Nick, the Christmas Coyote, by Tami Johnson, is great for kids ages six to eight. The illustrations capture the somberness of wintry skies yet the vibrancy of Christmas trees and presents. When showing summer scenes, the blues and greens shine on the pages. The main character, a little girl named Candy-jo, radiates friendliness and innocence with her bright eyes, round face, and soft smile.
Candy-jo sits on Santa’s lap and asks for a dog, but Santa tells her that he doesn’t pack live pets in his bag and take them down the chimney. She’s disappointed, though she tells Santa, “Anything you bring me will be just fine.” Early Christmas morning, she hears a puppy whining. She steps outside and finds a “tiny whimpering bundle of fur.” She wakes her family up and shows the puppy to them, but her father investigates and finds out it’s a coyote pup. He does the right thing by calling Game Warden Jones for help. Readers need to note that they shouldn’t take in a wild animal without contacting wildlife rehabilitation first.
Candy-jo has four siblings, though the story narrows in on two and highlights their distinctive traits. Her greedy youngest brother creates a super-long list for Santa. When he doesn’t get everything on his list, he bemoans, “Life is not fair, I do declare. Why did Santa give her a dog and not give me everything on my list?” I do declare might be a little advanced for a kid his age, but he could be mimicking a line from a movie. One picture has him scowling at Candy-jo holding the coyote pup, contrasting Candy-jo’s selflessness.
Meanwhile, her sister is the drama queen of the group, adding humor to the book. She throws a fit for having her sleep interrupted, and when she learns the puppy is a coyote, she screams, “Oh no, what a disgrace. She brought a wild animal into this place,” and pretends to faint.
Even though the pup is a wild animal, Candy-jo names him Nick after Saint Nicholas. Game Warden Jones gives her the job of feeding and caring for Nick until Nick’s older. They will release the pup into the wild. As the month’s pass, Nick becomes like a family pet, playing with her and even dancing with his forepaws held in her hands. But Candy-jo and Jones take him to an animal preserve. Jones slips a tracking collar on him for wardens to see that he’s all right. Candy-jo hugs him and throws a red ball for him before she leaves. She tells him she loves him and to make her proud.
Years later, the family watches a news report. It tells of a three-year-old girl who was lost in the cold, but a coyote with a red ball rescued her. As the story continues, more children are rescued around Christmastime. An illustration shows a full-grown coyote carrying a red ball and leading a girl through the snow. The picture is black-and-white save for the ball, adding a magical aura to the plot.
One curious thing is that it’s been almost five decades since Candy-jo rescued Nick. Nick is still rescuing children at this point. Coyotes in real life don’t live that long, but maybe Nick was a coyote given by Santa, and he has the magic power of aging slowly. One can only speculate.
This is a delightful story, marrying American wildlife with Santa Claus’ magic. A few times, the present tense shifts to past tense, but an editor can fix that. The tale displays the beauty of sacrifice as Candy-jo’s giving up Nick means lost kids are saved from the frozen wilderness. Have a wonderful Christmas as you read this book.
