From School Library Journal
Grade 2-7-- This collection of four Native American stories joins a growing body of retellings of the exploits of this clever but exasperating trickster. Both wise and foolish, this mythic figure is presented in a fast-flowing, read-aloud style. Coyote gets his creative powers in a story from the Okanogan people of the Great Basin; bests a monster woman who is killing all the animals in a Wasco tale from the Columbia plateau; gets mad at the sun and has to be saved from being stuck in the sky by Spider Woman in a Karok account from northern California; and has an encounter with the Grass People, according to the Assiniboine of the Great Plains. Border panels and full-page black-and-white pen-and-ink drawings are in an entertaining cartoon style that perfectly complements these rollicking adventures. Strauss is a storyteller, and it is obvious from her presentation. These stories would seem to have been transcribed from a performance, with sound effects included, which could make reading them silently a bit disconcerting to youngsters, but which goes far in capturing the essence of these traditionally oral tales. The humor here is in the same vein as Paul Goble's retellings, but Strauss gives just the slightest hint of the ribaldry that some of these tales suggest. There is also a brief introduction explaining who Coyote is and the Native conception of storytelling. Ideally suited for story hours and reading aloud. --Lisa Mitten, University of Pittsburgh, PA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
