Why a Booktrail?
2000s: Two coyote friends must learn how to survive when human development threatens their homes.
Street Shadows
What you need to know before your trail
Pica and Scruff, two young coyotes, are both born in the heart of a large city. Pica has a loving family and lives on a peaceful golf course. Scruff was orphaned at birth and adopted by a mysterious older coyote named Jagger.
Despite their differences, Pica and Scruff meet and become friends. Their friendship is put to the test, however, when Scruff learns that Pica’s family may have been involved in the death of his own family. The fragile peace is further disrupted when construction begins, demolishing the place Scruff and Jagger live. And then Scruff discovers that there is a lot he
doesn’t know about Jagger, the only parent he’s ever known. Scruff must decide who to trust in order to survive and find a new place to call home.
Travel Guide
Explore the Canadian wilderness where the Coyotes live
Claire Gilchrist is a writer, teacher, and coyote lover. She grew to love coyotes through her work with the Stanley Park Ecological Society in Vancouver, B.C., where she educated residents about co-existing with coyotes.
Coyotes
“In the beginning, all she knew was warmth and milk. Furry bodies curled around each other, squirming and straining to find the warm, sweet liquid. Everything was dark. A large, rough tongue bathed her, soothing her rising panic at being out in the world on her own. A cocoon of warm dirt protected her.
As time passed, she became more aware of where her body ended and the others began. There were three others there ― others like her. When she rolled onto them, they pushed back. They wriggled around, fighting to get closer to their mother, who was not impressed. She growled at them from time to time and nipped them sharply when they bit her by accident or stepped on her tail. After a few moments of this tumbling, they would all collapse from exhaustion and lie together, listening to the sound of their breath and their mother’s heartbeat.
More time passed, and she became aware of other adults besides her mother. A large female would pop her head into the den, woofing softly. Then her mother would leave for a while, and the new female would take her place, licking and soothing the pups just like a mother. She didn’t have milk, but the pups kept looking and getting nipped for their efforts. They smelled a third adult too, a male, but he didn’t enter the den. They could hear his soft paws circling around the entrance, and his gentle woofing greetings. “
BookTrail Boarding Pass: Street Shadows
Destination: Vancouver Author/guide: Claire Gilchrist Departure Time: 2000s
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