Way Out in the Desert

This toe-tapping text will have you singing along with the lovable creatures of the desert in no time! Filled with vibrant illustrations of many of the charming plants and animals that call the Sonoran Desert home, Way Out in the Desert is a wonderful teaching tool that takes you on a trip down memory lane. If you remember singing Over in the Meadow as a child, now you can give your children their own memories of this timeless tune. So take a child on a trip where Way out in the desert having fun in the sun lived a mother horned toad and her little toady one..

PreSchool-Grade 2AA delightful take-off on "Over in the Meadow." Marsh and Ward replace the familiar pond animals with the horned toads, hummingbirds, javelinas, jackrabbits, and roadrunners of the Sonoran Desert. Spengler's joyous, humor-filled drawings at times border on cartoons. Even rattlers and Gila monsters look appealing. To further interest children, the number of creatures mentioned in each double-page spread is hidden somewhere in the illustration. A glossary of plants and animals complete with pictures and pronunciations are appended. Way Out in the Desert is sure to make young readers and listeners want to know more about that desolate, but beautiful place. Absolutely delightful.AMollie Bynum, formerly at Chester Valley Elementary School, Anchorage, AK
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Marsh and Ward's quick tour of the Sonoran Desert introduces readers to both local fauna (such as the horned toad, javelinas, tarantulas, Gila monsters, roadrunners, and scorpions) and flora (palo verde, ocotillo, saguaro, and prickly pear). Their observations are set to the rhythms of ``Over in the Meadow,'' for this is also a counting book: ``Way out in the desert where the wildflowers grew/lived a mother hummingbird and her little hummers two.'' Spengler has hidden each of the numbers in his full-page illustrations, which transport readers right into the thick of the environment and provide a better sense than the text of the animals and plants of this habitat. A glossary at the end of the book provides a more detailed account of the creatures. (Picture book. 3-7) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.