Coyote Summer
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5.0 • 7 Ratings
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- $2.99
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
Heath always looked forward to summer visits at Grandpa's-long days in the wild Rocky Mountains, fishing with Dad on the Piedra River, and nights sleeping on the screened-in porch. Plus this summer, Dad promised to finally tell him the secret about old Mrs. Baylis-a mysterious Native American woman living down the dusty dirt road…
But now, after Dad's accident, it can never happen that way. Heath and his mother go to Grandpa's, but only to spread Dad's ashes in the river.
In the beginning, Heath feels like he's been swallowed by the raging Piedra, held upside down in some dark and unforgiving eddy. But one day, wandering along the riverbank, he meets Annie, a wild-eyed tomboy who shows him a hidden cave with a litter of orphaned coyote pups. Together they discover the cave holds another secret-one that might help them figure out the mystery of old Mrs. Baylis.
During that summer in the mountains, Heath comes to realize there is both beauty and ugliness in the world, sometimes all tangled together. By opening himself up to Annie and the coyotes, he rediscovers hope and joy in this big, beautiful, messed-up world.
Customer Reviews
Coyote Summer: FANTASTIC FOR 5TH/6TH GRADE STUDENTS!
I just had rediscovered Coyote Summer after having it in my possession the year it was published. I have been a 5th grade teacher for 25 years and I feel Jason Kapchinske has captured a perfect coming of age story that’s just edgy enough to hold the attention of students who are just at the beginning stages of “the wonder years”. I can recommend this book to hundreds of students I know, personally, right now who would absolutely love this book! It has the perfect formula to hook and engage students into Heath’s world and at the same time could provide teachers with lessons that would adhere to Common Core standards. This would be appropriate to teach inference, character dialogue, setting and character development.
As I said at the beginning of this review, I had received this book when it was first published, but unfortunately, the content about his father’s ashes were just too real for me at the time, for I was personally struggling with almost the same situation that Heath was; dealing with a difficult loss and spreading his father’s ashes. This novel was emotionally authentic enough to really affect me and I just couldn’t read about what he was going through at that time in my life. So, I set it aside, for another time and time passed by me and here it is nearly 6 years after this book was published and I’m really disappointed with myself that I had not pushed this book on to my students after all these years. But I definitely will this 2019- 2020 school year,
I always have students that are into animals, nature, living in the wilderness, native American legends, family drama, loss and a teen’s first innocent kiss.
How do I purchase hardcopies to place in my classroom and multiple copies for our school library? Get this book available for the public to place in their hands! A fantastic, sophisticated, yet simple read!
Dave
Pacific Beach Elementary
A humble tale both illuminating and brooding
I enjoy the read. The angst through the tumultuous period in the young boys life kept me emotionally invested and rooting for him.
Awesome Book
A very heartfelt book. Wonderful story for young and old.