Meet tricky Coyote!

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Each of these two well-designed books includes five frolicsome tales about the trickster coyote of Native American folklore. Culled from a variety of tribal traditions (briefly indicated at the end of each entry), the stories show Coyote at his slyest, vainest and most comical. In ``I Win,'' for example, the over-confident Coyote is outwitted when he races against what he assumes to be a single turtle but actually competes against many turtles who run a relay to keep up with him. Mayo's opaque acrylic paintings lack the verve of her storytelling, but are bright and varied in their presentation (some occupy a full page, most are set into pages of text). While some offerings are more fully developed than others, all are superb choices for reading aloud. The virtue here is not merely that these stories have been expertly gathered and retold, nor that there is a far-ranging and useful bibliography, but the format: small trim size; clear type; smoothly incorporated art; ample white space. Inviting and accessible. Ages 6-10. (May)