One of my favorite books to share with my children is Simms Taback’s Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.
The tale tells of Joseph who had, what else, but a favorite little overcoat. Eventually it gets “old and worn.” Instead of throwing it away, he makes it into a jacket. Once that also gets “old and worn,” the jacket becomes a scarf, and so on. Joseph continues to transform his garments as needed until he is down to just a button. Unfortunately, the button gets lost, but despite this development, Joseph still manages to make something out of it.
The book is fun for a number of reasons, such as the bright illustrations, the die cut pages and the music and lyrics at the end. One of the biggest reasons I like to share this book with my children is for the values behind it. Joseph comes from a world where things aren’t just thrown away, where people don’t just run out and buy a new one of something when it doesn’t seem useful. Instead, things are reused and reworked, over and over again. I think our children usually have a hard time finding such influences out there in their regular media.
There are many positive influences about frugality and being good stewards of the blessings that we own on Earth; we can pass these influences on to our children. We just sometimes have to work a little bit to find them amidst the consumerist culture that tells us we should always strive to discard the old for the new.
Then, the next time something in your home gets a little old and worn, your kids may start brainstorming new ideas on how to use it, instead of clamoring for something brand new. The recycling bin is a favorite resource for my kids.
Image courtesy of Simms Taback’s Joseph Had a Little Overcoat