Old Coyote

By Nancy Wood

Book Overview

Old Coyote is too old to hunt and run any more, and he knows it's time to move on to the next great adventure. So he spends his last day saying goodbye to all his family and friends.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0763615447
• ISBN13: 9780763615444
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: Candlewick
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.5" x 0.3" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Had Me In Tears With First Reading

This book had me in tears after I first read it while in a Santa Fe, NM hotel shop. The story is a very heartfelt and well-told story of the final day for the end of a life of an old coyote. I suggest reading it first though, before sharing it with an age appropriate child. While my mother never talked to me about death, this book would be good for a child that has any questions about the subject. This book deals with death by regarding it as a cycle of life. It is shown by how the coyote deals with his final day and approaching death. I wish I could have met the author while I was living in Santa Fe (lived at time in same Eldorado neighborhood), but now the author has passed on, and left readers with this wonderful book as a legacy. I own two copies of this book and consider it one of the best books I have read and own.

really great

I bought this book as a gift (for a kid) but ended up keeping it for myself.

Going gentle into the night

This book is lovely, gentle and sensitive without being maudlin on the difficult subject of death. Can help a child better understand the loss of a pet or person from a "circle of life" perspective. Thre bittersweet end of a long life, well-lived emerges into the hope of abnother world without being religious or specific. A book for to be read, discussed and treasured with a child.

Old Coyote

A gentle tale that shows how death is a natural part of life. The beautiful illustrations are a perfect accompaniment to this story.

on saying goodbye

His muzzle is turning white, his fur isn't as thick as it used to be, and his howl now as a few tremors in it, but Old Coyote's memory is as sharp as ever. He can recall when there wasn't any city near his home, and there were no highways with cars breaking speed limits. Since he can't run the way he used to Old Coyote sort of ambles along thinking about the past. He returns to the den where he lives with Mrs. Coyote. Together they think of their children and grandchildren, all 129 of them! But, he aches, he hurts. He knows he's grown old. In the way of all coyotes he tells Mrs. Coyote that he will be soon going off. She understands, and licks him on the nose. This tender tale about living a full life and then saying goodbye will help youngsters understand what the final goodbye means. It's a simple story beautifully illustrated in mixed media on paper. - Gail Cooke