Deep in the Desert (Arbordale Collection)

A fun read which teaches children about the desert in an easy-to-remember rhyme. The illustrations are beautiful. My children loved it!

Studying habitats in the second grade and this book was a wonderful addition to our classroom library.

We normally think of a desert as a hot, dry place where humans cannot survive for long, so are there any plants and animals that live in the desert? You bet there are! Author Rhonda Lucas Donald uses several traditional children's songs and poems to tell about different flora and fauna that flourish in the deserts around the world. There are the lesser long nosed bat, the meerkat (Timon of The Lion King), the desert tortoise, the fennec fox with its big ears, the thorny devil (similar to a horned lizard), the gila monster, the ostrich, the Bactrian camel (can you guess one or two humps?), the javelina or collared peccary, the tarkawara (similar to a kangaroo rat), and, of course, the saguaro cactus. Deep in the Desert is an extremely catchy way to introduce young students to life in the desert. It is amazing to learn how various plants and animals adapt to such harsh conditions and then to see them so brilliantly illustrated by Sherry Neidigh. In the back are six pages of activities such as further information about the desert habitat, desert fun facts, a map to locate the deserts of the world and find the answers to some questions, and matching the desert adaptations. Additional learning activities may be obtained at the publisher's website, including sheet music for the songs. I have to agree with an observation from the inside front flap that this book makes learning about deserts anything but dry.

My Review:This is a story about animals in the desert where the author used nursery rhyme songs to tell about the desert habitat and its flora and fauna. For example, Deep in the Desert may be sung to "Down in the Valley" or The Camel with Two Humps may be sung to "The Itsy, Bitsy Spider". Travel the desert and learn about nose bats, desert tortoise, fennec fox, meerkat, thorny devil and many more.Deep in the Desert includes six pages of learning activities about For Creative Minds (go to <...>), The Desert Habitat, Desert Fun Facts, Deserts of the World i.e. a map location of the deserts and Match the plant or animal Adaptations with questions and answers. The illustrations are colorful and show each desert animal in its habitat.Deep in the Desert is a spring 2011 release from Sylvan Dell Publishing.Great for classroom teaching.Disclaimer: As per FTC guidelines, I received a copy of this book from Sylvan Dell Publishing in exchange for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation. All opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone.

Bought it for a school teacher to use to read/sing to her children. I was surprised by how thin and flimsy it was for the cost of the book. Also disappointed in that I didn't recognize many of the tunes to sing to. Otherwise, nice pictures and poetry.