A note preceding the text asks those who plan to read the book aloud to share it only in the winter months (Nov-Feb) when snow is on the ground.

This is a fire creation story from the Salish natives in Montana. In the story, Coyote and Wren lead a party of animals to the mountaintops where some other, meaner animals are keeping fire. The animals work together to trick the animals at the top and bring back fire to the people below. Sometimes, the animals mess up or eat each other, but through the power of teamwork they succeed in their mission. This is a fun folktale for a lesson on Native American culture and storytelling elements. A preface specified that this book is only to be read aloud in the wintertime! ( )

This story has a lot to offer the conversation on diversity. This is a Salish story, which begins with a note that it is not to be read in any season except Winter, since that is the only season that the story was told in the culture that it originated. This is a fun piece of history and culture. Similarly, it goes against common beliefs of how fire originated, and I think it is important to bring other folktales, myths, and creation stories to the table in order to include everybody and learn about other cultures.

Summary:
In this ancient tale from the Salish people of Montana, Coyote is chosen to lead a group of animals to steal fire from Curlew, the guardian and keeper of the sky world. The animals hatch a plan to bring fire to earth and must work together to fool Curlew. This story includes a note to the reader about the traditional legends of Coyote and how to appropriately use them in the classroom. There is also a note to teachers and parents regarding the use of fire by Indians in Montana.

Personal Response:
The animal depictions are very creative, and I really enjoyed the way they were given human characteristics but still kept as animals. The story is written simply, but still manages to give weight to this important Salish tale. More than the story, I thought the note to the reader was very interesting, and I learned that the Coyote legends are supposed to be told only during winter when snow is on the ground. The information following the story was also noteworthy and a perfect supplement to the tale.

Curriculum Connections:
Inclusion of Native American stories is an important part of our Indian Education for All curriculum, and this tale is a great way to talk about Native American tales as well as Traditional Literature. The supplemental information about fire and its use with land management is also worth utilizing in the classroom. Still another way to incorporate this tale would be to talk about the tradition of only telling certain tales in the correct season to honor the culture.

This book relates the oral story about Coyote leading a raid party to steal fire for Earth in order to keep warm. Beaver and Eagle played key roles in tricking Curlew so that they could successfully steal fire from his camp. Beaver pretends that he is dead and floats downstream. When Curlew collects Beaver and brings him inside (for his fur), Eagle gets himself stuck on the top of the lodge. Curlew also wants Eagle for his feathers, so he goes outside to get Eagle. While out there, Beaver is able to steal fire and escape. Curlew and his "crew" make an attempt to get fire back. He even makes it rain, hoping that would extinguish fire. But Prairie Chicken sat on the fire and kept it safe.

The illustrations in this book are interesting. Some of the animals look like themselves (snake, frog, Eagle), but some like Coyote, Beaver, and Curlew seem to have human-like bodies, stand upright, and look like an animal-human hybrid.

This book was written as part of a project by the tribes to develop “culturally relevant fire education material”. The tribe worked to remain true to the oral telling of this story for this book. There are two sections before the story begins, the acknowledgments and a note to the reader that explains the cultural relevance of the story. They ask that this book not be read aloud to school children until the first snow is on the ground, because in their tradition that is when it would be retold (this and any other Coyote legend). There is more information about the Salish-Kootenai and the importance of fire in this preliminary note to the reader and at the end there is a note to teachers and parents. There is a lot of valuable information about their tradition and culture in these notes and advice for educators. There is even a whole five-page section in the very back on “A Brief Guide to Written Salish and International Phonetic Alphabet”. Since the names of the animals in the story are written in the native language, it would be interesting to have kids use the guide as a key to figure out how to actually pronounce the words.