Coyote Tales

Coyote Tales

By Thomas King

With his signature tongue-in-cheek humour, Thomas King presents readers with two tales of Coyote, an important figure in Indigenous stories.

Coyote first causes trouble in Coyote Sings to the Moon, when his terrible singing voice causes Moon to dive to the bottom of the pond and hide, plunging the nighttime world into darkness.  Old Woman and the animals in the forest are annoyed with Coyote and his antics, and must find a way to coax Moon back into the sky.  But listening to Coyote sing is driving them all crazy!  How can they get Moon back and keep Coyote quiet?

In Coyote’s New Suit, Raven convinces Coyote to steal the other animals’ suits, leaving Bear, Porcupine, Skunk, Raccoon, Beaver and Moose, naked in the woods!  Coyote even steals the human beings’ clothes from their clotheslines.   Meanwhile, Coyote wears his new suits “to the supermarket…, to the baseball game…, [and] to bingo.” (p. 48-49) But when he holds a yard sale to get rid of all his new suits, all the animals and humans show up.  Will everyone find their old clothing?  Or will they all get new suits?

Black and white illustrations by Byron Eggenshwiler add to this fun early chapter book.  Coyote Tales is a great read-aloud both at home and at school.

Highly recommended!