Coyote Sings to the Moon

Sylvia Pantaleo is an assistant professor of education specializing in
children’s literature at Queen’s University in Kingston.

A long time ago, when animals still talked to humans and when the moon
was much closer to the earth, Old Woman sang to the moon each night. One
night all of the forest animals joined Old Woman in serenading the
celestial body. Unfortunately Coyote heard the singing and decided to
accompany the chorus. His unpleasant singing voice angered Moon and she
dove into a pond! Coyote assisted in getting Moon back into the sky but
she was not as close to Earth as before. Subsequently, Coyote sang to
the moon every evening to keep her in the sky and prevent her from
escaping back into the pond.

The dimwitted coyote in King’s “howling tale” is similar to Wile
E. Coyote of the Road Runner cartoons in both appearance and
intelligence. Wales uses silvery watercolors to create a somewhat
dreamlike and mystical effect. Recommended.