The Tale of Rabbit and Coyote

Poor Coyote! What’s he doing, hanging upside down in the farmer’s house, next to a pot of boiling water? How’d he wind up underneath the jicara tree, getting bonked by rock-hard fruit? Who tricked him into whacking a wasps’ nest with a stick? And why is he always howling at the moon? Because of Rabbit, that’s why! This is a story from the folklore of Oaxaca, Mexico -- a story with humor, trickery and hijinks.

This book retells a traditional Mexican tale about how the rabbit came to live in the moon and why the coyote howls at the moon. The rabbit is a trickster and the poor, dumb coyote is no match for him as he convinces the coyote to switch places in the farmer's pouch, to hold a falling boulder, to disturb a wasp nest, and finally to try to drink an entire lake to reach the reflection of the moon, which the rabbit says is cheese. This book is belly-laughing funny, especially the illustrations of the coyote as he drinks more and more water. The illustrations are beautiful and clearly inspired by traditional Mexican artwork. Children will like them because they are funny. This is appropriate for ages 3 to 8.

In my opinion, “The Tale of Rabbit and Coyote” is an intriguing story for children to read. It is a multicultural book, and it incorporates some Spanish phrases throughout the book. The plot is suspenseful and easy to follow. The story is about a rabbit and a coyote who live in Mexico. The rabbit eats chili peppers from a farm and gets caught by the farmer. The farmer tries to eat the rabbit, and the rabbit tricks the coyote into taking his place. The coyote follows after the rabbit to try to eat him. The rabbit is too clever and tricks the coyote many times to get away from him. The rabbit eventually gets a ladder and climbs to the moon where the coyote cannot reach him. The book explains that that is why coyotes howl at the moon show more to this day. The illustrations showcase colorful pictures made out of crayons, markers, and pastels. The rabbit is colored purple, and the coyote is colored blue. The language throughout the book is very descriptive. For example, “One full-moon night, Rabbit found a field of chilies. He was so pleased to see them, all glossy and green, that he jumped right in and ate the biggest ones.” The language in the story is predominantly English; however, there is a good amount of Spanish text incorporated in the book. The Spanish phrases are translated to English in the glossary. For example, “Me siento un poco raro” (Translation: I feel a bit strange). The big idea of the story is to teach children that they can get out of trouble by being clever. show less

I have had this book in my room, but never taken the time to read it! I loved it! It was a great story, and rather humorous as well. I loved all the different ways the rabbit tricked the coyote. The art is beautiful and the plot is rich. This is a great tale!

This is a great book, which introduces children to Spanish without shoving it down their throats. Tony Johnston and Tomi de Paola make a marvelous team. Check out Johnston's "The Iguana Brothers" and "Lorenzo the Naughty Parrot" for more Spanish language treats! I would defiantly read this book to my students.

This is a wonderful Mexican folktale. In this version the rabbit tricks the coyote many times. He then climbs a ladder to the moon. That is why coyotes howl at the moon. Instead of referring to the man in the moon, they refer to the rabbit in the moon.

This book is a traditional Mexican story of why coyotes howl at the moon. Coyotes howl at the moon because the rabbit is up there...it goes back to how the coyote wanted to eat a rabbit The rabbit kept tricking coyote to get out of the situation. The last way the rabbit escaped was climbing up a ladder to get on the moon. The coyote sees the rabbit on the moon and therefore, howls at the moon every night.