Title: A Coyote's in the HouseAuthor: Elmore LeonardIllustrator: Lauren ChildGenres: Fable, Animals, Children LiteraturePaperback, 154 pagesPublished by Puffin Books, 2005 (first published in 2004)Antwan is a coyote, wild as they come. He likes his meat raw, not out of can. He likes hanging with his gang, the Diablos. He does not want to be a pampered pooch. No way!Budy is a doggy movy star with a taste for fame and luxury. Since he retired, Buddy has been bored with everything (except the delicious poodle Miss Betty).Buddy wants to try life on the wild side. And he thinks Antwan could certain benefit from some house-training. Can the coolest coyote on the block really learn to be a pet?***I always love animal story. And this book offers me the thing that I love, coyote! I've told you that I also love wolf and kind of that like coyote. It's cute by the way, though it's so wild.Reading Antwan's story makes me laugh most of the time. I bet you'll do the same when you read how the author describes the animals in this story. You'll meet Antwan who's so cool. He tells Ramona, his sister that to be a home doggy is stupid thing. According to him, dogs are not smart at all. They just do what the master say and that's so stupid. Conversely he is in the house to be a pet though!Well, may Antwan changes his mind after he meets Buddy, the bored doggy. He just puts a pity on him then helps him to change his place in the house. Buddy will be included in a pack and he will be a sweet pet.Two lovable pets will make you smile more wildly are Miss Betty and Lola. Miss Betty is a beautiful poodle. She is used to be in the shows and wins some trophies. Sometime she sounds so pride of herself, even-thought she doesn't. It's like the following quote:'Don't hate me because I'm beautiful,' Miss Betty said. 'I can't help it.' (page 62)Lola is a cute cat. She is as pride as Miss Betty is. But the one thing is she does help Buddy from the wolves hunters.The story ending is quite surprise me. I don't expect it will be ... arrgh!Well by the way, quote from Antwan may lead us to think to do good deeds towards animals around us;Humans were crazy. Some would feed you, some would shoot you for no reason. Yell at coyotes, 'Go back where you came from.' But this was where they came from. They had lived in these hils fo forty thousand years or so. It was their turf. (page 1)Well, good place for living is not only good for humans but also for animals. God had created this earth for all His creatures, include animals and plants. :)
Antwan has decided he’d like to live it up for a while. Right now, he lives on the outskirts of Hollywood, enjoying life vicariously, but now he’s putting a plan into action to get into a house to stay for a while. He chooses Buddy to be his pal and ticket inside, and as a bonus, he finds that Miss Betty likes him, too. Buddy isn’t convinced he can convert Antwan for the rest of the family, but they give it a try, and Antwan becomes Timmy for two weeks. While he’s living in Buddy and Miss Betty’s house, Antwan learns that Buddy (an old movie star) is starting to feel sorry for himself, and Miss Betty would like to help him get over his blues. Antwan agrees to help, and they stage a rescue. The ploy works, and Buddy gets noticed by a screen writer, and is asked to come back to film.This story is interesting because Antwan is a coyote and Buddy and Miss Betty are dogs. Leonard has used some stereotypes with his characterizations (Buddy is definitely a white aristocrat, Antwan sounds like a brother on the streets), but they help the story move along, rather than cause too much hindrance. It’s much more obvious on the book on CD (which I listened to), and Neil Patrick Harris is very consistent and does a good job. The book has illustrations at the beginning of each chapter, and again, they help to round out the story, rather than detract. Overall, this is a good story; a twist on Hollywood that isn’t used often. The ending is ambiguous, leaving readers to wonder what really happens to Antwan. Note: Leonard uses the term “bitch” a lot to refer to the female dogs.
What do You think about A Coyote's In The House (2004)?
When Elmore Leonard, the master of crime fiction, the man who wrote such novels as Get Shorty, decides to write a children's book he goes all in. This is a fun story of Antwan, a cool coyote who decides that it might be fun to pose as a dog. With the help of Buddy the movie star German Shepherd and the show dog poodle Miss Betty he tries to assimilate into the lifestyle of a Hollywood pet.This is a cute story and a lot of fun. I listened to the audiobook version read by Neil Patrick Harris. Harris did an excellent job as a reader. This book is recommended for grades 5-8. You can still enjoy it if you are much older.
—David Williams
I read this a while back in middle school and found it recently unpacking old boxes. The art was what initially drew me to the story and it is what drew me to it again--such a fun, vintage, almost Disney-esque style.The story itself, on the other hand, didn't really stick out to me. In fact, I had to put it down this go-round because I couldn't stand the prose. Sure, the target audience is younger, but there was a lot of slang both in narration and dialogue that made it difficult for me to slog through, even as an adult. It almost felt like entire words were omitted, though I do not know if this is characteristic of Leonard's prose as I've not read any other material by him.
—Swizzle
Imagine my surprise when a friend gave this book to my oldest daughter. Elmore Leonard wrote a children's book?Leonard peppered this story with textbook characters - but in the form of animals. There's a showgirl (or show bitch - meaning dog). The coyote is a gang member. A German Shepherd is a Hollywood actor on the downside of his career. I found this aspect of the story really interesting.I think my daughters enjoyed the story. I thought it was a reasonable diversion. Not as fun as adult version Leonard, but still entertaining.
—Barry
