Knowing that spring has arrived, Coyote tells his daughters to throw out all the winter food and gather fresh spring greens. But here in the Mount Shasta area, it is "one of those early springs that come in March, and later it snows again before real summer comes." Left without food because of his own folly, Coyote of course blames the sun for coming out too early, and he sets off to shoot it.
This is the classic Coyote of western Native America--all possible foolishness rolled up in one furry, greedy, impulsive, heedless, too-smart-for-his-own-good animal person. In Coyote Fights the Sun, Mary J. Carpelan has presented the story as her Shasta Indian grandfather used to tell it to her, along with lovingly executed watercolor paintings that evoke the beauty, drama, and isolation of a Quartz Valley winter. Children who read this picture book will be amused by Coyote's trials, and adults will be intrigued and comforted to find this authentic expression of our ancient native heritage.
