Book Description
for Something from Nothing by Phoebe Gilman
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
"When Joseph was a baby, his grandfather made him a wonderful blanket..." So begins a merry double retelling of the tale in which the blanket becomes transformed into a wonderful jacket, then a vest, after that a tie, a handkerchief, a button and, as always, a wonderful story! The main tale set in an Eastern European village focuses upon each member of the human family and their activities inside and outside the two story house. A neatly planned sequence of frames across many lower pages shows a mouse family likewise using scraps falling through cracks in the floor above to make something from almost nothing. A charming language pattern establishes Grandfather's role as tailor. The paintings for each page of the 11 3/4" by 9" parallel stories were done in oil and egg tempera. Humor, ethnic details and a large typeface are combined in a marvelously entertaining new version of a terrific recycling tale with a twist. (Ages 4-9)
CCBC Choices 1993. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 1993. Used with permission.