Way Out West Lives a Coyote Named Frank

Distant indigo mesas, golden-brown sand, sun-baked rocks and green cacti suggest the landscape of the American Southwest in this unassuming, beguiling debut. The eponymous Frank, recognizable by his gray fur and orange-patterned bandanna, chases a rabbit and a skunk with his coyote friend Larry, investigates a tortoise and a gila monster, and flirts with a female coyote. The decorative illustrations and minimal, matter-of-fact text share a forthright simplicity (this very directness, in fact, produces a quiet humor), while the easygoing characters and warm earth tones exude affability. Lund takes a coloring-book approach, neatly filling bold black outlines with solid, almost imperceptibly shaded hues. Such occasional details as a horned toad's spots and a smoothly curving rattlesnake's scales break up the art's overall blockiness. Western cliches are put to droll use here, and readers--particularly the very young--may respond favorably to the uncomplicated images and Frank's playful expressions (especially the mischievous glint in those shifty eyes). Ages 4-7. (Feb.)