Title: Coyote’s Christmas Tale
Author: Andy Melenchek
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1-5461-1297-3
Pages: 66
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book
Reviewed by: Olivia Richards
Pacific Book Review
Coyote’s Christmas Tale combines groups of animals, Indian people, stellar events and Christmas all in a stew, so to speak. The protagonist is this a wandering Coyote named Hagoonee. He wanders around the mesa in Navajoland talking with his various animal cousins, well not actually his cousins, including a bison, a bobcat, a raven and others along with his friend, an Indian girl, Morning Star. It is a belief that if you find a fallen star, and grind it up, you get Magic Dust, which if you inhale makes you sleepy.
Author Andy Melenchek brings out some of the warmth and respect between different animals, combing it with the gentleness of an Indian family, the Yazzies. They, the hogans (the name given to the humans by the animals) are in control of fire and all animals like to be warmed by the fire during the chilly winter months; so there is this mutual symbiotic relationship. The coyote takes the liberty of inviting himself to the Indian dance one day when he accidently slips and burns his paws in the fire. Ouch! Then later, when trying to pull a firestick out of the fire to bring to his cousin Raven, well not actually his cousin, the coyote once again burns himself – this time on his nose. Things aren’t going all that well for this coyote, and his lovely brown coat is getting blackened by the misgivings of the accidents. Oh well.
The book’s climax is when the coyote drops some Magic Dust down the exhaust hole at the top of the Yassie family’s teepee, and everyone drifts off to sleep while a pot of mutten stew is cooking over the fire. Coyote himself sniffed a bit of Magic Dust and also dozes off. Just as the coyote is awakening, low and behold Santa Clause is coming down the vent hole and bringing a bag of presents to fill the stocking of the Yazzies. Santa begins to leave when coyote wants all of his presents, and as he begins tugging at Santa’s boot it comes off, and the coyote falls into the stew. Ouch again! Well once things settle down, there are lessons to learn, as Coyote’s Christmas Tale begins to look more like coyote’s tail story, all covered with stew.
Interlaced with illustrations showing the coyote along with his animal and human friends, Melenchek shows readers how important it is to read by having Morning Star try to teach the coyote to read. In teaching the word “wind” the coyote just howls, and Morning Star determines it is useless to try to teach animals to read; reading is for humans only. Yet this is an important lesson for toddlers being read this book, as they need to learn to read so they can do it by themselves at bedtime for example.
The story is masterfully done to resonate in the minds of the intended audience, youngsters with a love of animals and the outdoors; which just about encompasses everyone. The juxtaposition of Christmas, Santa Clause in an Indian tee pee makes for a feeling we are all a part of the same world whether or not we have many of the same beliefs. The universal life force of needing a fire during the winter brings all living creatures together, and finally this clumsy coyote is a kind and loving animal, even if the other animals are not really his cousins.
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