Iktomi and the Coyote: A Plains Indian Story - Hardcover

Goble, Paul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0531331083 ISBN 13: 9780531331088

Publisher: Orchard Books, 1998

Synopsis

A winner of the Caldecott Medal for The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses presents the latest humorous adventure of the wisecracking Native American trickster, Iktomi, whose plans for dinner are upset by the wily Coyote.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-5-Sporting native clothes and flaunting copies of his previous books, Iktomi happens upon a group of prairie dogs playing a game that involves burying one another in hot ashes. To keep from burning, they sing a special song and when they can no longer bear the heat, they call their friends to pull them out. Iktomi convinces them to all play at the same time, promising to let them out when they get too hot. But in his typical fashion, he tricks the animals, releasing only a single pregnant prairie dog, ensuring future meals. While the rascal prepares to dine, a seemingly injured Coyote challenges him to a race. He quickly agrees and is easily outwitted, losing his ill-gotten feast. Goble's tale unfolds in the traditional call-and-response pattern of oral storytellers. Wonderfully designed pages with impeccably rendered ink-and-watercolor figures and varied typography lend a visual hand in the telling of this multilayered story. New and old cultural elements and plenty of humor are included, but Iktomi's comment about wishing he had brought along his "AK-47" is particularly jarring and the images of the cooked creatures are not for readers with weak stomachs. Still, kids will enjoy being in the know as they follow the humorous and inevitable downfall of this dubious hero.
Paula A. Kiely, Milwaukee Public Library, WI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orchard Books
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0531331083
• ISBN 13: 9780531331088
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32