Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

by Tim Rice, Quentin Blake (Illustrator)

Based on the smash-hit musical that has become one of the most popular children's plays of all time, this beautiful book retells in verse and illustrations one of the most action-packed stories of the Old Testament. Lively lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice and humorous illustrations by Quentin Blake make this retelling of the Old Testament story of Joseph a delight for children of all ages. A book to be treasured! Age 6+ years

Genres: Plays, Music, Musicals, Theatre, Drama, Fiction, Media Tie In

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice, KBE, is an English lyricist, and author.

An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, and his work for The Walt Disney Company with Alan Menken (Aladdin), Elton John (The Lion King and Aida).

Reviews

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lyrics to the musical, but unfortunately, no soundtrack CD is included with the book. Still, interesting to read the lyrics and Quentin Blake's cartoon illustrations in watercolor and ink are very good, however anachronistic--Potiphar's wife has a telephone and a magazine; Pharoah has an electric lamp by his very Western looking bed; Pharaoh dressed in a western style suit, etc.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this, my son wanted to watch the musical while following along in the book. We also loved the illustrations. Reminded us of our Roald Dahl phase.

[Lyndsay-ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first found this book it was by accident and could not believe what I had in my hands. I've seen the live show and the on screen movie version with Donny Osmond, and this is a book based on them.

Where do I start? A really feel the musical coming through and at points was singing it in my head instead of just reading it. I did notice a lot wording that I felt was different than the show but it has been so long that I could be mistaken.

The are is hilarious. There is a lot of blonds and redheads living in Ancient Egypt. I didn't realize that was a colour combo during the reign of the Pharaohs. There is also a real modern sort of twist to the art that really pulled it away from when the story takes place. It made the whole thing feel kinda spoofy.

A good, funny read for fans.

[Juliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

My musical family sight-read the entire operetta on New Year's Eve with my brother-in-law basically sightreading as he went along. It was such a party! My brother and sister-in-law were Joseph and a Narrator respectively in high school. My husband was in it twice in a different high school production and the local theatre. Even though he wasn't looking forward to doing another play on New Year's Eve, he had so much fun as we all just sang the songs as we wanted. Those Canaan days were particularly funny.

[London Brazal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't hate the libretto and music. It's just "meh."

[Dhwani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not enjoy the book as much as i thought i would with Quentin Blake's illustrations.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who wouldn't love an Andrew Lloyd Webber / Quentin Blake collab? Perfect pairing; includes the complete liberetto.

[Harry Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to present a truthful opinion of this work because it has been so overdone normally when I hear a Joseph song come on I just groan. But approaching the songs as if hearing them for the first time, they are really good. The harmonies are beautiful, there are songs from a huge variety of genres and the story itself is strong and pretty faithful to the bible story. The songs in the book are presented in a simplified manner making them accessible to piano players of varying ability. On the whole it's a very nice musical with some great hits and even hearing it for the 168th time still doesn't quite remove all the charm when you heard it the first time.

[FWS · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story recollects the well-known tale of Joseph, son of Jacob, who was forced into slavery by his brothers but ended up becoming an important member of the Pharaoh's royal household. There is also a modern twist - Joseph's multicoloured coat and the flamboyant clothing worn by the rich and powerful.
It is an inspiring story that values hope and ambition amidst the harsh realities of life.
The book is about 40 pages long. The complexity and length of the story, in addition to the RE element to it, would best suit Year 4 or Year 5.

The illustrations are by Quentin Blake, who is well-known for his work on Roald Dahl's books.

[Josephisawesome]

I could not find the original book on goodreads.com, so I will be writing this review about the book, Joseph and His Coat of Many Colors. This book was fantastic! I love how the author creates beautiful stories just based on bible tales! The most shocking part of this book was when his brothers threw him into the pit and tore up his coat. They drenched it in a goat's blood and pretended that Joseph had been killed. But that is not the worst part. Once they threw him into the pit, they sold him as a slave! Nothing could make me do something like that to my own sibling.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is quite a sweet little book. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber takes the songs from the music, pares them down a bit and uses them to create a simple, amusing narrative to read. As a big reader of Roald Dahl's books when I was younger, the instantly recognisable artwork of Quentin Blake is fantastic, although they make me think this was first published when Jason Donovan was Joseph on the stage as the character in the book does bare an uncanny resemblance to the Aussie singer! This didn't take long to read, but was enjoyable and brought a smile to my face - lovely.

[FlibBityFLooB · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this musical, so it was great to find an easy piano book with the songs from the musical. I enjoyed playing them all. However, my complaint would be that some of the songs were truncated too much. I wish they would have allowed the full song.

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Lloyd Weber's best. Biblically accurate? No. Dynamite score with a fun story? You betcha.

For more on our favorite musicals tune in to this special episode of the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...

[Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suitable for just about any age, and very fun to perform. I first did so when I was all of 7 as a narrator, and Joseph has been a (sometimes rather guilty) love of mine ever since.

[eva henley ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

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