Something from Nothing [Paperback]

Phoebe Gilman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1989

Throw it out! Cries Joseph's mother. So Joseph runs to his grandfather with his favourite blanket. Grandpa can fix anything. From the tattered blanket, Grandpa makes a handsome jacket. With a few passes of his needle, a vest becomes a Sabbath tie. And snip! Snip! A ragged handkerchief turns into a brand-new button. But when the button is lost, what's to be done? Even Grandpa can't make something from nothing! Phoebe Gilman's loving portrait of shekel life will endear Joseph and his family to readers young and old.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Joseph was a baby, his grandfather made him a shimmering blue blanket adorned with the moon and stars. As the boy grows and the blanket wears out, the old tailor recycles it, in succession fashioning a jacket, a vest, a tie and, finally, a cloth-covered button. But when Joseph loses the button, even his grandfather cannot make something from nothing. With its judicious repetition and internal rhymes, this thoughtfully presented Jewish folktale will captivate readers right through the ending, in which the boy discovers one last incarnation for his beloved keepsake. Although her renderings of human faces border on cartoonishness, Gilman's ( The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs ) oil-glazed tempera paintings suggest the vivid world of Joseph's shtetl, with full-page cutaway illustrations recording the multileveled activity in Joseph's house. In an imaginative visual stroke, the bottom of each spread features the beneath-the-floorboards doings of a family of mice whose domestic life--from new births to Sabbath dinners to the outfitting of their entire home in discarded swatches of the blue blanket--winsomely mirrors Joseph's own. Ages 5-11.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Scholastic Trade; Big edition (January 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059072827X
• ISBN-13: 978-0590728270
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,452,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully repetetive book, February 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Something From Nothing (Hardcover)

I used this book in a daycare class of two and three year-olds. It's great!! The repetition gets children involved actively with the story and the artistry keeps children busy looking for all sorts of details. Wonderful book for children of all ages.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 8 year-old from North Bend, May 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Something From Nothing (Hardcover)

I gave this book five stars because it had really good word choice and it reminded me of a blanket I used to have. I would recommend it to 7 year-olds or older. It is my favorite book. I have read it 25 times.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book to grow up with!, January 2, 2002

By 

Jennifer M. Macleod "yiddishe supermama" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Something From Nothing (Hardcover)

I've seen a few knock-offs of this story, and actually, they're all based on a classic Yiddish folktale, so I guess they have the right. But in my mind -- and my kids'! -- Gilman's sweet take on this tale of old-world frugality and love will always be the "classic."

Gilman's richly colourful paintings are full of action, vivid cross-sections depicting events playing out in all the rooms of Joseph's house, out on the street, and even in the cellar where a growing family of mice plays out a surprising "bonus" story of their own.

The characters here are all believable; Joseph is as mischievous and playful as any modern child. And the time flow in this book is exquisite: as in life, Gilman's transforms Joseph from page in subtle but certain stages, bringing him from early childhood into his cheder years.

This is a story kids will love to listen to over and over, and even adults will enjoy making new discoveries within the familiar illustrations. A superlative gift for any child, one which will grow with them and be cherished for years to come.