It's bad enough that Mama died and the bank man stole the family house in Chicago, but now eleven-year-old Sara Constance O'Day is being forced to live on her grandparents' California ranch. Coyote Creek Ranch is as different from the big city as the moon is from the earth. Sara hates the brown emptiness, the heat, the prickles, and the coyotes' howls. She's terrified of the venomous snakes and hungry mountain lions. But mostly she's afraid of facing Mama's death and the feelings she has hidden deep inside. A Kawaiisu Indian girl named Lena, a beautiful butterfly basket, and the wild spirit of Coyote Canyon hold the answer to all of Sara's problems, but only is she will listen to what they have to say. A novel for young people ages eight and up, as well as for their parents and teachers, THE BUTTERFLY BASKET is a story of the healing power of friendship, woven with strands of authentic Native American culture, and filled with the natural beauty of America's Southwest.