Borreguita and the Coyote: A Tale from Ayutla, Mexico

Book Review:

In this delightful and humorous picture book, appropriate for lower elementary age-children, Verna Aardema retells a Mexican folktale about a persistent, hungry coyote and a cunning little lamb. The coyote's quest to eat the lamb, also known as "Borreguita" (which means "little lamb" in Spanish), begins on a farm at the base of a mountain. The little lamb uses her cunning to outwit the coyote and keep him from eating her. Amongst her many tricks, she persuades the coyote into believing she is too thin to eat and also advises him on what he should do to obtain tastier morsels than her.

The illustrator, Petra Mathers, attracts the reader's interest by following the author's intended storyline visually, but also provides details beyond what is provided in Aardema's text. The illustrations are bold and bright, depicting Southwestern images of palm trees, cacti, rugged mountains, and a howling coyote.

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