Starred Review Foolish Coyote is deceived again and again by trickster Rabbit in this humorous tale, rooted in the folklore of Oaxaca, Mexico. Rabbit is stuck fast to a wax image a farmer has placed in his field to punish Rabbit for stealing his chiles. Despite that, the wily trickster manages to dupe Coyote into taking his place in the stew pot. Coyote barely escapes, and in his angry pursuit of Rabbit, he is continuously outwitted. In one episode, he is tricked into drinking a lake full of water to reach the cheese Rabbit wants to share with him; the cheese is actually the full moon's reflection. In a pourquoi style ending, Coyote is left howling at the real moon on which Rabbit has taken refuge. DePaola's vivid, spicy palette of gold, red, and turquoise tones and his use of folk-art borders evoke the desert setting and complement the broad humor of Johnston's text. A glossary of the Spanish phrases that pepper the illustrations is appended. The story blends many familiar folklore motifs, and the rabbit trickster brings to mind the antics of Brer Rabbit. An author's note indicates the source of the tale as a Spanish-language version by painter Francisco Toledo; a similar version of the tale in John Bierhorst's Monkey's Haircut (1986) cites older Mayan sources. A zesty collaboration. (Reviewed May 15, 1994)

Once again, this author-illustrator team has produced a winner. DePaola borrows motifs from the Oaxaca region of Mexico, where this version of the tale originated, to illustrate the misadventures of Brer Rabbit's close relative. The text has a nice rhythm and uses an appropriate smattering of terms and expressions in Spanish, which are defined in an appended glossary.

A Mexican trickster tale in which wily Rabbit outwits Coyote several times before escaping him permanently by climbing to the moon—which explains why Coyote is wont to howl at it. Johnston's adaptation of the action-packed tale is succinct and colorful; dePaola's deceptively childlike illustrations mark a breathtaking departure from his familiar style, though the elegantly balanced compositions and colors here are recognizably his. Adopting decorative motifs and a vibrant palette from Mexican folk art, he creates stylized figures in non-realistic hues (Rabbit is purple and Coyote, patterned like a handsome ceramic, blue). The square illustrations are set in contrasting pages of luscious color- -tangerine, turquoise, lime, lavender, flame. Many context- defined Spanish words appear in the text; additional Spanish dialogue, subtly incorporated into the illustrations, is defined in a glossary. A book that's certain to appeal, with some of dePaola's finest and most innovative art. Source note. (Folklore/Picture book. 4-8)"

K-Gr 4-An engaging retelling of an Oaxacan trickster/pourquoi tale that combines story elements from Brer Rabbit, the legend of Coyote swallowing the moon, and the rabbit in the moon. Rabbit's tricks escalate to a final comical episode in which he scampers up to the moon, hides the ladder, and leaves Coyote howling in frustration below. Creating a distinctly Mexican look, the book features bordered folk-art paintings positioned on a variety of vibrantly hued pages. dePaola uses colors freely, along with primitive design elements that include snippets of hand-lettered Spanish dialogue. (Readers who can't decipher their meaning can check the end of the story for translations and pronunciations). A picture-book folktale that is at once familiar and funny, yet different and distinctive.-Lee Bock, Brown County Public Libraries, Green Bay, WI