Baby Coyote and the Old Woman/El Coyotito y La Viejita

K-Gr 3-Baby Coyote loves many things about his desert home, including the clear air, the multicolored sky, and the chasing tumbleweeds in the wind. He particularly loves watching the old woman who lives nearby as she waters her plants and thoughtfully leaves tidbits out for her furry friend. What he definitely does not like is the trash heap outside her door, where paper, tin cans, and toxic cleaning products are unceremoniously dumped. Baby Coyote discovers an effective way of communicating his displeasure, which leads to a gentle ecology lesson and a mending of thoughtless habits. This bilingual story has much to recommend it. The illustrations, in a soft southwestern palette, are charming if somewhat stiff, and the text flows smoothly in both English and Spanish. Young children will be intrigued by the relationship between the coyote and the woman. Moreover, due to its didactic handling of the ecological message, elementary teachers will find this an effective read-aloud as part of an Earth Day activity. Recommended for purchase by both school and public libraries. Cheryl Scheer, Denver P.L., CO