Blog Post #5: Folklore Stories

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Author & Illustrator: Simms Taback 

Caldecott Medal Winner for 2000


The book was about Joseph and an overcoat that was old and worn and he eventually ended up making up so many various things out of it. The pictures in the book did a great job of displaying each time the overcoat would change into another item. The pictures did a great job working with the words as the story unfolded. Made a jacket, vest, then a scarf, a necktie, handkerchief, then a button, and eventually, he lost it. After going through all the changes in his original overcoat and losing it, he made a cookbook and said you can always make something out of nothing.

 

Arrow to the Sun

Author & Illustrator: Gerald McDermott

Caldecott Medal Winner 1975


The Lord of the Sun sent the spark of life to the Earth. It traveled down through the rays of the Earth to a young Pueblo mother with her new son. As the boy grew up he went on to go look for his father. On his journey he ran into Arrowmaker and he noticed that the boy had come from the Sun, so he created a special arrow that the boy became. The Arrowmaker put the boy into a boy and shot him towards the Sun. He met his Father of the Sun and the father challenged his son to go through trials. He went on to successfully complete all of the challenges and was eventually filled with the power of the Sun. His father and he rejoiced after his victories and the son returned back to earth to spread his spirit to men. Once the son, returned all the people they all celebrated. The illustrations were very unique and very critical for this story. The various illustrations fit the theme of this Native American tale. The colors are what you would envision for this tale if you were to be told it with your eyes closed. 


While both of the books are folklore, they each had different styles and morals of the story. The first story: “Joseph Had a Little Overcoat”, was a story about a popular belief that you can always make something out of nothing. On the other hand, “Arrow to the Sun”, was a legend of the Pueblo Indians as it relates to the Sun and a boy of came from it. However, they both had a flow that was similar to one another and each story slowly built more and more as they went on.

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