The Copper Tin Cup

As members of the family from different generations took possession of the cup, they carved their initials on its side, thus when young Sammy looked upon it one winter's day, he thinks fondly about the people who came before him so many years ago.

Kindergarten-Grade 2-Sammy Carl drinks cocoa from a cup that has his initials, SC, engraved on it. It's a cup that fits perfectly into his small hand, a cup that seems made for him. Schaefer takes readers on a quiet journey back through four generations of children, each of whom thought of the cup as his or her own. The obvious love and respect that each generation shows for it is reflected through the simple, repetitive language that illustrates how an artifact becomes an heirloom. Fellows's watercolors in a palette of blues and greens beautifully capture the timelessness of the story and help set the overall mood of serenity. The layout of double-page spreads alternating with smaller, intimate portraits of each child gives the book a nice rhythm and helps to draw readers into the tale. Pair this with Patricia Polacco's Keeping Quilt (S & S, 1998) for a touching storyhour about heirlooms, family, and immigration.
Tali Balas, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A treasured heirloom inspires a boy's reverie about his forebears in this tender picture book celebrating the strength of family ties. To Sammy Carl, nothing tastes better than cocoa sipped from his favorite cupDthe copper tin one etched with the letters S and C ("S for Sammy. C for Carl . My name, my cup"). Although the cup seems to have been designed especially for him, Sammy knows it has had previous owners, beginning with his mother, Samantha Caroline, who used to drink lemonade from it. And years before that, the copper tin cup was crafted with love by Sammy's great-grandparents, Samuel and Carla. Schaefer's (The Squiggle) spare, smoothly flowing text clearly delineates the generations of one family, allowing young readers to grasp the idea of heritage. And mention of one relative's "long sea journey to the family's new home" may encourage youngsters to investigate their own roots. Identical in theme to Catherine Myler Fruisen's My Mother's Pearls (Children's Forecasts, May 15), this treatment is a bit more down-to-earth and features realistic illustrations. With soft, sometimes hazy watercolors, Fellows (The Dog Who Walked with God) creates an inviting family album, moving back through time to a 1960s kitchen, a 1930s-era farm and an early-20th-century passenger ship. His portraits exude an earnestness and warmth that have cross-generation appeal. Ages 4-8. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Sammy Carl's favorite cup is made of copper and tin and has a curling handle. It's a cup that can't break. On one side are two finely carved letters, S and C for Sammy Carl. "My name, my cup." But he knows that it wasn't always his. Both the cup and the initials have been handed down for generations. His mother sipped lemonade from the cup when she was a girl. Before that her papa, Sammy Carl's grandpa, drank from it when he was a boy milking the cow on the farm. And Grandpa's older sister, Sammy Carl's great-aunt, brought the cup from the old country, where her parents had made it for her. Fellows' realistic watercolors express connection and yearning. They are less precise than old family photos, with room for children to imagine their own family folklore. Older children can go from this to Betsy Hearne's intergenerational picture book, Seven Brave Women (1997), where there's more history with the personal stories and the sequence is from past to now. Hazel Rochman
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