Yosemite's Songster: One Coyote's Story

Wadsworth, whose Camping with the President was also set in Yosemite National Park, gives readers a tour of the park's highlights, while focusing on a coyote that has been separated from her mate. A rock slide divides the pair, and Coyote dashes away, first taking refuge underneath a canvas cabin in Curry Village, and then exploring further. Coyote's travels give Wadsworth many opportunities to point out the park's highlights and show how visitors are enjoying it: "Coyote dozes beneath an elderberry bush,/ a perfect umbrella shading her/ from the midday sun./ People are everywhere,/ talking,/ walking,/ riding bicycles,/ or peering out past bus windows." San Souci, illustrator of Two Bear Cubs and Antelope, Bison, Cougar (which, like this book, benefit the park itself), offers stately watercolor portraits of Coyote and her verdant environs, whether perched on a sun-dappled hillside overlooking Yosemite Family Chapel or reunited with her mate, as they yip at a full moon under a clear, starry sky. A fine introduction to the park and the creatures, activities, and natural marvels it has to offer. Ages 4-7. (Aug.)

K-Gr 5--A coyote couple is split apart when a rock slide startles them while they are squirrel hunting. The female spends days searching Yosemite National Park for her mate. She travels all over, sometimes encountering other animals, sometimes encountering park visitors. This gives Wadsworth an excuse to describe sights such as El Capitan and Half Dome, and some of the lodgings and activities. She has an easy-to-read, poetic style that speaks for the coyote without feeling forced. The descriptions of the park are necessary for readers who are unfamiliar with it, but they are done in a natural way. The story is tinged with melancholy and anxiety as the coyote calls to her mate over and over again. Both the text and San Souci's illustrations combine to help readers appreciate this natural wonder. The realistic pictures depict Yosemite in a hazy, golden light. The coyote is regal, at times scared, but at other times perfectly focused on hunting. While she remains a wild animal, her personality becomes apparent through the art. Finally, the coyotes are reunited and hunt together once more. An author's note describes the best way to view and treat wildlife.--Susan E. Murray, formerly at Glendale Public Library, AZ