A Coyote Solstice Tale — Thomas King

Wily trickster Coyote is having his friends over for a little solstice get-together in the woods when a little girl comes by unexpectedly. She leads the friends through the snowy woods to the mall -- a place they had never seen before. The trickster goes crazy with glee as he shops with abandon, only to discover that filling a shopping cart with goodies is not quite the same thing as actually paying for them. The trickster is tricked and goes back to his cabin in the woods -- somewhat subdued -- though nothing can keep Coyote down for long. Thomas King is known for his fiction featuring Canada's Native people, while Gary Clement's artwork has appeared in several popular children's books. A Coyote Solstice Tale blends King's brilliant deadpan humor and Clement's evocative watercolors in this witty critique of consumerism and consumption aimed at all ages.