Coyote and the turtle's dream
By: created by the Native Diabetes Wellness Program ; written by Terry Lofton ; illustrated by Patrick Rolo and Lisa A. Fifield ; based on the original eagle books characters Georgia Perez
Contributors: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (U.S.). Division of Diabetes Translation; Native Diabetes Wellness Program (U.S.); United States. Indian Health Service. Division of Diabetes Treatment and Prevention
Publisher: Dept. of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Diabetes Translation, Native Diabetes Wellness Program; Indian Health Service, Division of Diabetes Treatment and Prevention
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Atlanta, Ga; Washington, D.C
Language: eng
Number of pages: 236
Subjects: Diabetes; Juvenile literature; Food habits; Indians of North America; Food; Health and hygiene; Diabetes Mellitus; Fictional Works; Prevention & control; Food Habits; Health Promotion; North American Indians
Description: "Rain, now a 12-year-old, is visited once again by the eagle, but this time in a dream. As Rain sleeps, Sky Heart, the eagle, sings a song to him that ends with the refrain, 'a boy must help us.' In the song, Sky Heart provides clues about strange vanishings on the Medicine Cave Indian Reservation. Thistle, the rabbit, has suspicions that Coyote is behind the disappearance of fossils from an ancient turtle, the sudden evaporation of water from the reservation's rivers, and the ominous absence of a 7th grader from Thunder Rock Middle School. Searching for the meaning of the dream, Rain seeks the help of Boomer (Thunder Cloud), Simon, and Hummingbird. Unknowingly, the four friends are drawn into the coyote's game and the criminal activities of a dangerous fossil poaching ring. Deep within the gullies of Shell Ridge, an escarpment that borders the bed of an ancient sea, Rain follows Coyote to a mysterious cave where he discovers the origins of the reservation's water and confronts the notorious fossil thief, Vernon Smeed--risking everything to save one that he loves. With his pranks and deceptions, Coyote puts Rain through many tests. The trickster teaches the boy lessons that will last a lifetime, but he, too, learns an important truth--Sky Heart has chosen well. The great bird has entrusted his messages about health and the wisdom of Native knowledge to a remarkable boy whose strength is founded in the steadfastness of friends and love of family."
Notes: "Based on the popularity of the original Eagle Books series, the Native Diabetes Wellness Program (NDWP) is developing a series of novels for middle schoolers in Native communities. The novel, Coyote and the Turtle's Dream, is the first in a series of three books that will include a four-volume graphic novel based on the same story. The book features characters from the original series, but also expands the characters to include family members, teachers, store owners, other residents of a small reservation town, and an elderly box turtle. Adding to the understanding of type 2 diabetes presented in the original books, Coyote and the Turtle's Dream introduces the character of Arianna, a young girl with type 1 diabetes. To encourage readership and healthy choices among middle schoolers, their families and communities, the novels employ entertainment-education (EE) as a communication strategy. Applying EE principles, the books appeal to middle schoolers by using the genres that have proven successful with this audience--adventure, fantasy, and mystery. The stories use relationships and emotion to lend authenticity and context to the character's motivations and behaviors. EE-based storytelling creates believable characters that can serve as effective role models for healthy living. EE promotes problem-solving at community and individual levels, an extremely important ability for an age group that is exploring its own sense of independence and self-efficacy. Added to this formula is the most important EE element, the seamless interweaving of health and educational messaging into the plot. In Coyote and the Turtle's Dream, type 2 diabetes prevention messages about healthy eating, being physically active, and following traditional wisdom become part of the story itself. Moreover, Rain and his friends apply both Native and western science to avert the disruption of the reservation's ecology, an implicit metaphor for maintaining metabolic balance in the human body.

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