Southwest Children's  Literature

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It Rained on the Desert Today

Book Review:

It Rained on the Desert Today is a delightful, poetic treatment of the anticipation of, and the joy in, the summer rains to a parched desert region. The book is written from the perspective of a small desert-dwelling girl who can see, smell, hear and sense the coming deluge to her desert home. We see her joyous reaction and that of other desert dwellers to the coming rain. The sights, sounds, musical contour, and rhythm of the storm are described with poetic imagery. Humanity and all desert dwellers rejoice together in the storm, and we see the uniting power of nature as the storm satisfies the needs of all. The book concludes with the sun setting as humanity, insects and wildlife savor the storm and its life-giving powers. Children are lulled to sleep with the sights, sounds and smells of a sated desert. The water-color illustrations of Libba Tracy are lush, colorful and descriptive, showing the anticipation and joy in desert flora and fauna and the people who abide there. Children will particularly love the pictures of the "mud babies," as we see the smaller children frolic in the mud puddles left by the wonderful storm.

 

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