From the Arctic Circle to Costa Rica, from Maine to the tip of Baja, California, the coyote thrives like no other animal in North America. It roams the Canadian wilderness and prowls the Arizona deserts and beyond. Over time this highly intelligent animal has learned to adapt to big cities, such as Los Angeles. It has even been sighted in Bronx, New York. But the coyote is not always welcome. Farmers and cattle ranchers, who lose valuable sheep, chickens, and cows to the hungry dog, view it as a damaging predator. On the other hand, supporters of the coyote argue that, like the wolf, the coyote plays an important role in nature. In this fascinating book, Steve Swinburne draws the reader into the secretive world of the coyote. His balanced and though-provoking text, illustrated with dramatic full-color photographs, examines how the coyote behaves and survives. He considers the past and present history of the coyote and what the future may hold in store for North America's native dog.
Grade 5-7-As a naturalist and former national park ranger, Swinburne has been able to observe coyotes in a number of environments. In a balanced, readable text, he describes the lifestyle of this supremely adaptable canine, its place in Native American folklore, the conflict between ranchers/farmers and this elusive predator, and the problems the animal faces as it struggles to thrive in pristine wilderness areas and in congested suburbs. Many fine color photos, some large and dramatic, keep proper pace with the text. Informative sidebars are liberally sprinkled throughout. A range map and index complete the attractive whole. Make a place in your collection for this handsome volume even if you already own Cherie Winner's more detailed and less personal Coyotes (Carolrhoda, 1995). Team the pair with a variety of Native American coyote tales and you will give youngsters a long-range view of North America's dog and its relationship with its habitat and with humans. Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Steve was born in London, England. He holds a BA degree in Biology and English from Castleton State College in Vermont. He has worked as a ranger in a number of national parks and is the author of over 25 children's books. His extensive travels to faraway lands such as Africa and treks through Yellowstone have all influenced his book projects. Steve's first mid-grade novel, WIFF AND DIRTY GEORGE, will appear Spring 2010. He lives in Vermont with his wife Heather and a cat named Skittles.
The Long Version
My mother, Lily, had me at Marleyborne Hospital in London, England, at 11 o'clock in the morning on November 8, 1952. My father, William Swinburne, worked on trains delivering mail to faraway places all over England. I think that's where I get my love of trains. I was the middle kid--my brother, Peter was a year older, and my sister, Madeline, a year younger. We lived at 7 Wolsey Road in north London, a poor neighborhood of attached brick houses, narrow streets and endless chimneys poking the sky. During World War 2, a bomb from a German plane made a direct hit on the only pub on our street. One person was killed and the pub was rebuilt into a new pub called The Lady Mildmay.
My best friend on 7 Wolsey Road was a kid named George. Mom considered him scruffy and nasty. She called him Dirty George. I was dubbed Wiff. It seems neither of us cared much for soap and water. When we weren't mucking about the streets, we fought other neighborhood kids. Sometimes we'd chuck stones at each other. Once, a well-thrown stone split open my upper lip.
When I was almost 8, we moved from England to America. Mom, Peter, Madeline and I boarded the Queen Elizabeth in Southampton in southern England on April 20, 1960. We landed in New York City five days later. Southampton was the same port the Titanic departed from on April 10, 1912. They hoped to arrive in New York City on April 15, but the ship struck an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912 and sank almost 3 hours later.
I remember two things about our passage on the Queen Elizabeth: sitting in the swanky dining room being served by waiters in their crisp white uniforms. I looked down at the table setting and saw a 100 knives, forks and spoons. Which ones did I use first? The other memory that stands out was when we were docking in New York City. My mother held my sister in her arms and stood at the rail, leaning over, searching for my father along the wharf. When the ship's horn blasted behind us, my mother jumped nearly spilling my sister into New York harbor far below. What a welcome that would have been!
Age 8 to 17 was a blur of moving houses (my dad liked to switch houses every 2 years), new schools, new friends and fights with my brother and sister culminating in my parents divorce in 1970. All those years I took refuge in listening to The Beatles and writing in journals. I remember yanking the bed sheets over my head, flipping on a tiny flashlight and scratching words into 5-cent journal. I've kept journals and dairies all my life and think it's a great place to fall in love with words.
Growing up, I wanted to be an adventurer, a naturalist or marine biologist. Ever since I can remember, I've put words on paper and I feel so fortunate to make a living writing, exploring new places, learning about the amazing creatures we share this planet with.
I still would like to be an adventurer or marine biologist. One day. And I think a rock star would be kind of cool, too.
Steve holds a bachelor of arts degree in biology and English from Castleton State College, Vt. He has worked as ranger in a number of national parks.
He loves to travel and observe nature and wildlife. A safari in Africa, hiking in Scotland, monitoring sea turtles on a Georgia island, a winter trek through Yellowstone and watching shorebirds in New York have all led to book projects.
He lives in South Londonderry, Vermont, with his wife Heather and daughters Hayley and Devon.
When Steve is not writing and photographing children's books, he loves to sing and play Beatle songs on his Gibson guitar, garden, read, travel with his family and take pictures.
Steve's photography has appeared in magazines such as COUNTRY JOURNAL, VERMONT LIFE, GARDEN DESIGN, FAMILY FUN and HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN.
5.0 out of 5 starsInformative and excellently written, August 1, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Coyote: North America's Dog (School & Library Binding)
My children (8 and 11) loved the way the author combined his own adventures with so much information about coyotes in this fine, energetic book. The author's lively prose also helps to make this a wonderful example of the new journalism as it can be applied to children's literature. We need more books like this, and I hope the author can move on from coyote to other cats, like bobcat and tiger, etc. Yesterday, we bought his wolf book, "Once a Wolf," which my son and daughter say is equally fantastic. I'm going to recommend that "Coyote" and "Once a Wolf" be used in our school's curriculum, which at times might be a little heavily weighted toward math and pure science. Glad "Coyote" is in paperback! If the author should read his own reviews at this site, my children want him to know he should keep up the good work.
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