The play, Coyote’s Christmas Carol, is now an illustrated children’s book.
This is a Christmas Carol that Latino and Native American children can really relate to. A truly American Christmas story. I hear from teachers all the time telling me how their students respond enthusiastically to the story because they have prior knowledge of the holiday traditions. Often, it becomes a teachable moment where the the young Latino students can teach the teacher about their culture.
Charles Dickens classic story is so wonderful to read during the holidays, but rather than always having to think about merry old England, why not explore the themes of greed, charity, and redemption with a successful Mexican Scrooge who is taken on his journeys by Coyote (the trickster,) Mariposa (monarch butterfly,) Venado (a blue deer,) and La Llorona (an infamous ghost figure.)
The character Mariposa explains that all monarch butterflies (in North America) migrate to Michoacan, Mexico to spend the winter. This is an opportunity to discuss migration, insects, etc.
Coyote's Christmas Carol 