Coyote School News

by Joan Sandin

A blending of rich Mexican and American cultural traditions

"My name is Ramón Ernesto Ramírez, but everybody calls me Monchi. I live on a ranch that my great-grandfather built a long time ago when this land was still part of Mexico. That was before the United States bought it in 1854 and moved the line."

Every day, Monchi and his five brothers and sisters take a long, bumpy bus ride to Coyote School, where there are twelve students who each write for Coyote School News. Through their articles and drawings we learn all about their exciting 1938 school year-from the Christmas piñata, the new baseball team, and the Perfect Attendance Competition to La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, the biggest annual ranch celebration.

This eventful story, illustrated in full color, is based on an actual collection of newspapers written by students of Arizona ranch-country schools between 1932 and 1943.

Genres: Fiction

48 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2003

About the author

Joan Sandin is a children's book author and illustrator. Her grandfather was born in Sweden and immigrated to Wisconsin with his parents in 1882, when he was only two. Joan herself spent time in Sweden and did extensive research to create her well-loved classic books about the immigrant experience.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picture-book format because so much wonderful art. But story more like for a transitional reader or early chapter book. Main character is 4th grade.

When I finished the Little House on the Prairie series and was looking for other pioneer stories, I would have enjoyed this. In 1938, the countryside south of Tucson was still pretty rough (and it probably still is more sparsely populated and less well-serviced than you would guess).

I would have loved a novel in this setting. More about the families at home, more about the kids growing up, something about the moms, and about the Native people, etc.

[Haley Hardwick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personal Reaction: I thought this book was interesting. It was not my personal favorite, but I did enjoy the illustrations and format of the book. I particularly liked how it integrated the school newspaper on many of its pages with stories from the students in the school. Also, I love the Spanish language and I really enjoyed how they used Spanish words throughout the story to integrate the culture through the writing.

Purpose: Read aloud for students grades 3-5
-enjoying and eventful throughout the entire story because there are many different things going on such as roundup, piñata party, chile harvesting, and different parties)
-rich language through vocabulary, and integration of Spanish as well.
-potential discussion on comparing and contrasting the Coyote News school and the students' own experience in school
-huge multicultural aspect
- a lot of dialogue, which I think children enjoy because there is a lot going on and it is not full of descriptions that can seem boring
- discussing characterization through the many different characters in the book as the story progresses

Curriculum: Read aloud for students grades 3-5
-great book for introducing/discussing the Mexican Cession and can be used to discuss the geography and history of this region. Things such as what is the Mexican Cession? Why did it happen? What states were involved? Where did it happen? Also, introducing them to the geographical map of this region and demonstrating by showing which states were involved.
-multicultural purposes: the pages of this story are bleeding with the culture of Arizona during this time through the language/use of Spanish, activities, and celebrations. Potential discussion for Mexican Heritage and Spanish language, which I think students would especially enjoy.

[Ruth Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in 1938 when Roosevelt was president, this is a realistic fiction story of a small one-room school in Arizona. The students have a new teacher, Miss Byers, and they like her new ideas. One of them is to write a school paper. Throughout the story, are mimeographed copies of the paper, in that familiar purple ink!

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dad was a kid in the 1930s too and wrote for his school newsletter too. I enjoyed reading about the kids’ lives and imagining that I was present when my dad wrote for his newsletter; it was called “The Turkey News.”

[CFAITC]

This story, about students who attend Coyote School, is based on a collection of newsletters written by Arizona ranch country schools between 1932 and 1943.

[Love2read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun for a 4th grader