poverty, but they all looked so happy and content with their lives. It is true, you can always make something out of nothing. Joseph never wished for more than he had, he was more than happy with his worn down blanket. Don't wish for things that you do not have, cherish the things that you do have. show less

This story was adapted from a Jewish folktale and is a loving, warm tale of family. My kids love this story and also the beautiful oil paintings. Canadian author Phoebe Gilman writes and illustrates a lovely children's story.

This is a wonderful book that shows a connection between a grandfather and his grandson. One reason I liked this book is because the book has repeated words, which can be used in a shared reading activity. Every time the grandson brings his grandfather the fabric, the book says “Hmm,’ he said as his scissors went snip, snip, snip and his needle flew in and out and in and out, ‘There’s just enough material here to make…” Another reasons why I enjoyed this book was because of the illustrations. On the bottom of every page is a family of mice who are mimicking exactly what is happening in the story. Additionally the illustrations have vibrant colors which keep the reader engaged. For example, the dark blue color of the fabric show more that the grandfather keeps making into new items contrasts well with the other images. There is also a deep red colored curtain on one of the pages that helps to separate two rooms. Lastly, I enjoyed this book because of its main idea. The book’s main idea is about tradition and the value of family. The young boy keeps bringing the material back to his grandfather, which shows the special connection that they have with each other. show less