The Gold Coin

by Alma Flor Ada

Juan has been a thief for many, many years. So many, in fact, that he can't even remember what it's like to be anything else.
When he tries to steal Doña Josefa's gold, something strange begins to happen to Juan. His skin becomes tan instead of pale, his body straight instead of bent, and his mouth smiles instead of scowls. Juan also begins to remember things. He remembers eating good, home-cooked food, being among friends, and laughing.
When the opportunity arrives for him to take Doña Josefa's gold, another strange thing happens. Juan realizes he can't. Maybe he isn't a thief anymore.
Set against a Central American background, this is a story of love and faith in the human spirit.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Cultural, Latinx, The World

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

(http://facebook.com/almaflorada)

Dr. Ada was the founder and First Editor in Chief of :
NABE, Journal of the National Association for Bilingual Education

She has been active for many years in various professional associations including : IRA, International Reading Association
CRA, California Reading Association
CABE, California Association for Bilingual Education
USIBBY, US Branch of the International Board of Books for Young People

She is a member of :
Advisory Board of Loose Leaf Public Radio Programs
National Television Workshop
Between the Lines
Reading Up!, Natural Head Start Association

A frequent speaker at national and international conferences, Dr. Ada also works in school districts with children, teachers and parents.

The award-winning author of numerous children’s books and a prolific translator, Alma Flor Ada is a leading mentor and philosopher of bilingual education in the United States.

She has authored several reading programs, among them two Spanish reading programs :
Cielo abierto (K-6)
Vamos de fiesta! (K-3)

and of two English reading programs :
Signatures (K-6)
Collections (K- 6)

and is a series consultant for Relatos de la historia (1-5), a Spanish social studies program developed by Harcourt School Publishers.

Among her most substantive contributions to the transmission of Hispanic culture to children are :
Música amiga, a program for learning through songs, published by Del Sol Books
Puertas al Sol - Pathways to the Sun, published by Santillana
Latino poetry, Art, and Biographies for children, published by Santillana

Dr. Ada received her Ph.D. in Spanish Literature from the Pontifical Catholic University of Lima, Perú and did post-doctoral research at Harvard University as a Fellow of the Radcliffe Institute and a Fulbright Research Scholar.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

“His face was always twisted into an angry frown” is part of the description of a greedy man who, after a long life of thievery, learns what a good life can feel like. From the beginning there is sympathy for him with his pale face from always working at night and his bent and shriveled body from too much hiding in dark places. It begins with the sight of a gold coin in an old woman’s cottage window, and continues as he searches for it, finds it missing, and follows the old woman’s journey in order to rob her. Along the way, he needs help. In order to find her, for example, he must cross a river, but in order to be taken by a boat, he must first help dig the potatoes for those who have the boat. The story is predictable, with experiences of work and eating meals with people in order to find the old woman. I hope to share this soon with a group of children. I know they will love guessing what’s next, see those small changes in the thief cleverly added by Alma Flor Ada, and celebrate the wonderful ending. The illustrations are rather dream-like, perfect for a fable.

[Shellie (Layers of Thought) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A South American fable about a thief who learns the true meaning of life by searching for a gold coin. A picture book with great colorful illustrations, and translated from Spanish.

The book would be good for beginning, and transitional readers.

This book was read for a college reading/teaching project for children years ago.

[Wendy Gardiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What makes a person rich?" and, "reclaiming one's humanity" are central themes to this book

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Gold Coin has an excellent theme worth imparting to children. Being the richest person in the world is not based on the amount of money you have. Being a rich person is what is inside you and it is dependent on the kindness and generosity you show toward other people. I enjoyed Juan’s circular journey and the rhythm of the characters, their actions, and Juan’s reactions. My favorite illustration is when Juan gets ready to leave Don Teodosio. A very faint image of Doña Josefa appears over the rows of trees along the hillside. The reader knows Juan is about to finally meet Doña Josefa.The beautiful watercolor illustrations are an extension of the text. Each illustration corresponds to its facing page of text. In a storytelling setting, young children can easily visualize Juan’s journey. The soft colors reflect the mood of the story and help to soften the image of Juan as a greedy man who sneaks around in the night. Each page of text includes a small square mini-illustration depicting the actions of Juan through his journey.

[Adriana Mendoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my author study. I found it in my classroom library. This is a book about a man named Juan who is a thief. When looking for his next victim he comes across Dona Josefa. Dona Josefa is an old woman who has a gold coin that Juan wants. When he enters her home to take the coin he realizes that she is gone and he must follow her. In his pursuit of the gold coin he sees the beauty and kindness of Dona Josefa through her actions and through the admiration and respect of her friends. In some miraculous way Juan’s crooked and evil spirit is transformed by all of the kindness that he sees surrounds Dona Josefa. It is a really good book. I really enjoyed the illustrations. At the beginning you see this dark character, skinny, creepy but with the transformation of Juan you see a charming look.

[Samary Morales · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Gold Coin is a great book to give to students. This book show that being the richest person in the world is not based on the amount of money you have. But, being a rich person from the inside is what counts. It is dependent on the kindness and generosity that one shows toward other people. Juan is try­ing to steal Doña Josefa’s gold. He follows his 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.

[Diamond Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a classic heart-warming tale about a thief whose heart of ice was melted by kindness. I've read this book to my younger siblings and surprisingly they like more than I did as a child. I love this book because it teaches kindness and is a story of love and faith in the human spirit and adventure. The pictures in this book tell it all and helps to open your mind to a world of imagination. This book is one of which I recommend to parents. I hope that you enjoy this tale as much as I did.

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story reads like a folktale, with patterns of repetition as meaning unfolds and the characters change over the course of the tale. A man who has spent years as a thief encounters a wise old woman with a coin and decides to take it from her. The decision leads him on a journey of many days and an unexpected series of kindesses as he travels through the peaceful countryside meeting the people who know the old woman. When he finally reaches the old woman, he is able to see what the true value of the gold coin might actually be.

[Manuel Alvarez]

This story is a lovely story that greed and thievery can be overcome by the act of caring for someone other than yourself and your kindness of your heart. Juan traveled and search for Dona Josefa he came into contact with people which put back life into his evil ways. He changed because he realized that the life he led was not really a life but a sickness. He repaired the damaged that he caused to Dona Josefa and to his own life.

[Jennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thief plans to steal and old woman’s coin but lands into a series of adventures while following her trail. By helping others he realizes the value of hard work and companionship, and changes his evil ways.

Emphasis on values and morals over characterization. Peaceful, satisfying story, simple yet beautiful drawings.

[Giulana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great story for those interested in retelling fables of other countries to children from the ages of 5-9. The story is one of morals that can be shared across cultures. With beautiful pastel like water colored images the pages of this book provide a feeling of warmth that correlate with the story and it's heartwarming tale.

[Angelique · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story starts with a man who is a thief. One day he follows a healer woman in order to steal her gold coin. Something miraculous happens when finds himself transformed. He starts to remember how his life was before he was a thief. The thief realizes that he can't steal the woman's coin. This is great story that shows how people change and morals.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story with wonderful illustrations. I loved how the man was transformed. Beautiful!

[Miss Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

GR Level: ?

Elementary: 398.2 ADA

A thief works hard to find the true meaning of happiness.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thief works hard to find the true meaning of happiness.

[Riegs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for inference, and cause/effect lessons.

[Jason]

great

[Katiuska Medrano · Rating 5 out of 5]

its good

[Marcellus Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[SaraKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely fable about that teaches readers that being rich has nothing to do with money. A thief tries to rob an old woman who is rich, but he realizes as he follows her around that her riches have nothing to do with gold. I liked how he transformed as he helped others (albeit selfishly) and had positive interactions with the people around him. It's a great 'fake it 'til you make it' story. :) He faked being a decent person so well that he became one. The illustrations are simple watercolors, I think. They are lovely.

[Teresa]

A thief learns what he has given up by his evil through a series of events and an old woman's love and service to others. The goal for our school days was for the children to find the moral... {LOOK for the moral!} [note: local library; home education days]

[MindfulMuslimReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

We rate children's books for virtue, language, story, and beauty and flag content advisories when needed.

Read more at MindfulMuslimReader.com.
“Books Worth Reading”

[K Gover · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little longer than we may have time for- but a story with good examples of Tough Questions and Character Change.

[Julie Culver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun folk tale with a good moral at the end.

[Alice]

Behavior-helping