Coyote Places the Stars
Grade 1-5-Based on a Wasco Native American legend, this dramatically illustrated pourquoi tale explains the designs of the constellations. It is the curious coyote who decides to discover the secrets of the heavens by creating a ladder of arrows he shoots into the sky. Once in the heavens, he moves the stars around forming the shapes of his animal friends, and he calls them all together to enjoy his handiwork. The simple, quickly moving text is luminously illustrated with colorful border designs around some of the text as well as full-and double-page spreads of the constellations, Southwestern landscape, and animals, created by painting dyes on cotton fabric and detailing with the wax-resist batik method. This technique affords an effective white outline of important objects. The onomatopoetic language makes this a natural tale for classroom reading, but the artwork can be best appreciated by independent readers.Yvonne Frey, Peoria Public Schools, ILCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.