Description
The Adventures of Old Man Coyote by Thornton W. Burgess introduces a new character, a new-comer in the forest, and follows his adventures as he meets and befriends the other inhabitants.Burgess was not only a great author of children’s literature, but also a conservationist, his works mixing his knowledge of children and adults with his love and knowledge of the natural world. The Green Forest is full of complex, multi-dimensional characters and the community now gets a new member, Old Man Coyote. He is not instantly accepted; he must undergo a process of adjustment, like anyone joining a well-established circle of friends would. The same goes for the circle of friends, too – Old Man Coyote is friendly at times, but then all of a sudden, he starts chasing his new friends, so it takes time for everyone to figure out how to live together peacefully. Conflicts are, however, beneficial for everyone in the forest – the animals learn how to deal with each other and how to tolerate each other.One of the other stories by Burgess, The Adventures of Danny the Field Mouse presents the story of Old Man Coyote’s arrival from an entirely different perspective – the little mouse perceives the new-comer as evil and dangerous. When the story is told by Coyote himself, the mouse and his family appear as tiny, annoying creatures, so the fables written by Burgess come with a very important message: it takes two to make a relationship work and each of the parties perceives and interprets the other one’s reactions differently. However, there are characters in the book that all participants perceive as hostile. Farmer Brown and his son keep terrorizing the entire forest and this aspect transmits a strange message formulated not so much by Burgess the storyteller as by Burgess the conservationist: human activity can be harmful for the natural environment.
Product ID: 9781776668045
Sku: PL-ACTE-MG9E
