ABSTRACT
Thomas King's Coyote picture-book tetralogy for children includes A Coyote Columbus Story, Coyote Sings to the Moon, Coyote's New Suit and A Coyote Solstice Tale. They are madcap yarns that fuse contemporary lifestyles with ancient narratives about a creator of the world whose lust for fun continually threatens the world she/he created. These complex narratives are energized by attitudes around play and game, and they address complex child users and complex adult users who know exactly why Coyote wants to play, but also recognize the consequences of her play. King's godgame narratives for children engage in narrative play to explore the limits of responsibility while mirroring the excesses of consumer frenzy. King's picture-book tetralogy achieves playfulness partly by depicting games and play events within the narrative. King's books in their language and images construct play and game to be compelling transformational practices with utopian potential.
