Title: Coyote Speaks: Wonder of the Native American World
Author: Ari Berk & Carolyn Dunn
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Native American mythology, Non-fiction
Dates read: 16th October – 14th November 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Non-fictional text
Publisher: Abrams
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: The beauty and commercial value of these objects can make people greedy, even people who should know better.
Imagine
a time when there was only a thin line between the realms of humans and animals, and they could speak to each other and share their knowledge, or transform from one into the other through magic.
Imagine
a world where Coyote makes the heavens by holding all the stars in a blanket and then throwing them into the sky, where they become the constellations that we still see today.
Imagine
a land where people emerged into this world by growing like corn from beneath the ground.
Imagine
ancient objects, amazing journeys, mysterious symbols, and magical stories.
Now imagine all these things exist, for in Native America, they do.
I really don’t know much about Native American mythology. I’ve never had the exposure, and other than one character in the Mercedes Thompson series, I’ve not read any books that feature people of this heritage. So of course, I was extremely excited and fascinated to pick up this book and learn something new. Which, this was a perfect introduction to. I now know that I want to read further along about this mythos, but as a broad overview… this was fantastic.
This broad introduction was beautifully graphic. I spent more of my time staring at the pictures than actually reading the words. It was just beautiful and unforgettable. I’ll pick this up again and again, just because I loved the layout and print of the work.
I’m well aware of how many of the world’s Indigenous cultures and beliefs are frequently disrespected. So I was very happy to find that this was not only informative and a great introduction, it was also incredibly respectful to the mother culture. Now I just need to start slogging through that great bibliography at the end!
Earth and Skye 