Coyote Moon
Written by Maria Gianferrari, Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

Publisher’s Summary:
A howl in the night. A watchful eye in the darkness. A flutter of movement among the trees. Coyotes. In the dark of the night, a mother coyote stalks prey to feed her hungry pups. Her hunt takes her through a suburban town, where she encounters a mouse, a rabbit, a flock of angry geese, and finally an unsuspecting turkey on the library lawn. POUNCE! Perhaps Coyote’s family won’t go hungry today.

Primary Source Pairing:
Coyote Moon is a beautiful informational text that shows us a night in the life of a coyote. For this primary source pairing, use a photograph of an eastern coyote and study its features. This would be a wonderful read aloud to add to an animal adaptations science lesson.

Questions for Discussion:

• Describe what you see.
• What do you notice first?
• What’s happening in the image?
• What is the setting?
• What features do you observe on the coyote?
• How do these or adaptations help the coyote survive?

Credits:
Book Cover and Summary: Follett
Coyote image: Wikipedia