Coyote tales / [by] Thomas King ; illustrations by Byron Eggenschwiler

Thomas King, 1943-

Book - 2017

Two tales, set in a time when animals and human beings still talked to each other, display Thomas King s cheeky humor and master storytelling skills. Freshly illustrated and reissued as an early chapter book, these stories are perfect for newly independent readers.

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jFICTION/King, Thomas
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Subjects
Published
Toronto : Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press [2017]
Language
English
Main Author
Thomas King, 1943- (author)
Other Authors
Byron Eggenschwiler (illustrator)
Physical Description
59 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm
ISBN
9781554988334
  • Coyote Sings to the Moon
  • Coyote's New Suit.
Review by Horn Book Review

This slim volume collects two previously published tales by consummate First Nations storyteller King (author of two earlier and memorably entertaining Coyote titles, A Coyote Columbus Story and A Coyote Solstice Tale, rev. 11/09), with new and humorous black-and-white illustrations. Both stories are set a long time ago, before humans and animals stopped talking to each other (indeed, the second story, Coyotes New Suit, explains how that happened) and feature Coyote less as devious trickster and more as hapless dupe. Kings signature sense of humor is on full display throughout, and he enlivens the tales with gleeful, effortless anachronisms: in the first story, Coyote Sings to the Moon, the vacationing Moon relaxes on a beach towel under a beach umbrella, and the animals who try to sing her back throw in a little doo-wop. martha v. parravano (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Two republished tales by a Greco-Cherokee author feature both folkloric and modern elements as well as new illustrations.One of the two has never been offered south of the (Canadian) border. In "Coyote Sings to the Moon," the doo-wop hymn sung nightly by Old Woman and all the animals except tone-deaf Coyote isn't enough to keep Moon from hiding out at the bottom of the lakeuntil she is finally driven forth by Coyote's awful wailing. She has been trying to return to the lake ever since, but that piercing howl keeps her in the sky. In "Coyote's New Suit" he is schooled in trickery by Raven, who convinces him to steal the pelts of all the other animals while they're bathing, sends the bare animals to take clothes from the humans' clothesline, and then sets the stage for a ruckus by suggesting that Coyote could make space in his overcrowded closet by having a yard sale. No violence ensues, but from then to now humans and animals have not spoken to one another. In Eggenschwiler's monochrome scenes Coyote and the rest stand on hind legs and (when stripped bare) sport human limbs. Old Woman might be Native American; the only other completely human figure is a pale-skinned girl. Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote tales. (Fiction. 9-11) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Excerpt from Coyote Sings to the Moon: One evening, Coyote hears Old Woman and the animals singing to the moon. "Pardon me," says Coyote, smiling his Coyote smile. "Exactly what are you doing?" "We're singing to the moon," says Old Woman. "Well," says Coyote, taking out his comb and brushing his coat, checking his teeth with his tongue, and wiping his nose on his arm. "What you need is a good tenor." "No! No!" shout all the animals. "You have a terrible singing voice!" "Yes," says Old Woman. "Your voice could scare Moon away." "Hummph," says Coyote, whose feelings are hurt. "Why would anyone want to sing to Moon, anyway?" Excerpt from Coyote's New Suit: Just then Bear came out of the woods, all hot and sweaty. She took off her bear suit, folded it up neatly and left it on a large, flat rock. "Wheeeeeee!" she shouted as she hopped into the pond. She waved her arms and kicked her legs and splashed water all over the place. "Now that's a suit," said Raven, eyeing Bear's suit as it lay on the rock. "I don't believe I've seen a suit like that in my entire life." And she flew away. But she didn't go far. "Hummmph!" grumped Coyote. "What does Raven know about fashion?" But he had to admit that Bear's suit did look substantial. When no one was looking, he tiptoed over and held the suit up to the light, rubbing his nose in the thick fur. "It's not as classy as my suit, but it certainly is impressive." Then Coyote had an idea. It wasn't a good idea, but then most of Coyote's ideas weren't. Excerpted from Coyote Tales by Thomas King All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.