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 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. ( )

Good rhymes, good idea. Similar to I had a favorite dressby Ashburn in recycling/sewing theme. ( )

This book is great for 2nd grade and higher. the illustrations show a young man who came to America with little to no money made a coat. The coat was made by the man and was used throughout different stages in his life. Through the story students can understand the importance to reuse, alter instead of throwing away. ( )

This book tells about a boys grandfather who came from another country to start a life. He became a tailor and met his wife. For his wedding he made a coat for himself to wear. He wore the coat until the coat was worn out. He went to work to fix the coat and made a jacket until it was worn out. From here, he made a vest from the coat. After a while, the vest was worn. He made the coat into a tie on his daughters wedding day. The tie frayed and was worn after a while. Grandfather turned his tie for the little boys kittens. It was worn out after a while. The grandfather tells the boy that, "Nothing was wasted." A mouse found the cloth and used the cloth for bed for her babies. After this, nothing was left but the story. This book teachers children the simplicities of life and shows the meaning behind little objects. This book can be used for younger children and older elementary students that can turn this book into a fun project. ( )

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 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. ( )