Author: Mary Kay Carson
Photographs by: Tom Uhlman
Publisher: Clarion Books, 2024
Pages: 80
Grade Level: 3-7
ISBN: 978-0063271470
Coyotes are rulebreakers. They don’t do what we think they should do. We think that if humans move in and build and cities grow, that they will move away and find another place to live. But they don’t. They adapt to the city and live there, too. You might think that they don’t live in your city, but you might be very wrong.
This book is about the coyote population in Chicago and how they live and survive. The Urban Coyote Research Project has been learning about the coyote population in Chicago for about 25 years now. Their first research project was just to find out how many coyotes were in the city and if they were a danger to the human population. The expectation was they would find just a few, but they were wrong. Coyotes live in parks and wooded areas. They are able to find plenty of food to eat. They raise litters of pups and are doing just fine. The scientists in the Urban Coyote Research Project have caught the coyotes and put tags or collars on them so they can track their movements and study them. When pups are born, they go into the dens and tag them, too.
I like that they call the individual coyotes by their number; they do not name them. The book is full of excellent photographs that help the reader understand what they do and how they accomplish their research tasks. As I was reading this book, I realized that I have actually seen a coyote run through my backyard. I live in a small town, and my backyard stops where a very steep embankment falls down to a creek. The embankment is overgrown with trees, blackberry bushes, and other growth and I realized that it is a perfect safe place to raise a coyote family.
Keep an eye out for coyotes in your town or city. You never know!
Reviewed by Audrey Campbell, MED
Reading Specialist and Library Media Center Director
Valley Adventist Schools, Rogers Campus
