Books with title One Day in the Desert

Mariana is a third grader living in Las Cruces, New Mexico at the northern fringe of the Chihuahuan Desert. One day her class visits Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park to hike to the top of an extinct volcano and see the plant and animal life that is special to this desert. Led by Dr. Whitford, the nature park scientist, the children are challenged to find as many signs of animals living along the trail as they can. Mariana is amazed at all the life around her that was difficult to see at first glance. Adapting to the desert environment, many animals were camouflaged or sought shelter from the sun in burrows. At last atop the volcano, Dr. Whitford tells the children that “This is a great example of an ecosystem that has shifted.” Once grassland, the landscape is now mostly covered in shrubs like creosote bush and mesquite. Suddenly a storm comes up with little warning, and the children rush back to their bus. As the rain subsides the bus driver delivers the unwelcome news that the bus will have to be pulled out of the now muddy road. While waiting for help the children get out of the bus and head for a nearby Playa, a special kind of shallow lake that is formed after a heavy rain. As Mariana wades through the Playa she notices small animals in the water, and scoops one up. Dr. Whitford identifies it as a tadpole shrimp, animals that hatch only when water fills the lakes. At last the bus is pulled out of the mud by a rancher’s tractor, and Mariana returns home to write to her friends about her day in the desert.

Mariana is a third grader living in Las Cruces, New Mexico at the northern fringe of the Chihuahuan Desert. One day her class visits Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park to hike to the top of an extinct volcano and see the plant and animal life that is special to this desert. Led by Dr. Whitford, the nature park scientist, the children are challenged to find as many signs of animals living along the trail as they can. Mariana is amazed at all the life around her that was difficult to see at first glance. Adapting to the desert environment, many animals were camouflaged or sought shelter from the sun in burrows. At last atop the volcano, Dr. Whitford tells the children that “This is a great example of an ecosystem that has shifted.” Once grassland, the landscape is now mostly covered in shrubs like creosote bush and mesquite. Suddenly a storm comes up with little warning, and the children rush back to their bus. As the rain subsides the bus driver delivers the unwelcome news that the bus will have to be pulled out of the now muddy road. While waiting for help the children get out of the bus and head for a nearby Playa, a special kind of shallow lake that is formed after a heavy rain. As Mariana wades through the Playa she notices small animals in the water, and scoops one up. Dr. Whitford identifies it as a tadpole shrimp, animals that hatch only when water fills the lakes. At last the bus is pulled out of the mud by a rancher’s tractor, and Mariana returns home to write to her friends about her day in the desert.

As day breaks in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, a wounded mountain lion limps toward a Papago Indian hut. The lion fears people, but today he is desperately hungry. And he has caught the scent of Birdwing and her mother. Then a loud thunderclap warns Birdwing, the mountain lion, and all the creatures of the desert that danger is near. A flood will soon wash over the land--and some will not survibe it.

"This is truly an exquisite book! story and words combine tocreate a mood that is wonderful, exotic, and magical, and which is memorable. ...The writing is tender, exciting, and dramatically moving. The artist has doe a superb job of capturing the gentled beasts of the desert as they appear in the glow of the fire. Even the shadows appear as warm, sheltering substances rather thanthe means of cold concealment of dangers, and the firelight enhances the magical nature of the entire evening. This is one of those rare books that belongs in all collections, for it will provide many a reader with a truly beautiful experience. It has to be read fully and slowly with time to relish the delicate but dynamic artwork. This is a book you definitely should not miss and every child should have the opportunity to experince its strange beauty. It's a book of haunting joy and wonder, and may be interpeted in a dozen different ways."-Young Readers' Review