A counting book in rhyme presents various desert animals and their children, from a mother horned toad and her little toadie one to a mom tarantula and her little spiders ten. Numerals are hidden in each illustration.
Way Out in the Desert
Primary (ages 6-9)
Material appropriate for primary age groups
Shades of Black
Photographs and poetic text celebrate the beauty and diversity of African American children.
The Seed and the Giant Saguaro
A packrat, carrying fruit from the giant saguaro, is chased by various desert animals and inadvertently helps spread the cactus’s seed. Includes information on saguaros.
Dig, Wait, Listen: A Desert Toad’s Tale
A spadefoot toad waits under the sand for the rain, hears the sounds of other desert animals, and eventually mates and spawns other toads.
Benito’s Sopaipillas/Las sopaipillas de Benito
As they prepare to make the traditional, pillowy bread called sopaipilla, Christina’s grandmother tells about the time her great-grandfather, aided by a scarecrow, brought an end to a drought and, in the process, helped make the first sopaipilla.
City Green
Marcy and Miss Rosa start a campaign to clean up an empty lot and turn it into a community garden.
Chave’s Memories/Los recuerdos de Chave
Chave, a grown woman, recalls her childhood trips from her border home in Brownsville, TX, to her grandparents’ ranch in northern Mexico. Large, bright drawings show young Chave, her brother, and their cousins racing around the ranch, sliding down dirt hills, herding baby goats, riding wooden barrels, and listening to a ranch hand tell stories.
I Can’t Sleep
A wordless story about the activities of a family one night when no one can sleep.
My Tata’s Guitar/La guitarra de mi tata
While sharing stories of their Mexican-American family’s past, a father gives his young son the guitar he received from his own father.
Magda’s Piñata Magic/Magda y la piñata mágica
When Tio Manuel brings home a very special piata for Gabriel’s birthday party, his sister Magda figures out an ingenious way to preserve it and still make the party guests happy.