Neat idea, good author's note about the truth of the Aztecs adopting Aesop's fables, cute & lively illustrations - but the fables & morals were, in my opinion, kinda flat. ( )

I confess that I was rather leery, after seeing the sub-title of this book, both as an Aesop enthusiast, and as someone aware of the many ways in which Native American folklore has been expropriated and distorted. "A Native American Aesop?" I thought, "what sort of revisionist conflation is this?" How glad I am that I gave Doctor Coyote a chance, as I learned something new (and exciting!), and got to read some entertaining stories!

It turns out that the conflation of Aesopic fable and Coyote trickster-tale wasn't Bierhorst's idea at all, but that of a sixteenth-century native Mexican translator (name unknown), who adapted a Spanish edition of Aesop, producing an Aztec (Nahuatl) version. This distinctive collection of fables - in which animals native to the Americas, like the coyote and puma, are used in the stories - can currently be found, in manuscript form, in the National Library of Mexico. Astonishingly, it has apparently never been translated into any modern language, making Bierhorst's book the only easily obtainable (and sadly incomplete) edition of it available to readers!

These twenty tales feature the trickster Coyote, who, through a series of painful episodes (each with a separate moral), begins to learn about the consequences of his actions. Many of the selections were quite humorous, and I enjoyed reading them. Unfortunately, although I was thrilled to discover this hitherto unknown Aztec branch of the Aesopic tree, and found Bierhorst's text itself engaging, the illustrations by Wendy Watson were less appealing. Somehow, her modern-day Coyote just didn't match the tales - perhaps because I was hoping for something a little more "Aztec" in style?

Whatever the case may be, anyone interested in the transmission of folklore should seek out this selection, and then... Demand a complete translation! I know I want to read one! ( )