A Day in the Desert
Book Review:
A Day in the Desert is a beautifully told story. Written with
detail and a desire for learning, it demonstrates what a first-grade
class at Robert Taylor Elementary School learned about the Mojave Desert
in Nevada. It tells a story of how animals of the desert spend their
day beginning with the sun rising over the beautiful mountains and the
cactus blooming. The sentences are short and tell about desert animals:
the jackrabbit, the rattlesnake, kangaroo rats, lizards, the woodpeckers
who peck at a tree, and how a roadrunner gets food and water. At the
end of the story, night comes to the desert with the sky changing colors
to the singing of animals.
Not only did the first graders write such an informative story about
the desert, but they also illustrated it themselves. The students' drawings
are as strong as their words. Each page is created with crayon-resistant
watercolor. Vivid color is involved in each drawing along with the creativity
of a first-grader. It is amazing how the reader can see the students'
eagerness to learn through both their words and their drawings.
A Day in the Desert was the 1993 " Kids Are Authors" book. The
Kids Are Authors Competition was established by School Book Fairs in
1986. This contest encourages children not only to read books but to
become involved in the creative process of writing and illustrating
books as well. This competition has prompted thousands of children to
write, design, and illustrate their own books. Willowisp Press publishes
the winner of the yearly competition.
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