Dig, Wait, Listen: A Desert Toad's Tale

Book Review:

Dig, Wait, Listen: A Desert Toad's Tale is a story about a spadefoot toad waiting in her burrow deep in the desert sand. She is waiting for the sounds of the monsoon rain so she can emerge from underground. As she waits, she hears sounds of a scorpion skittering, javelinas hooves hammering, a woodpecker's beak pecking, a rattlesnake rattling, and other desert creatures that pass over the toads burrow. The toad waits patiently through all the confusion. Alas, the rain sounds of plip, plop, thunk signals the spadefoot toad to dig and emerge out of her burrow. The reader is taken on a journey through the spadefoot toad's mission to reproduce. The desert monsoons fade away as quickly as they came and the desert will soon be dry again. The cycle repeats itself as the spadefoot toads dig down deep to wait and listen. They will be listening for the next marvelous sounds of the desert rain.

The illustrations of the animals are colorful and descriptive. Each page contains a different desert animal that depicts what the real animal resembles. The words are all written in English containing many forms of alliteration and onomatopoeia to display the noises the desert animals make. The author presents facts in the end of the book on every desert animal that is mentioned in order to teach the reader more about the animals that inhabit the Southwest.

The book includes a glossary and pronunciation guide. An author's note explains that, except for the tumbleweed, all the plants and animals in the book are native to the Sonoran Desert. The book integrates well into the science curriculum as it provides an appealing early literacy experience.

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