This is a story about a divided family, a family affected by divorce, told from the point of view of the child, Cardell.  Cardell had a perfectly good mama and a perfectly good daddy, but they lived on different sides of the desert, and Cardell spent time with both of them.  Cardell was a coyote.  Daddy had remarried and Cardell’s stepmother and stepbrother were fine.  But now a new neighbor, Otis, was coming around and trying to court his mother, and he wasn’t sure that was okay with him.  His mother had chased off other suitors but Otis was different.  After a time, Cardell got to know Otis and found him to be a good guy and good for his mother.  This story takes a difficult situation and makes it easier for kids to understand.  A great read aloud for younger and middle grades.