Something from Nothing - Softcover

Gilman, Phoebe

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1443119466 ISBN 13: 9781443119467

Publisher: Scholastic Canada, 2012

Synopsis

Phoebe Gilman's beloved classic celebrates its 20th anniversary! Joseph's grandfather made him a beautiful blanket when he was a baby, but now it's frazzled and worn, and Joseph's mother says it is time to throw it out. Joseph doesn't want to part with his special blanket, and he's sure that his grandfather can fix it. Sure enough, Grandfather miraculously alters the blanket into useful items again and again. But when Joseph loses the final item, even Grandfather can't make something from nothing. But maybe Joseph can? Based on the Yiddish folktale "Joseph's overcoat," Phoebe Gilman's gorgeous artwork charts the transformation of the blanket and the progress of Joseph's family through the years, subtly teaching young readers about a lost way of life.

About this title

About the Author:

Pheobe Gilman was the beloved creator of the Jillian Jiggs series as well as the award-winning Something From Nothing, The Gypsy Princess, Pirate Pearl, Little Blue Ben, The Balloon Tree, and Grandma and the Pirates. She passed away in 2002.

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 3-This tale drawn from Jewish folklore has been told in many variations, but never so richly. It is a story of relationships, trust, transformations, and optimism, as well as being an entree to Jewish history in Eastern Europe of the 19th-20th century. Grandpa trims away the worn parts of Joseph's baby blanket and uses it to make him a jacket in the first of its many transformations into ever smaller items: a vest, a tie, a handkerchief, and a button as each item in turn becomes worn. When the button is lost, Joseph declares: "'There is just enough material here to make...a wonderful story!'" The story is told with repetitive, rhythmic phrases that children will soon anticipate and join in on. Using colored pencils, watercolors, and possibly other media, Gilman has created a shtetl in a book. Each oversized wood-framed page draws readers closely into the town or into Joseph's house and also below its floor where the mice use each discarded scrap to furnish their own snug home. Shades of warm brown, rust, and gold, accented with bright blue, lend a feeling of nostalgia. Gilman's art is subtle with painterly shading, a skillful use of light and dark, and expressive line. Each page is beautifully composed. While some of the folk characters' expressions are exaggerated, this is, after all, supposed to be funny.
Marcia Posner, Federation of New York and the Jewish Book Council, New York City
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic Canada
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1443119466
• ISBN 13: 9781443119467
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Gilman Phoebe