This is an excellent book. Starts with an overview and pictures of all the trucks needed to build a road and then proceeds with step-by-step with a picture of each truck doing its work. My son (who is 2 and 1/2) and I really enjoy this book. Our other truck books tend to show the whole process of building a road on one page and that is too overwhelming. This book does it just right!

My little boy has always been interested in machines and equipment as his daddy runs a blacktop plant. Imagine our surprise as we read through this wonderful construction book and learned that Simms Taback is our neighbor! All of the places listed in the book on road signs, equipment, and on the map are from our area. We were so intrigued by all of the familiar sites that we pointed it out to our local librarian who informed us that although she was not aware of the sites in the book, YES, Simms Taback lives in our town. ....It makes us wonder about the loader operator named Joe, who has the same name as daddy, who runs the loader at our asphalt plant! GREAT BOOK!!!!!

I have twin 2.5 year-old boys and they love this book. Because of this book, when we are out driving around, they will tell me when they see a backhoe, a paver, or any other machinery they recognize. We read this book 3-4 times a day and it is new and exciting each time!

We received this book as a gift when my son was born, and I started to read it to him when he was just a few weeks old. Even then this book captivated him because the colors and pictures are so engaging. My son is still little (only 10 months), but it's clear that this is his favorite book -- he pulls it off the shelf to look at the pictures and brings it to us to read. Even after reading and re-reading this book for almost a year, the book is still in great condition (only one broken flap), we haven't tired of the story yet, and I'm sure we'll be reading it for a long time to come!

The rooster is interrupted during his morning crow by someone who says, "moo". Whoever can it be? This delightful book investigates farm animals and their noises in a "lift the flap" format. The edition we have is a board book and is very durable... good thing, too, as my two-year-old son loves this book! Bright, colourful illustrations will attract your child's attention... fun and funky.

This book was the favorite of my now 5-year-old son and is now the favorite of my 14-month-old daughter. With its outrageously colorful pictures, repetitive (predictable for baby) text, and lift-the-flap for the punchline design, it's a brilliant baby and toddler book. While it's not a board book, the pages are tough enough to stand up to endless readings.

As an elementary music teacher, I have found that Too Much Noise is an excellent story to read in music class when discussing dynamics (louds and softs) to first graders. After learning sound effects, i.e. "creaking","squeaking", "swish", "hiss" and animal noises, my students get swept up in the gradual crescendo of the story. The sudden quiet effect that occurs in the room when all the animals leave the old man's house is breath-taking and mesmerizing to the children. One can literally hear a pin drop. Such is the power of great story-telling!

This was one of my favorite stories as a kid, and still is as an adult. The text is easy to read with good repetition, without being dull. My daughter loves it as much as I do. As an amature storyteller, I can say this story is always a hit.

This is one of my favorite children's books. It is a lot of fun to read and has repetative sounds that children love to hear. The audience of children can begin to anticipate what you are going to read and therefore participate in the reading of the book. It is also a classic tale as it reminds the reader and audience of how one needs to appreciate what one has, because it could be worse. A farmer complains to a judge that his house is too noisy. The judge instructs the farmer to obtain different animals one at a time until the poor farmer has a house full of a variety of animals. The judge then has some further instructions that in the end the farmer is very happy and content with how his home was in the beginning, and his home does not seem so noisy anymore. I would highly recommend this book for parents and teachers to read to children between the ages of 3-7yrs.

As Simms Taback tells the reader at the end of this rollicking, fun-filled adventure: "This Is The House That Jack Built, a favorite rhyme for children for several centuries, was first published in 1755 and probably derived from an ancient Hebrew chant in the 16th century. It was illustrated by Randolph Caldecott in 1878." And now this old and popular chain of events story gets the brilliant Taback treatment. Each clever and creative two page spread dazzles with vibrant color, marvelous, eye-popping detail, and witty asides. Children will revel in all the joyous, manic fun as they linger and explore each intriguing page, finding something new and exciting each time they open the book. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, This Is The House That Jack Built is a timeless masterpiece the whole family can read, share, and laugh over together, and a picture book no home should be without.

A colorful, busy, fun illustrated retelling of a classic tale. Each page bursts with so many details it would be difficult to list them all here, although I'll try. For example, on the cheese "that lay in the house that Jack built" page, ten cheeses are listed with the level of "smell" they give off, and on the "cat that ate the rat" page, many different types of felines are shown with a description of their personalities--and those are just the start of what is on each page. How does this tie in with the story? I'm not sure, but it doesn't really matter--it's so much fun finding all the details as well as hearing the repeating chant of the story over again makes for a fine time reading. Very fun and should keep a little one busy. I highly recommend this book.

I first picked up a review copy of the original MtoF cookbook when I worked in a bookstore and found it one of the most well-written, creative, practical, consistently good cookbooks I have ever used. I bought the Pasta book for my husband when he was learning to cook -- We both love it!!! Michelle Urvater provides a wide variety of recipes and always has suggestions for playing with ingredients and what to do with leftovers.

My wife and I absolutely love this cookbook. If you are looking for a quality cookbook with simple yet substantial dinners taking less than a half-hour to complete, then this is the book for you. Save your money going out to dinner and prepare a meal from this book that will accomplish the same goal.

My son is now 1 year but this has been a FAVORITE book since he was 3 months and we have alot of books. The pages are thick cardboard, the flaps are easy for him to turn, the pictures are bright and adorable!

This book makes wonderful use of flaps. The momma animal says, "Where is my baby?" with a sad look on her face on the left side of the page. A partial flap on the right side covers the baby animal, but not the rest of the picture, making the flap easy to grab and turn. The words under the flap says, "Here is my _____." [it fills in the blank with the appropriate name of the baby animal] It has been one of my son's favorite books since he was 12 months old! The pages are made of sturdy material helping it hold up to many "self" readings by my son! The lively colored art keeps both child and parents' attention. A must buy! I am giving it to every child on our Holiday list this year.

Katy Hall Wrote A Very Good Book It Is all About The Fish In The Sea Riddles One Of The Jokes Are: Why Can't you play cards on a boat,because Someone is always Sitting on the deck!!!

This book has some funny Jokes: Question: What kind of snake can you find on the front of your car? Answer: A Windshield Viper! Question: In what river are you sure to find snakes? Answer: The Hississippi! Question: What does a Boa Constrictor say when it's introduced to a chicken? Answer: Pleased to eat you! There are some funny jokes in this book!

My child loves this book. We have been reading it almost every day since we got it. The book has a very engaging structure - counting to 10 - and it leads up to a not too scary climax with a Halloween "monster" that is very thrilling. The rhythm of the book makes it pleasing to read, and the illustrations are great: both colorful and amusing.

Joseph Had A Little Overcoat, by Simms Taback, is about a Jewish man named Joseph and his story with his overcoat and how it became to be non-existent. Joseph starts the book with a worn out over coat, with colorful patches. As time goes on the overcoat is eventually worn into nothing. Through out the book different articles of clothing are made out of the material. This can help a reader learn what things such as a scarf or a vest are because the word is shown and a visual of the word is on the page. Visualization is the key to learning new words. The creativity that is in this book is astounding. The pictures, colors, and cut outs help the reader visualize what Joseph is doing with the fabric from the overcoat. A lot of children do not use scarves and vest and handkerchiefs all to often. The pictures and cut outs in this book help the child learn new words such as those with a visual aid. This book also teaches animals and other objects that can pose questions in a child's mind and help expand their vocabulary. With the pictures of the clothing, a child can see what a "scarf" is or something else that they might not be sure of what they are. If the child doesn't know what a word is they can see the picture and understand that it is a vest, and that can help them relate a word to a picture. I feel that Taback does a wonderful job tying in all the elements that help teach a child to read. This book is very educational with the word and picture connection. This book is a creative way to teach clothing, new words, and sparks ideas about objects and their alternate uses. It is very important for children to understand what a word is when they use it. In our society it is seems as though no one has time anymore to sit down and explain what certain words are. It is sort of expected for children to learn by themselves. Joseph's little adventure with his coat can help a child learn different articles of clothing and different uses of words. If a child can read then they can learn the words because the picture is right there in front of them. We all have different ways to learn, and it a child is a visual learner then I strongly suggest this book and this method of teaching.

This book could easily have been entitled, "Opportunity Knocks." The philosophy of the glass is always half full is humorously and realistically portrayed here in fairy tale fashion. The beautiful illustrations make imaginative use of die cuts to develop the story in delightful ways.

Joseph is a man who lives alone in a farming community in what could be Eastern Europe around 1900. Although he is a poor man, he always sees hope. His hope shines as a beacon to us all, like the torch held by the Statue of Liberty.

The story begins with Joseph wearing an old, worn and patched overcoat that gets older and more worn. But it can still provide benefits. He turns it into a jacket! A die-cut overlay onto the prior page makes the transformation in a way that makes the process more obvious to the young reader.

The story evolves in that general direction, and the smiles are broad as it does.

Then, just when you think that Joseph has run out of options, he finds an even more wonderful opportunity!

This is a great book to teach children to see change as a reason to think about opportunities. I would hope that every family would have a copy.

The book also can serve as a beginning reader from around ages 3 or 4 because it has few words, and much repetition in the use of words. "It got old and worn" is repeated several times, for example.

I also encourage you to ask your child what things make life challenging in her or his life, and how to turn those challenges to advantage. That can be a source of irresistible advantage for the rest of your child's life!

Have a great new wardrobe whenever you want one . . . and always see great opportunities, wherever they may come from!

Taback, Simms. Joseph had a Little Overcoat. New York: Penguin Putnam Books, 1999. In Simms Taback's, Joseph had a Little Overcoat, Joseph teaches a simple moral lesson to the reader about being resourceful and thrifty. Throughout the book, Joseph makes his overcoat into many different pieces of clothing. He begins with his overcoat becoming a jacket. He then makes a vest out of his jacket, a scarf out of his vest, a necktie out of his scarf, a handkerchief out of his necktie, and then a button out of his handkerchief. In the end, Joseph writes a book about making something out of nothing. He proves to the reader that you can make something out of very little. Taback, also the illustrator, uses watercolor, pencil, ink, and color patchwork collages to illustrate this Caldecott award winning children's book. Many illustrations consist of clippings from magazines and photographs. This paints a realistic picture. Pictures of real coffee cups and saucers are arranged on a shelf that Taback drew. This technique is also used in the rugs on Joseph's floor. Taback has drawn the rugs but placed photos of real pieces of a rug into his drawing. This is such a unique and innovative characteristic of Taback's illustrations. The colors that Taback chose to use are very vivid, primary colors. This may represent the simpleness of Joseph's life. Taback also uses "cut-outs" to illustrate to the reader how Joseph's overcoat becomes different articles of clothing. Each time this occurs, the "cut-outs" get smaller, to show each different piece of clothing that Joseph is wearing. On each page of this book, Taback illustrates various aspects of the life of a Jewish peasant. Jewish life in Poland is visible to the reader through pictures of farm animals, various fruits and vegetables, the minora, Jewish proverbs, motza crackers, and hot tea with lemon. Each of these symbolize Joseph's culture. Taback also convinces the reader that music is a prominent part of the Yiddish culture. One illustration of this shows Joseph dancing at his nephew's wedding, while musicians play. There is another example showing Joseph singing in the men's chorus. In both of these illustrations, Joseph appears to be enjoying the music. It is also evident that Joseph's family and community are a central part of his life. This is a characteristic of the Yiddish culture. Many illustrations in this book have a Jewish proverb hanging on the wall. One proverb says "What one has, one doesn't want, and what one wants, one doesn't have." This indicates a society that is not materialistic. Another proverb simply states, "Better to have an ugly patch than a beautiful hole." Again, thriftiness and simplicity are valued. Pictures of different individuals, such as Moishe, the Melamed, the Rebbe, and Molly Picon, are hanging on the walls of Joseph's home. These individuals must have a special meaning to Joseph and are a part of his culture. Another interesting part of the book is the trip that Joseph takes to the city. Taback illustrates Joseph in his finest clothing. This may show that he does not leave his community often and he only does so on special occasions. Finally, this book captures your attention by the simple moral lesson presented. The book shares information on a culture many people are not familiar with. This simple story promotes cultural diversity along with an ethical message.