A Latin American Folktale

RECOGNITIONS

One of the Best Books of the Year – Bank Street College

BOOK DESCRIPTION

What can you do if your beak is covered with mud, and the grass refuses to help you… the sheep won’t eat the grass… the dog won’t bite the sheep…? Well if you are a rooster on your way to your uncle’s wedding, you’ll ask your friend the sun, and he’ll surely turn things around! Outstanding illustrations by Kathleen Kuchera add brilliant tropical colors to this sunny story.

“Like the talented storyteller who shares her version with us now, this enchanting cummulative tale has roots in many Spanish-speaking countries around the world, where it has found a delighted audience of children.” (–Tomie de Paola)

AUTHOR’S NOTE

This is one of the many tales which I received from my Grandmother, my mother’s mother, who was a fabulous storyteller. She would tell it to me outdoors, usually on the porch, and would weave into the story any of the animals we could see –a goat, a cow—and the story would change from day to day, becoming as alive as our own surroundings. In turn, I have enjoyed telling this story to children and seeing them delight as I tell it faster and faster, as the list of characters grow. It has also been fun to see children perform this story as a play.

REVIEWS

Booklist

“This delightful cumulative tale introduces a perfectly groomed rooster with a gleaming beak, who’s on his way to his uncle’s wedding. As hunger overcomes him, he ponders, “Peck or not peck?” while looking at “a single golden kernel of corn” lying in a puddle of mud. Peck he does, and he muddies his beak as he gobbles the kernel down. Now, how to get his beak clean? The velvety grass won’t do it, but the rooster thinks perhaps he can scare the grass into helping, if he asks the lamb to eat the grass. The list of characters who refuse to help is long. Finally, the rooster’s good friend, the Sun, comes to his rescue. Each character, when threatened by a natural adversary, does what it is supposed to do, which in the end, helps the rooster. The rooster, a universal folk character humanized in many cultures, is appealing here. The story which was told to Ada by her grandmother in Cuba will delight young children with the sheer joy of its repetitive rhythms, and it is particularly appropriate to be told aloud. The illustrations, bright with tropical colors, depict a Latin American setting. The strongest element of this Latin American folktales is the universality of its theme, which makes it an interesting addition to the folktale collection for preschoolers.”

Publisher’s Weekly

The author of The Gold Coin retells a Latin American version of a familiar cumulative folk story illustrated in the vibrant colors of the tropics. In a narrative line reminiscent of Rosanne Littzinger’s The Old Woman and Her Pig, Ada tells of a rooster who muddles his beak en route to his uncle’s wedding feast; […] Through harmonious repetition and singsong rhythms, Ada’s leisurely, conversational tale neatly mimics the cadences of a Traditional storyteller. Kuchera’s (Your Skin and Mine) geometric illustrations in intense hues of orange and chartreuse evoke the designs of Latin American folk art with their flat edges, sharp lines, zigzags and whorls. […] The artist deserves kudos for her animated rendering of such normally static objects as a stick and a blade of grass.”

School Library Journal

Rooster, en route to his uncle’s wedding, struggles with the dilemma of whether he should risk of getting dirty in order to obtain a kernel of corn. His hunger overcomes his better judgment and, of course, he winds up “…with a beak full of mud.” This leads into a cumulative tale that will be familiar to anyone who knows “The Old Woman and Her Pig” or any number of its variants. In this case, his quest to get clean is nicely circular: the sun, just coming up as the book begins, is the one who agrees to break the chain of refusal, to repay the rooster for greeting him each morning. Ada’s lively adaptation uses economical language with just enough detail to move things along. Vivid hand-colored prints illustrate the story well. All of the characters are festively arrayed: the blades of grass, for example, play musical instruments, and one is wearing a gaucho hat and a cape. The sheep wears a ruffled dress and has a bowl of fruit on her head, a la Carmen Miranda. The plain white borders contribute to the clean pleasing design. The stylized patterns, with lots of diamonds and zigzags, have the look of Central and South American folk art. A solid addition to folklore collections and a story hour hit as well.

Kirkus Reviews

A cumulative tale that echoes “The Old Woman and Her Pig.” Since the debonair rooster is so busy preening his feathers and polishing his beak that he skips breakfast, the kernel of corn he finds on his way to the wedding is tempting, though it’s in a puddle. Seizing it, he muddies his shiny beak, and the trouble begins. The grass refuses to clean the beak; the dog won’t bite the lamb that won’t eat the grass–and so on, until the sun, grateful for the rooster’s daily song, starts to dry out the water, which starts to put out the fire.… This Latin American variant is gentler than the familiar tale, but just as lively. Kuchera’s decorative illustrations, with whimsical personifications (especially of the grass, fire, and water) and the elegantly stylized rooster in lemon, emerald, and flame against a brilliant blue sky, are splendid. An unusually appealing readaloud. (Folklore/Picture book. 3–8)

READERS’ RESPONSES

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A Mexican Folktale in a Bilingual Format

RECOGNITION

Gold Medal, Folklore Category, NAPPA – National Parenting Publications Association

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Once, a long, long time ago, the sun disappeared from the sky. Everything was dark for many days. All the animals went to search for the sun in the rivers and lakes, through the fields and forests, but the sun was nowhere to be found. Little by little all the animals gave up, except for the faithful lizard. Finally one day she found a strange glowing rock and discovered the sun fast asleep. But no one could persuade the sun to wake up. Then the emperor organized a great feast, with the finest dancers and musicians, so the sun would wake up and never fall asleep again. Since that day, all lizards love to lie in the sun, to remember the day when one of their own brought light and warmth back to the world.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

What a gift to have had Felipe Dávalos create the art for this story! Felipe Dávalos is a great artist and also a learned scholar. As an archaeologist he knows a great deal about the time and setting of this story. And his wonderful illustrations reflect his art and his knowledge.

REVIEWS

School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3: A bilingual (English/Spanish) retelling of a Mexican folktale. When the sun does not appear for several days in a row, everyone becomes anxious. Various animals set off to look for it in such places as rivers, lakes, the jungle, and even in the cone of a volcano. After searching high and low, they give up, except for Lizard. Her faith and perseverance is rewarded when the celestial body is found sleeping under a rock. The story emphasizes the importance of the sun to all living creatures. The colorful double-page illustrations evoke the native culture by featuring characters in their decorated tunics and headdresses. In addition, the use of musical instruments such as drums reinforces Indian culture. Readers will cheer Lizard as she finds the Earth’s source of light and warmth. An excellent choice for storyhours. –Vianela Rivas, NYPL.

Kirkus Reviews

Ada (Mediopollito/Half-Chicken, 1995, etc.) elongates a Mexican folktale about a tenacious lizard who won’t stop looking for the sun when it disappears; Dávalos creates a series of half-lit, blue-toned spreads that evoke the world of the Aztec empire. A first-person introduction explains natural absences of the sun (behind the clouds, etc.), and prepares readers for a time, long ago, when the sun disappeared for no reason. Animals and birds search for it, and fail; only the lizard continues, finding a strangely glowing rock and rushing off to the city to tell the emperor. He tells her to move the rock, which she attempts, but the rock won’t budge–once more, she’s off to the city. The emperor comes to the rock with a woodpecker, and its beak splits the rock open, revealing a sleeping sun, who drowsily agrees to return to the sky if the emperor will provide the liveliest musicians and dancers. So the entertainment is arranged, and all ends well, with the inauguration of an annual feast. English and Spanish texts appear on each spread of this pleasant tale, diluted only by the several journeys of the lizard between rock and city, and the sun’s prolonged resistance to waking up. (Picture book/folklore. 5–8).

Center of Children’s Books

“Once in ancient Mexico, the sun disappeared. For days the anxious people wait for the sun to return, but it does not. When lizard discovers a rock lowing with an inner light, she tells the emperor and they awaken the sleeping sun; it returns to the sky, shedding light and warmth on all the earth. Ada retells this traditional tale with graceful language and read aloud rhythms, juxtaposing images of the tenacious, questing lizard against the darkness of jungle, marketplace, and palace. Dávalos paintings are rich with color and expression as the bright green lizard traverses the torchlit night in balanced compositions that spring to bright life with the discovery of the brilliant, sleeping sun. […]” (The Bulletin for the Center of Children’s books. October, 1997)

Bookpage

“[…] The Cuban-born author says she hopes the dual-language format will help awaken children’s interest in acquiring a second language, and certainly it should arouse their curiosity. Artist Felipe Dávalos, originally from Mexico, has created a colorful, exotic landscape full of pyramids, cacti and ancient Mexican sculpture and design. His illustrations beautifully capture the glowing changes as the sun shines once more. “The Lizard and the Sun” is a sumptuous introduction to the land of the Aztec and Maya.” (Bookpage. October, 1997)

The Reading Teacher

“[…] Felipe Dávalos’s stylized double-page illustrations complement the bilingual text handsomely. Cross-hatching and speckled backgrounds add shading and texture to artfully arranged compositions that echo the city’s pyramid shapes.” (Reading Teacher, September 1998)

School Library Journal

“A bilingual (English/Spanish) retelling of a Mexican folktale. When the sun does not appear for several days in a row, everyone becomes anxious. Various animals set off to look for it in such places as rivers, lakes, the jungle, and even in the cone of a volcano. After searching high and low, they give up, except for Lizard. Her faith and perseverance is rewarded when the celestial body is found sleeping under a rock. The story emphasizes the importance of the sun to all living creatures. The colorful double-page illustrations evoke the native culture by featuring characters in their decorated tunics and headdresses. In addition, the use of musical instruments such as drums reinforces Indian culture. Readers will cheer Lizard as she finds the earth’s source of light and warmth. An excellent choice for story hours.” (Vanesa Rivas, NYPL, School Library Journal, August, 1997)

Booklist

“Presented in both Spanish and English, this gentle traditional tale from Mexico shows how people working together can get the job done. When the sun disappears from the sky it is lizard who discovers “a rock that is shining as though it had a light inside.” Traveling to the distant city she tells the emperor who orders her to move it. But when is unable to, the emperor and the woodpecker help lizard release the reluctant sun trapped inside. The structure is different from many folktales, allowing more room for Ada’s eloquent voice. Dávalos sets the story during the time of the Aztec empire; his stylistically detailed artwork is initially veiled in midnight blue but erupts in golden yellow when the sun finally returns to the sky. According to the author’s note, Ada remembers this pourquoi story from an old reading text.” (Julie Corsaro, Booklist, December, 1997).

MINI LESSON TO PRESENT THIS BOOK:
THE LIZARD AND THE SUN

by Alma Flor Ada

The Story

This ancient legend takes place when the city of Tenochtitlán was one of the largest in the world. It tells how a little green lizard by not giving up was able to save the world from disappearing in the shadows. The outstanding illustrations by Felipe Dávalos allow us to participate in the daily life and the magnificence of the great Inca empire.

How This Book Was Created

The major civilizations of the Americas have been for me a constant source of admiration and pride. Among its many legends I was always fascinated by the lizard who would not give up, because it reflects so well an important saying that has guided my life, a sayings that has led Latinos searching for development: ¡Sí se puede! Yes, we can! I grew up in contact with nature and was always delighted by lizards, very abundant in my home land. As a young child I would collect their eggs and placed them on a planter, watching them for hours in the hope of seeing them hatch. The little lizards never came out during my watch, so I had to be content seeing the empty crumbled shells. It is a great joy for me that Maestro Felipe Dávalos would share in the creation of this story. Due to his background in archaeology and his deep knowledge of the period of this story, Felipe Dávalos was able to recreate this world both with great authenticity and artistic originality.

Themes, Concepts and Values

• life in the Aztec Empire
• the city of Tenochtitlán
• music
• perseverance or tenacity
• the importante of not living up

Vocabulary

• animals: jaguar, eagle, hare, deer, frog, toad, woodpecker
• places: pond, field, lake, jungle, mountain, volcano, desert
• concepts: empire, palace, throne, emperor
• values: constancy, perseverance, tenacity

Cultural Enrichment

The great city of Tenochtitlán, capital of the Inca Empire was one of the largest and most important cities of its time. Built over a lake it had ample bridges, beautiful palaces and magnificent temples. Much of the transportation was done with canoes. In its extraordinary market place one could find a great diversity of products, produce and handcrafted item. The Aztecs, like many of the indigenous people of the Americas, gave homage to the Sun and celebrate great festivities in its honor.

To Introduce The Book

If you turn off all lights and place several lighted candles, the students will be able to have an experience similar to the one described in the book. Later they will be able to discuss their experience and contrast it with those in the legend.

Previous Knowledge and Experiences

Talk about these contrasts. The students’ comments will vary. You may want to write them down.

• Light: Advantages = One can see
• Light: Disadvantages = One cannot see
• Darkness: Advantages = One can rest
• Darkness: Disadvantages = One may trip

Invite the students to share what they already know about the Aztec Empire. Here are some examples of possible answers. Write the ones the students offer.

Aztec Empire:
Where? Ancient México
When? In the XV Century
How? Daily life: They cultivated corn and cacao. Government: They had an emperor and several castes. Education: There was a school for young men, the “Calmecac.”

Encourage them also to share their ideas and feelings about the topic.

Creative Dialogue

These questions, or similar ones, will facilitate a true dialogue between the reader and the text. In this way the reading will not only enrich the students with new visions and ideas, but will allow them to recognize themselves as protagonists in their own lives.

Descriptive Phase. To facilitate comprehension of the text.

• Why were the persons worried when the sun disappeared?
• Which were some of the animals that search for the sun?
• Why did they give up?

Personal Interpretive Phase. To relate the text to personal experiences. These comparisons may validate personal experiences or enrich them, they can corroborate the text or compliment it.

• Have you ever faced a difficulty? Were you able to resolve it?
• Have you seen anyone solve a difficult problem? How?
• Do you know anyone who did not give up in the face of adversity?
• What in your life is so important you would never give it up or you will be persistent to preserve it?

Crítical/Multicultural Phase. To stimulate reflection against discrimination, racism, prejudism or inequality and in favor of social justice and peace.

• Do you believe it is important to not give up? Why?
• Do you believe Latinos have shown tenacity in this country? How?

Creative/Transformative Phase. To analyze the readers’ own reality, enriched and strengthened by the dialogue, in order to make decisions for future actions in pro of justice, equality and peace.

The sun gives light and warmth and permits life. What can you do to improve your own life? To improve your home environment?

The Sun gives joy. When the sun shines the birds sing and children play. What can you do to bring joy to others?

Literatura en acción:
LA LAGARTIJA Y EL SOL

por Alma Flor Ada

La historia

Esta antigua leyenda, que ocurre cuando la ciudad de Tenochtitlán era una de las más grandes del mundo, relata como una pequeña lagartija verde que no se dio por vencida logró salvar al mundo de desaparecer en la oscuridad. Las extraordinarias ilustraciones de Felipe Dávalos nos permiten participar de la vida diaria y de la magnificencia del gran imperio azteca.

Cómo se creó este libro

Las grandes civilizaciones de América son, para mí, constante motivo de admiración y orgullo. Entre sus muchas leyendas me fascinó siempre la de la lagartijita que no se dio por vencida, porque refleja tan bien el importante dicho popular que ha regido mi vida y que ha servido de lema a los hispánicos que buscan la superación: ¡Sí se puede!. Como crecí en contacto con la naturaleza, siempre me encantaron las lagartijas que son muy abundantes en mi tierra. De niña recogía sus huevecitos y los reunía en una maceta y los observaba por horas, soñando ver aparecer las lagartijitas. Pero jamás se decidieron a salir en mi presencia, y tenía que contentarme sólo con ver los cascaroncitos vacíos. Es una alegría inmensa para mí que el Maestro Felipe Dávalos compartiera la creación de este libro. Por su formación como arqueólogo y su profundo conocimiento de esta realidad, Felipe Dávalos pudo recrear este mundo con toda exactitud a la vez que con su usual genialidad artística.

Temas, conceptos y valores

• la vida en el Imperio azteca
• la ciudad de Tenochtitlán
• la música
• la perseverancia o tenacidad
• la importancia de no darse por vencido

Vocabulario

• animales: jaguar, águila, liebres, venados, ranas, sapos, pájaro carpintero
• lugares: prados, lagunas, charcos, selva, montañas, volcanes, desierto
• conceptos: imperio, palacio, trono, emperador
• valores: constancia, perseverancia, tenacidad

Enriquecimiento cultural

La gran ciudad de Tenochtitlán, capital del Imperio Azteca, era una de las mayores y más importantes ciudades de su tiempo. Construida sobre una laguna, tenía amplios puentes, hermosos palacios y templos extraordinarios. Mucha de la comunicación se hacía en canoas. En su enorme mercado se encontraba una gran diversidad de productos alimenticios y artesanales. Los aztecas, como muchos de los pueblos indígenas de América, rendían culto al sol y hacían grandes festividades en su honor.

Para presentar este libro

Si apaga todas las luces y coloca varias velas encendidas permitirá que los alumnos tengan una experiencia similar a la descrita en el libro. Luego podrán comparar sus experiencias.

Conocimientos y experiencias previas : Conversen sobre estos contrastes. Las respuestas variarán. Anótelas.

Contrastes:

• Luz: Utilidades = Se puede ver
• Luz: Desventajas = No se puede dormir
• Obscuridad: Utilidades = Permite descansar
• Obscuridad: Desventajas = Uno puede tropezarse

Invítelos a compartir lo que sepan sobre el imperio azteca. Aquí hay algunos ejemplos de respuestas posibles. Anote las que den los alumnos.

El imperio azteca:
¿Dónde? En el antiguo México
¿Cuándo? En el siglo XV
¿Cómo?
Vida diaria: Cultivaban el cacao
El gobierno: Tenían un emperador y distintas castas
La educación: Tenían una escuela para jóvenes llamada “El Calmecac”

Anímelos a expresar también sus ideas y sentimientos sobre el tema.

Diálogo Creador

Estas preguntas u otras similares facilitarán un verdadero diálogo entre el texto y el lector. Así la lectura no sólo enriquecerá a los niños con nuevas visiones e ideas, sino les ayudará a reconocerse a sí mismos como protagonistas de su propia vida.

Fase descriptiva — Para facilitar la comprensión de la lectura

1. ¿Por qué estaban preocupadas las personas cuando el sol desapareció?
2. ¿Cuáles fueran algunos de los animales que lo buscaron?
3. ¿Por qué se dieron por vencidos?

Fase interpretativa personal — Para relacionar el texto a las experiencias personales. Estas comparaciones pueden validar las experiencias personales o enriquecerlas, pueden corrobar el texto o complementarlo.

1. ¿Te has enfrentado alguna vez a un problema difícil? ¿Pudiste resolverlo?
2. ¿Has visto a alguien resolver un problema difícil alguna vez? ¿Cómo lo hizo?
3. ¿Conoces a alguien que no se da por vencido¿ ¿n qué ha perseverado esa persona?

Fase crítica/Multicultural — Para estimular la reflexión crítica en contra de la discriminación o los prejuicios y en favor de la justicia social y la paz.

1. ¿Crees que la perseverancia es importante¿ ¿Por qué?
2. ¿En qué forma crees que los hispánicos hemos perseverado en este país?

Fase creadora / transformadora — Para analizar al mundo real de los lectores, enriquecidos y fortalecidos y tomar determinaciones para acciones futuras en pro de la justicia, el bien y la paz.

El sol da luz y calor y permite la vida. ¿Qué puedes hacer tú para que tu vida sea mejor? ¿Para que el ambiente en tu casa sea mejor?

El sol da alegría. Cuando hay sol los pajaritos cantan y los niños juegan.¿Qué puedes hacer tú para alegrar a otros?

Lesson Plan

http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/mff/folktale_meetalma.htm

READERS’ RESPONSES

RECOGNITIONS

Christopher Award Medal
NCSS/CBC Notable Book in the Field of Social Studies
Pick of the Lists – American Book Sellers Association
Center for Latin American Studies, America’s Commended List

BOOK DESCRIPTION

This Christopher Medal winner has already become a classic. While it reads as a folktale it is an original story. Trying to steal Doña Josefa’s gold, Juan follows this generous curandera through the countryside. In the process, he is affected by the beauty of the natural world around him, the goodwill of the people who work the fields, and the spirit of the healer he is pursuing. Neil Waldman’s poetic watercolors sensitively convey the beauty and diversity of the Central American landscape, as well as the inner transformation that Juan undergoes.

CD DESCRIPTION

This CD contains the reading of both The Gold Coin and La moneda de oro. At the end of each reading I tell how the story came to be. Just as in recording some of my other favorite stories, Jordi’s Star, The Malachite Palace, and The Unicorn of the West it was a very meaningful experience for me to read aloud these books, to choose the music to accompany the reading, and to share after each recording the story of the creation of each book.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

This was my first book published in English by a major American publisher. I owe my daughter, Rosalma Zubizarreta, for the encouragement to pursue many publishers until one was willing to publish the story. Without her enthusiasm for this story, which she wanted to see in the hands of every child in the United States and her gentle support after each rejection, the book would probably had been published abroad, in Spanish, and probably never reach the wide audiences it has reached.

The story was born one night, while returning home to the San Francisco Bay Area, after working with migrant farm-working parents in the Watsonville-Salinas area. It appeared in front of my eyes, as if it were a movie, and I saw the characters acting and speaking the whole story. When I arrived home I jotted down the whole story before falling asleep. The next morning it all seemed like a dream, but the pages were there, with the full text.

It has been an immense joy that Rosalma’s wishes materialized, as the book has been included in most major reading series and in many reading lists. The letters I have received from children and adolescents about this book are very moving and I have enjoyed visiting many classes which had read the book where we have talked about our personal richness, and students have shown their understanding of true values.

Probably the most extraordinary experience in connection with this book was to attend the performance staged by Sylvia Dorta-Duque de Reyes (San Diego County Office of Education) of The Gold Coin performed by students in the main plaza of the Zapotec village of Teotitlán del Valle in Oaxaca.

REVIEWS

Publishers Weekly

An elderly woman, Dona Josefa, sits in her hut, holding a gold coin. “I must be the richest woman in the world,” she says to herself. But unbeknownst to her, a thief, Juan, crouches at her window, watching and listening. When Dona Josefa leaves, Juan ransacks the hut but fails to find her treasure. Tracking the woman across the countryside, he misses her again and again–coming instead upon many people who have been helped by her. And when the thief finally does catch up with her, he is surprised to find that he, too, has been touched by her simple goodness. Set in South America, this beautifully designed book features an unusual, rewarding fable and Waldman’s ( Nessa’s Fish ) lovely, stylized watercolors. It’s a rich collaboration, worthy of repeated readings. Ages 5–8.

School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3: Juan has been a thief for many years. He is pale and bent from creeping about at night, and that’s what he’s doing the night he peeks into Dona Josefa’s hut. She is holding a gold coin and says that she must be the richest woman in the world. Then and there, Juan determines to steal that coin, and any others she may have. It is a decision that changes Juan’s life forever. This gentle story of redemption, ably translated by Randall, is structurally at once cumulative and circular, and is ideally suited for memorization and telling. It will work well as a read-aloud, too. Waldman’s clean, pale watercolors have an art nouveau feel, and are large enough to be seen at story times. Whether told, read to a group, or shared one-on-one, the tale of Juan’s search for an old woman’s treasure makes an important point in a concise and satisfying manner. –Ann Welton, Univ. Child Development School, Seattle.

Hungry Mind Review

“The Gold Coin takes the integration of story and illustration to the level of fine art. With marks of a classic fable, this original tale by Alma Flor Ada describes the changes in a thief as he mistakenly pursues the golden treasure of a “curandera” or traditional healer. In graceful prose Ada presents a series of adventures, each ending with the gold just out of reach of the thief. The episodes proceed in a tension and release rhythm; gradually Juan the thief is transformed through kindness. “Later, when the little girl took him by the hand to show him a family of rabbits burrowed under a fallen tree, Juan’s face broke into a smile. It had been a long, long time since Juan had smiled.” Neil Waldman’s illustrations are magnificent. The text is printed on photographed watercolor paper, and each page is tinted in a rainbow wash. Strong graphic elements unite facing pages. Postage stamp-size drawings hint at the next part of the story. The full-page watercolor paintings gradually reveal more subtle facial features as the thief opens his heart to those around him. Of the four books [reviewed in this article] The Gold Coin exhibits the strongest unity of text and illustration, a synthesis equaled by few books of any genre. Each book however, gives us a view of life drawn from within the culture of la Raza. These authentic points of view will help increase awareness and appreciation of the beauty of the cultures at the heart of the Americas.” (Hungry Mind Review. Fall, 1991) .

School Library Journal

“[…] This gentle story of redemption, ably translated by Randall, is structurally at once cumulative and circular, and ideally suited for memorization and telling. It will work well as a read-aloud, too. Waldman’s clean, pale watercolors have an art nouveau feel, and are large enough to be seen at story times. Whether told, read to a group, or shared one-to-one the tale of Juan’s search for an old woman’s treasure makes an important point in a concise and satisfying manner.” –Ann Welton, Univ. Child Development School. Seattle, School Library Journal, April, 1991.

Kirkus Review

“Juan, a confirmed thief, overhears Doña Josefa referring to herself as “the richest person in the world”; moreover, he sees a gold coin in her hand. But before he can steal it, she hurries away with the two men, leaving nothing of value that he can find in her humble hut. Juan follows her trail, only to discover that she has always gone on another errand of mercy just before he arrives. The people she’s helped are willing to lead him to her –but each time there is work to be finished first, and Juan (hoping to hurry his guide) joins in. As he labors and shares food with these humble folk, Juan becomes healthier in body and mind; still, when he finally catches up with Doña Josefa, he demands her gold. She gives it to him freely –thus completing his moral transformation: he returns it as a gift for the next patient. Like a folk tale, this original story builds naturally to its satisfying conclusion; its long text should appeal well beyond the picture-book age. Waldman’s watercolors, with stylized forms displayed against varying backgrounds of romantic sunset hues, gently suggest both the story’s universal tone and its Latin American setting.” (Kirkus Review. January 1, 1991)

The Reading Teacher

“An unlikely friendship and a new perspective on life emerge in The Gold Coin, a picture book by Alma Flor Ada. […] Students laughed at the frustrated thief but were moved by the outcome of the story and the thief discovery that friendship is a greater treasure than gold. They spoke enthusiastically about Neil Waldman’s full-page, pastel illustrations. (The Reading Teacher. Vol. 47, No.1. September, 1993).

VOCABULARY ACTIVITY

Created by Sherylanne Wesley

Write the sentence from the book with the word in it so that you can see how the word is used in context. Then write the definition. Finally, create a sentence of your own using the word (at least 5 words in each sentence).
ransacked
amiably
vague
stifling
insistent
deserted

Image Gallery

READERS’ RESPONSES