Coyote Christmas: A Lakota Story

by S. D. Nelson

Overview

A traditional American Indian folklore character gets a modern update in Coyote Christmas, a charming holiday picture book from award-winning author and illustrator S. D. Nelson.

On Christmas Eve on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, Coyote wants to find some people to trick out of a hot meal. Sneaky Coyote is known by American Indians as the Trickster. He knows that there’s one person people can’t refuse on Christmas Eve: Santa Claus! In red rags and a woolly Santa’s beard, the Trickster fools a family into welcoming him to their Christmas dinner. But just when he thinks he’s gotten away with his ruse, taking their food and leaving the family with nothing, he’s foiled by a strange occurrence. Could it be a Christmas miracle?

Coyote’s antics, beautifully told and illustrated by award-winning author and member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe S. D. Nelson, will delight readers, and his eventual comeuppance just in time for Christmas makes this a perfect holiday tale.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810993679
Publisher:	Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	12/01/2007
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	366,047
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 10.25(h) x 0.38(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

S. D. Nelson is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in the Dakotas. He is the award-winning author and illustrator of a number of books, including Crazy Horse and Custer, Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, Black Elk’s Vision (winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Storyteller Award and named a Chicago Public Library Best of the Best), and many more. He lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Editorial Reviews

Magic abounds on the trail of Coyote, a trickster set on scoring some tasty Christmas grub in this confusing original folktale inspired by Lakota Sioux legend and set on an Indian reservation. Coyote hatches his grandest ruse ever: he disguises himself as Santa and lands an invitation to a kindly clan's Christmas Eve dinner. But the joke's on Coyote when his scheme is upstaged by some meddling by Sister Raven (and, perhaps, by the spirit of Christmas itself). Readers will be just as surprised as Coyote: What exactly is going on when the family opens their gifts from a Santa not even Coyote knows and they find delightful objects for everyone-except an empty box for wheelchair-bound young Davy? (He has regained the use of his legs.) The tale ends on an oddly sour note, not much relieved by the zesty North Dakota snowscapes throughout. Ages 5-9. (Dec.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Publishers Weekly

Gr 1-3-The infamous trickster decides to con some people out of a hot meal on Christmas Eve. Posing as Santa, Coyote is invited in at a ranch house and royally entertained. While the charade unfolds, some unexpected magic takes place and he ends up delivering gifts all around. Sister Raven watches and has the last laugh. An author's note offers insight on Coyote's background and abilities. The splendid acrylic artwork captures the action, the humor, and the spirit of the tale. A nice addition for those collecting a variety of trickster tales.-Diane Olivo-Posner, Long Beach Public Library, CA

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

School Library Journal

Nelson, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, uses the traditional Coyote trickster character as the focus of his contemporary holiday story, set on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in the Dakotas. Coyote uses his magical tricks to create a Santa costume, complete with a gift sack full of straw, so that he can get into a family's house for Christmas Eve dinner. His comical act succeeds in fooling the entire family, which consists of two grandparents, their granddaughter, Isabel, and their grandson, Davy, who uses a wheelchair. Coyote himself is tricked when the straw in his gift sack is mysteriously transformed into gift-wrapped presents for each member of the family, including an empty box for Davy with an invisible gift that restores his ability to walk. Though the plot's resolution is rather melodramatic, Nelson pulls it off with his confident style as a storyteller. His polished illustrations bring the comical Coyote to life, maintaining his personality even when Coyote is eating spaghetti and meatballs or dancing on top of a fence. An informative, well-written author's note details the history of the Coyote character in Native-American legends. (Picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews