How Coyote Stole the Summer: A Native American Folktale

by Stephen Krensky (Adapter), Kelly Dupre (Illustrator)

Brrr! Coyote is always cold! That’s because it’s winter all year long. But Old Woman has something amazing called summer. It’s tied up in a little bag in her tipi. Coyote and his friends Wolf, Moose, Elk, Stag, and Antelope make a plan to steal summer. But when Coyote grabs the bag, Old Woman’s children chase after him. Will his plan work? Will everyone have a chance to share summer’s warmth? Find out what happens in this fast-paced tale!

Genres: Picture Books, Folklore, Indigenous, Childrens

48 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains a Native American folktale that describes how the seasons began to alternate between hot and cold.

The narrative is a bit long for younger children, but is entertaining and helps to give a good example of the stories humans have created to explain nature before we understood the science behind it all.

The author provides an afterword that explains more about the myth, coyotes, and trickster tales. He also added a glossary and a page of additional resources for more information about the topic.

I am not a big fan of the illustrations; they are a bit too rudimentary for my taste. But I do like the wood block print/scratch board technique to give the images textures.

[Ruth Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

How Coyote Stole the Summer is a folktale book for children and is based on the folklore of Native American groups living in Wyoming, such as the Shoshone. Native American folktales often depict the coyote as a trickster. In this book, a raven convinces a shivering coyote to steal a pouch containing summer from a woman in a tipi while her children are away. The children hear their mother's cry and begin to chase a variety of animals as the forest animals pass the pouch like a baton in a relay, trying to outrun the children. Eventually, the woman and her children make a compromise with the coyote to share the pouch so we can have warmth for six moths each year.

This book is an adaptation which Stephen Krensky has written in a straightforward manner. It would be an excellent a read-aloud book for students in pre-K through Grade 2. As part of the read-aloud, educators should draw attention to the landscapes in the illustrations which are based on those in Wyoming, where the story is set, as well as the traditional Shoshone dress of the woman and her children. The book contains a pertinent afterword detailing the setting and the characters in the folktale. Also, the educator will find a glossary which will introduce young readers to new words and vocabulary as they read this book.

[Genevieve Ledwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this a 3.5 overall, leaning towards a four. I save 5's for an absolutely loved it. If I could find more from the author I would definitely read it.

I actually liked the artwork, because even though it was simple, it reminds me much of the pictogram representations of different animals. The color scheme is very good symbolically.

It was a little confusing to my 9 year old, so I would suggest reading it first. In this particular book, coyote, though being tricky, is the good guy. The concept that was confusing to my son was that he 'stole' something (equating with bad) and I had to explain to him that in this case, coyote was bad for stealing something, but so was the old woman for being selfish and keeping summer hidden away in a bag for herself leaving all the animals to be cold. In the end, they both recognized that they did something wrong and compromised... and then ended up with seasons by sharing summer. I would have given it a solid four if he would have been able to intuit that on his own, but hey, what are parents for?

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story. I've never heard it before. Native American legends and myths are so fascinating, entertaining, and usually included a good lesson within them.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the teamwork, and nice to see Coyote not being the bad guy, but wish there had been a little more in the tale or at the end explaining more context.

[Wanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice easy Reading

[Sara G · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely little kids' book. Good ESL teaching material, too.

[Monchel Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this folklore, "How Coyote Stole the Summer". This story was about Coyote being tired of winter all year long and teams up with his friends Raven, Wolf, Moose, Elk, Stage, and Antelope to steal summer from Old Woman. The age that I would suggest for this book is ages 7 and older. I feel like those age groups would understand the story better. The artistic elements that caught my eye the most were the lines, shapes, and color. The lines were well drawn and you can see the movement And the feeling in each line that's drawn. The shapes that were bigger showed the importance of the story. The colors were dull like and that showed coolness and cold. This book should definitely be read by children because it shows children if you really want something you will try your hardest to accomplish making a chane for yourself and others.

[Ms. B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Native American folktale about why we have summer. I liked how this picture book, about how coyote tricks the Indian woman into giving him summer, was divided into short chapters.
This will be perfect for those looking for folktales that have a trick in them or for younger readers asking for chapter books.

[Karen Arendt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book for the 5th grade Native American studies although it will work for any grade level studying trickster tales. I thought the artwork was ok, but the story is good.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful read with fun illustrations. It was a pleasure to read this book to my class and introduce Native American folklore. Very much enjoyed it.