Something from Nothing

A deft, charming re-telling of a Jewish folk tale, and winner of the Ruth Schwartz Award. In this gentle story, young Joseph grows up in a shtetl in a warm and loving home. His grandfather, a tailor, makes him a beautiful blanket at birth. As he grows, the blanket becomes worn, but Grandpa can always rejig the fabric into something new. At last, however, the sad day arrives when nothing is left of the blanket… until Joseph realizes that what’s left is a wonderful story. 

I nominate this book as a storyteller’s delight because of its comforting, cyclical nature, and… show more.

This is based on a traditional Jewish folk tale. Grandpa can turn Joseph’s “frazzled and worn” baby blanket into a small jacket because there is just enough material left. Each time the blanket becomes too “frazzled and worn,” Grandpa makes it into something else, a tie or a handkerchief, until it is just a small button. But when the button is lost, we finally learn how someone can make “something from nothing.” With wonderful illustrations, this is a humorous and loving interpretation of life in a 19th-century Jewish village.