The Coffee Can Kid [Paperback]

Jan Czech (Author), Maurie J. Manning (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

With the help of her father, a young girl reconnects to her past in this heartwarming story of international adoption.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-Another in a growing collection of books on overseas adoptions, this one takes a slightly different angle than most, concentrating on a child's brief history before leaving Korea. A small and winsome six-year-old knocks down a coffee can from the hall closet while trying to reach it, and with it in hand asks her dad to revisit the familiar story of how she came to live with her adoptive parents. The container holds two precious items: a baby picture of Dong Hee (Annie) and a letter to her from her birth mother. The text is reassuring and well written. The illustrations, on a light-yellow background, portray this early history with grace, blending the Asian scenes with the beginning and closing scenes of life in the U.S. The whole is an engaging production for adoptive parents to use with their young international children, and would be a fine addition to library shelves.
Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr.2. When six-year-old Annie reaches for the coffee can, she asks her adoptive Caucasian father to retell the story of her birth in a "faraway land on the other side of the world." Annie prompts him at the right places for particular details, and he lovingly recounts her birth to a poor, young Asian woman who placed Annie up for adoption because she wanted her to have enough to eat and to be happy. At the close of the story, they open the coffee can, examine Annie's baby picture and her birthmother's letter, and then replace them to prevent fading. The two stories are deftly woven together, and the result is an adoption tale that radiates warmth and respect for both birth and adoptive parents. Sunny yellows dominate the watercolor art, reflecting the tender, cheerful narrative. Yellow, alas, is also the prevalent skin tone for the Asian faces. This affirmative adoption story has obvious value for kids adopted from other cultures. It will also enlighten their siblings, friends, and classmates. Linda Perkins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 24 pages
• Publisher: Child & Family Press (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878688218
• ISBN-13: 978-0878688210
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,095,739 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A very negative adoption book, January 23, 2006

By 

C. Communications - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Coffee Can Kid (Paperback)

A friend gave us this book as a gift because our daughter was adopted. How she could have read it and then given it to us, I have no idea. The book reduces the main character's identity to the metaphor of a coffee can. In the book, the child finds a coffee can which, it turns out, holds the keys to her birth mother and birth situation, and a letter from the birth mother. The child's father tells her that the social worker told him to keep this information in a coffee can. There is no explanation why (so it will last a long time? moisture-free? who knows?!), but the symbolism here is really unfortunate. Also, because the child pictured in the book is Asian, the book helps to promote the common misbelief that most birth mothers (in China, for example) leave a letter with their baby when the baby is relinquished or placed for adoption. In the majority of overseas adoptions, no letter is left behind. I feel I'm not being particularly eloquent here, but I think it is because the book made me so mad I could spit! This book raises many more questions than it answers, and it raises them in very negative ways. Why does the child just find the can in the house (in a closet, I think)? Why wasn't this information made known to her in a more positive way? I could go on and on, but I won't. I'm adopted, too, and find this book insulting and potentially harmful -- not just to adoptees and their families, but to people who read this and think that this is a positive adoption book. I wouldn't want to be known as a coffee can kid, and I know my daughter wouldn't either. There are many other ways in which the author could have dealt with a child finding out about her own birth information. It's an important issue, but this book doesn't deal with it well at all.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My daughter wants to read this book almost every night!, February 18, 2006

By 

J. Fisher "Dragon Mom" (Buffalo, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Coffee Can Kid (Paperback)

My three year old, adopted from China, enjoys this book and wants to read it as her bedtime story quite often. There are several reasons why I especially enjoy this book: it shows the closeness of the father-daughter relationship and it gives some background information about rural poverty, explaining why the Korean birthmother made the difficult choice to give up her daughter. Off-hand, I cannot think of another picture book for small children that conveys this difficult kind of info. in a way that a small child might understand it. I think that it's important to have a variety of adoption narratives available for your children to help them understand the wide range of adoption experiences. (So far, the only adoption narrative that I haven't found acceptable is the film version of _Stuart Little_, but that's another story.)

My older daughter likes another book by Ms. Czech called _An American Face_. She took it to kindergarden for MLK Day this year to share with the other students.

I would recommend both books to adoptive parents as ways to talk about racial difference and the reasons why their birth parents might have relinquished them.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Teachable Moment, February 21, 2006

By 

D. Bee "Love to Teach ELA" (Wheatfield, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Coffee Can Kid (Paperback)

I first came across this book while looking for a great springboard to teaching the importance of "time capsules" in my classroom. A colleague recommened it. The Coffee Can Kid is a great coupled reading for the English Language Arts classroom as it shows how important memories can be for explaining both the past and the future. I would highly recommend using this book as a classroom resource in teaching students about the importance of things like adoption, heritage, and personal history.
My students also each make their own coffee can in September and get to open it at the end of their middle school career. They are always astounded at what they learn about themselves and how this compares with what The Coffee Can Kid learned.