I Am the Thirsty Desert

"…informative, effective, and poetic introduction to a desert's beauty and complexity." Kirkus Reviews

7-12 years old

Award-winning science writer Darcy Pattison presents a superbloom from the desert's point-of-view.

When a sudden downpour, a monsoon, falls in the desert, plants and animals explode with growth. Plants sprout, bloom, produce seeds and die within a couple days. Likewise, in a week, animals hatch, grow, mate, lay eggs, and return to hibernation or estivation.

Strong lyrical text takes on the persona of the desert as it watches seeds it has cradled become flowering plants.

"…I'm flooded with redbluegreenyelloworangepurple

and buzzing with life—

gorgeous, outrageous,

frail LIFE!"

The natural life cycles of the desert depend on rain. Explore this fascinating environment during one of its most spectacular displays of life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Darcy Pattison writes award-winning fiction and non-fiction books for children. Five books have received starred PW, Kirkus, or BCCB

reviews. Awards include the Irma Black Honor award, five NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books, two Eureka! Nonfiction Honor book, two Junior Library Guild selections, two NCTE Notable Children's Book in Language Arts, a Notable Social Studies Trade Book, an Arkansiana Award, and the Susannah DeBlack Arkansas Children's History Book award. She's the 2007 recipient of the Arkansas Governor's Arts Award for Individual Artist for her work in children's literature. Her books have been translated into ten languages.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR - Jordan Kim is a mixed media collage artist who specialized in creating beautiful, unconventional collages using paper. An ecologist, she uses her art to explain the world and help conservation efforts. This is her debut picture book.