The Gold Coin

By Alma Flor Ada

Book Overview

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 Dona 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 Dona 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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 068931633X
• ISBN13: 9780689316333
• Release Date: March 1991
• Publisher: Atheneum Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.3" x 10.3"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Wonderful moral

This is a wonderful story with a great moral. My 7 & 10 year old children loved it.

Golden Lesson for Life

This book offers a wonderful lesson about what is important in life-friendship and giving. It's a great story for children and adults alike.

The Gold Coin

This is an excellent book. I originally found this book in our reading basal. My students loved it! I decided to search for this book as an individual title, and when I found it, I was too excited. I used this book as a read aloud with my 3rd and 4th graders. When I finished and put the book down, my students couldn't wait to get their hands on it. I loved the illustrations as well as the reading skills that I can used to teach particular skills. Great Book!

A Beautiful Moral

The Gold Coin is the story of Juan, a thief of experience, and his journey to find an old woman who gives away gold coins. In his quest to find her to steal away her assumed riches, Juan is forced to experience the helpfulness of strangers, depend on their kindness and enjoy with them the feeling of an honest day's labor. By the end of his travels, he has been transformed by the goodness of the people he has met. When he finally comes face to face with the woman he had intended to rob, he is a different person. Instead of taking her gold, Juan offers to mend her roof. He learns that giving to others allows him to feel rich. The Gold Coin is a great story to read aloud. It is warm and inspiring.

The Gold Coin: a treasure to read.

Alma Flor Ada is an author who writes both in Spanish and English. Her work focuses on action over description. Her communication of the values and qualities of the culture in which she immerses her readers makes her books notable. The Gold Coin tells of a man who is twisted in body and spirit until he is transformed by honest hard work, and caring decent people. The reader is introduced to an inspirational character, Dona Josefa. Although the thief doesn't meet her until the end of the story, it is her model of goodness that shines throughout the story. The illustrations admirably reflect the changes the thief undergoes as his body becomes straighter and his face less pale and angry. There are many surprises seeded throughout the story and the ending is wonderfully satisfying. Although this is an original tale, the writing has the flavor of a folktale and the culture and landscape of Central America are authentically portrayed.