A Coyote's in the House

by Elmore Leonard

Antwan is a coyote, living in the Hollywood Hills, who loves life on the wild side - running free in the woods with the wind in his fur, hanging with his gang the Diablos, grooming the pack for ticks and fleas and chasing anything that moves and might be edible. There's just one thing a wild dog's got to do - and that's keep away from humans. But then he meets Buddy. Buddy is a retired movie star (canine), who since he retired has lost his sparkle. He also happens to share a house with a very tasty poodle called Miss Betty. Antwan thinks it would be good for Buddy to try life on the wild side - so they decide to swap. But first, Antwan has to try life in the clean, shampooed, tinned-food and 'walkies' world of pampered domestic pooches which doesn't come naturally to a wild dog like him.

Genres: Fiction, Animals, Dogs, Childrens, Middle Grade, Adventure, Fantasy

Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Elmore John Leonard lived in Dallas, Oklahoma City and Memphis before settling in Detroit in 1935. After serving in the navy, he studied English literature at the University of Detroit where he entered a short story competition. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.

Father of Peter Leonard.

Reviews

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Coyote's in the House (CD) by Elmore Leonard.

This is a short but so enjoyable juvenile story performed by Neil Patrick Harris. Listening to the communication between household pets and an outsider. Tamed-untamed...you be the judge.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a children’s book, this one’s quite deep. We would often think that children’s books have simple stories but this particular cute orange book about a coyote, dogs, a cat and a crow is different. It’s just the second time that I've read a children’s book that I’m not sure if it’s really a children’s book. The story is simple but has depth. The character and plot development was simply narrated but you’ll see that it’s reaching peak. The pacing of this book is fast yet you can grasp all the messages it aims to present. For kids reading this book, they’ll take the book as it is but for an adult like me, I felt the critical points the book wants to offer. Read this book and you’ll see how to treat things differently. Like how I treated this children’s book as an adult. I want to spoil but I won't! This is a cute book!

[Ruhama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Antwan has decided he’d like to live it up for a while. Right now, he lives on the outskirts of Hollywood, enjoying life vicariously, but now he’s putting a plan into action to get into a house to stay for a while. He chooses Buddy to be his pal and ticket inside, and as a bonus, he finds that Miss Betty likes him, too. Buddy isn’t convinced he can convert Antwan for the rest of the family, but they give it a try, and Antwan becomes Timmy for two weeks. While he’s living in Buddy and Miss Betty’s house, Antwan learns that Buddy (an old movie star) is starting to feel sorry for himself, and Miss Betty would like to help him get over his blues. Antwan agrees to help, and they stage a rescue. The ploy works, and Buddy gets noticed by a screen writer, and is asked to come back to film.

This story is interesting because Antwan is a coyote and Buddy and Miss Betty are dogs. Leonard has used some stereotypes with his characterizations (Buddy is definitely a white aristocrat, Antwan sounds like a brother on the streets), but they help the story move along, rather than cause too much hindrance. It’s much more obvious on the book on CD (which I listened to), and Neil Patrick Harris is very consistent and does a good job. The book has illustrations at the beginning of each chapter, and again, they help to round out the story, rather than detract. Overall, this is a good story; a twist on Hollywood that isn’t used often. The ending is ambiguous, leaving readers to wonder what really happens to Antwan. Note: Leonard uses the term “bitch” a lot to refer to the female dogs.

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, and thought it was a very fun middle reader (3rd - 6th?). Unfortunately, Leonard calls the female dogs bitches about 4 times in the first chapter, and I know some parents who will be upset with this in my elementary school library. Darn it! I don't have a problem with the word (it's the real meaning, after all) but I dread the conversations this will require. Besides this, the story moves along quickly and has a quirky dialogue that some of my advanced readers will love. Reading other reviews, I will now buy Neil Patrick Harris' audio version. I can see how this would be great for a family road trip.

Very fast for reluctant readers, with pictures in the beginning of each chapter.

[Readgina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up at the library. Turns out it was incorrectly labeled as "adult". I've never read anything by Elmore Leonard, just seen some of the films based on his books.
Although this is a kids' book, it's still the Leonard style and the story takes place in the Hollywood Hills.
It's a fun listen and I am enjoying it.

[Zack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a coyote who is learning that dogs and coyotes are very munch alike. I learned that a pointer is a bred hunting dog that sniffs bush and if there is game the dog barks and the animal is scared out and the hunter shoots it POW!! I love loved this book because it show if we look at the good and bad side we will see its true nature.

[wally · Rating 4 out of 5]

begins: here was antwan, living the life of a young coyote up in the hollywood hills, loving it, but careful to keep out of the way of humans."

good story...easy read...onward and upward

[JM · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw this short tale about a coyote who manages to get inside some rich dude's house, and noticed it was written by Elmore Leonard himself I was intrigued by it, and then I read that he'd written it as a children's story for his grandkids, so I decided to read it out of curiosity. I mean, just what does a children's story written by this guy look like? Well, I'm not going to lie. It was pretty good. Fun and funny, without being dumb or condescending.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay story, with a weird cameo by Harry Dean Stanton as a character. More or less the animal kingdom version of "Get Shorty" in a lot of ways.

[Uncle Duke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elmore for all ages! "You think pretending to be someone else is better than being who you are? What you do becomes your life ... and that's who you are." Fun Read.

[Fadhilatul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: A Coyote's in the House
Author: Elmore Leonard
Illustrator: Lauren Child
Genres: Fable, Animals, Children Literature
Paperback, 154 pages
Published by Puffin Books, 2005 (first published in 2004)

Antwan is a coyote, wild as they come. He likes his meat raw, not out of can. He likes hanging with his gang, the Diablos. He does not want to be a pampered pooch. No way!

Budy is a doggy movy star with a taste for fame and luxury. Since he retired, Buddy has been bored with everything (except the delicious poodle Miss Betty).

Buddy wants to try life on the wild side. And he thinks Antwan could certain benefit from some house-training. Can the coolest coyote on the block really learn to be a pet?
***
I always love animal story. And this book offers me the thing that I love, coyote! I've told you that I also love wolf and kind of that like coyote. It's cute by the way, though it's so wild.

Reading Antwan's story makes me laugh most of the time. I bet you'll do the same when you read how the author describes the animals in this story. You'll meet Antwan who's so cool. He tells Ramona, his sister that to be a home doggy is stupid thing. According to him, dogs are not smart at all. They just do what the master say and that's so stupid. Conversely he is in the house to be a pet though!

Well, may Antwan changes his mind after he meets Buddy, the bored doggy. He just puts a pity on him then helps him to change his place in the house. Buddy will be included in a pack and he will be a sweet pet.

Two lovable pets will make you smile more wildly are Miss Betty and Lola. Miss Betty is a beautiful poodle. She is used to be in the shows and wins some trophies. Sometime she sounds so pride of herself, even-thought she doesn't. It's like the following quote:
'Don't hate me because I'm beautiful,' Miss Betty said. 'I can't help it.' (page 62)
Lola is a cute cat. She is as pride as Miss Betty is. But the one thing is she does help Buddy from the wolves hunters.

The story ending is quite surprise me. I don't expect it will be ... arrgh!
Well by the way, quote from Antwan may lead us to think to do good deeds towards animals around us;
Humans were crazy. Some would feed you, some would shoot you for no reason. Yell at coyotes, 'Go back where you came from.' But this was where they came from. They had lived in these hils fo forty thousand years or so. It was their turf. (page 1)
Well, good place for living is not only good for humans but also for animals. God had created this earth for all His creatures, include animals and plants. :)

[David Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Elmore Leonard, the master of crime fiction, the man who wrote such novels as Get Shorty, decides to write a children's book he goes all in. This is a fun story of Antwan, a cool coyote who decides that it might be fun to pose as a dog. With the help of Buddy the movie star German Shepherd and the show dog poodle Miss Betty he tries to assimilate into the lifestyle of a Hollywood pet.

This is a cute story and a lot of fun. I listened to the audiobook version read by Neil Patrick Harris. Harris did an excellent job as a reader. This book is recommended for grades 5-8. You can still enjoy it if you are much older.

[Shelley Pruett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book for someone who enjoys reading from a dog's point of view. The author made it wholly believeable and funny that a wild coyote and a house pet (a famous German shepherd) would want to trade places. The mother in the story has a feeling the animals can talk to each other, and can understand everything we say perfectly well, and in this case, it is true.

This is Elmore Leonard's first children's book, and it was a delightful chapter book, with some cool illustrations. Any adult who reads it will surely enjoy the read, and find themselves thinking of it long after finishing the book.

[Cat. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this on the recommendation of my son, who thought it was good.

It's a YA book that has a coyote moving into the house of a movie star, a dog. The owners of the dog think he's a stray. They also have a show dog who has won loads of awards.

The premise is pretty much that one shouldn't judge others by what one thinks one knows about "other people." Not all coyotes are the same, and neither are all show dogs or "hero dogs." A subtext is that people are remarkably stupid about animals.

A nice story, took me about 2 hours to read it. The illustrations are nice, too.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it a lot. Buddy and Miss Betty meet a coyote named Antwan. Antwan is taught how to be a regular pet dog. I liked it when Buddy pretended to save a cat named Lola. Miss Betty had beautiful poofs and pompoms but they were taken off by the pooch caboose. And then she was a normal dog. This was a very good book.

[joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure I read an advanced copy of this and thought it was ok. But the audio book performed by Neil Patrick Harris was great! His voices made the story come alive. Buddy, the aging German shepherd film star who longs for the old days...Antwan, the truly wily Hollywood Hills coyote with attitude...Lola, the stuck up Persian show cat. Hilarious! Really fun. Loved it.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cute and fun junior read! I enjoy Elmore Leonard's writing and wit, this was a small departure from classic adult Elmore Leonard stories into the genre for junior (younger) readers. While this was a kids book and children may simply enjoy the fun story of four disparate species communicating with each other, I felt the story was much deeper with adult themes.

[Jim Kitzmiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I order a book from ThriftBooks, I usually add a couple of unread Elmore Leonards to get free shipping. I didn't know this was going to be a kids' book, I just saw EL's name and clicked.

I enjoyed it. It's full of life lessons and wise philosophies just like a kids' book should be.

[J.M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, couldn't get into it. I'm going to give it to my nieces since they like dogs.

[Kris McCracken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable little romp from the perspective of a street-wise coyote, skewering Hollywood pomposity and self-importance.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really interesting children's novel. Very different than what I've read before. I got through it in one sitting. It had a deeper message and it was a lot of fun as well, action and emotion packed which was great. The illustrations were nice and I loved the giant red letters at the start of every part. It was very nice all around. It had solid characters who were developed and changed throughout the book even though it was short and it had a commentary on the culture of keeping pets and Hollywood and stardom in general. It was nice to see that in a kids book at it's something that is often hidden from children and it was put into the perspective of animals and show dogs/cats to make it more fun and understandable. Definitely something I would recommend.

[Eduardo Ramos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elmore Leonard doesn´t come to mind as an obvious children books writer and were I not a completist I wouldn´t have bothered. Luckily I am a completelist and I am happy to confirm that, whatever Leonard´s other abilities might have been, writing a bad book wasn´t one of them. Not sure this is a children´s book either, more a zoomorphic transposition of the Leonardian universe, with coyotes on the outcast role and pet cats and dogs in the moneyed classes role. Think The Big Bounce meets The Aristocats. Delightful.

[J.C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. A great young adult book by the best damn crime writer ever. Harry Zimm (Get Shorty) even makes an appearance!

[Christy Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome story by Elmore Leonard. He is a very entertaining and versatile author! This is told through the eyes of the coyote who is tired of being wild and wants to trade places with a spoiled house dog.

[Cj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imaginative, touching. Wonderful, inked illustrations.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute!

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has the same vibes as an Avi book but with more illustrations. Didn't care much for the ending.

[Amy Mair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute. I would put it in my class library except for multiple uses of the word bitch- which, while accurate in context, is not the hill I want to die on as a teacher.

[Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaing yarn riffing on the City Mouse/Country Mouse fable.
However the use of urban slang amongst the coyote didn't work for me; it felt forced and appropriated.

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a testament to Elmore Leonard's skills that this silly novella will almost certainly still be the coolest thing I read all year.