Growing With Science Blog

Category: Deserts (Page 1 of 2)

The Night Flower: #kidlit About Saguaros

October 4, 2019 / / 0 Comments

After writing about saguaro flowers last week, I came across a lovely new children’s book about them, The Night Flower by Lara Hawthorne.

Lara Hawthorne is an illustrator so it is no surprise this book is an incredible visual treat. The first thing you notice is the stunning cover with a bold white saguaro flower standing out against the black background of night. The image above doesn’t do it justice because because many of the details are outlined with a metallic shiny gold. It has a luminescent 3-D effect. Check out the illustrations at her website.

Inside, the book starts with an informational paragraph about the saguaro cactus. From there gentle rhyming text takes the reader on a journey through one day and night in the desert. Along the way readers meet many different animals and learn about the role the saguaro plays in their lives.

You won’t want to skip the fully-illustrated back matter. Hawthorne describes the life cycle of the saguaro and names the parts of the plant. Next she asks “Did you spot…?” In a two page spread she shows the different creatures mentioned in the text, giving more information about each and challenging the reader to go back through the book to find them. She ends with a glossary of the scientific terms she used.

The Night Flower is a beautiful introduction to a unique plant and its habitat. It is perfect to accompany a unit on deserts or plants, or to prepare for a trip to Arizona. Poke around in a copy today!

Related:

See this previous post for hands-on activity suggestions related to saguaro cacti.

For more information, check out our growing list of children’s books about deserts at Science Books for Kids.

Age Range: 3 – 7 years
Publisher: Big Picture Press (March 12, 2019)
ISBN-10: 1536206164
ISBN-13: 978-1536206166

Disclosure:  This book was provided by our local library. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books. Note: this is a new link as of 10/2018.

Desert Science Books and Activities

February 13, 2015 / / 2 Comments

Today we were inspired by two new picture books about deserts and desert animals. See full reviews at our sister blog, Wrapped in Foil.

Get to Know Gila Monsters (Get To Know Reptiles) by Flora Brett is a simple text for beginning readers that helps sort myth from facts about this unique lizard found only in the desert Southwest.

A Day and Night in the Desert (Caroline Arnold’s Habitats) by Caroline Arnold reveals which desert creatures are active during which parts of the day and night. Although it centers on animals and plants found in the Sonoran desert, the book also contains a map showing where deserts are located throughout the world.

Desert Mammals Activity

We often think of cacti and reptiles when we think of deserts, but as A Day and Night in the Desert shows, there are quite a few mammals found in deserts as well.

Some mammals found in deserts:

  • Jackrabbits
  • Coyotes
  • Foxes
  • Ringtails
  • Coatis
  • Skunks
  • Cougars
  • Bobcats
  • Bighorn sheep
  • Javelinas
  • Bats
  • Ground squirrels
  • Mice
  • Packrats
  • Rats

Pick a desert mammal and find out more about it.

ground-squirrel-puffy

This ground squirrel is all puffed up on a cold morning.

For example, is the mammal diurnal or nocturnal? Is it active all year around or does it hibernate for part of the year? What does it eat? What is its life cycle? Does it have any special ways to conserve water in the desert?

javelinaWhat are these javelinas (also called collared peccaries) doing to keep cool?

Create a lapbook, poster, diorama, or report about your findings.

Resources to check:

1. The AZ-Sonora Desert Museum has an extensive list of fact sheets about desert bats as well as fact sheets about other desert animals and plants.

2. Pima Community College in Tucson has online facts about desert mammals

3. Arizona Naturalists has information about Sonora desert mammals

4. Tohono Chul Gardens has a number of desert related handouts on their website. Scroll down to “Fun and Smart Projects for Kids,” and look for links to the Desert Pathfinders Activity Booklet (this link takes you directly to the .pdf), Saguaros, etc.

5. Look for the Desert Habitats activities page on our Growing With Science website.

Looking for a list of more books for kids about desert habitats? Try our growing list at Science Books for Kids.

desert-books-button

Disclosures:  These books were provided by the publisher for review purposes.  I am an affiliate for Amazon, and if you click through the linked titles or ads and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Proceeds will be used to maintain this self-hosted blog.

 

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

 

Desert Food Webs in Action

November 1, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Today for STEM Friday we are featuring Desert Food Webs in Action (Searchlight Books) by Paul Fleisher. desert-food-webs

We often think of the big, flashy animals like the mountain lions and the coyotes when we think of the desert. All the living things in the desert matter though, even the tiny ones. The bigger animals depend on many plants and smaller animals to provide them with food. Decomposers like ants, fungi and bacteria are also important because they help recycle nutrients. This book describes the various desert creatures and how their lives are interrelated via food chains and food webs.

desert-food-web

The producers are plants that gather and store energy from sunlight, like cacti, succulents, wildflowers, shrubs, trees and grasses. They produce food for the other stages.

Primary consumers are animals who depend on plants for food. Examples are insects, birds like hummingbirds, and desert tortoises.

Secondary consumers rely mostly on other animals for food. Spiders and birds that eat a lot of insects are secondary consumers.

Tertiary consumers are carnivores that eat both secondary and primary consumers. Examples are hawks and kingsnakes, a type of snake that eats other snakes.

Not shown in the illustration are scavengers and decomposers. Scavengers feed on dead animals. They are part of nature’s clean up crew. Decomposers break down both animal and plant materials so that plants can use the nutrients again.

javelina

Food webs aren’t always neat and tidy. For example, javelinas are mostly thought of as primary consumers because they eat plant materials like prickly pear fruit and mesquite beans. They are also known to eat lizards, mice and dead birds, which would make them scavengers and secondary consumers, too.

Want to learn more about desert creatures? Desert Food Webs in Action by Paul Fleisher is a good place to start.

When you are ready, why not construct a desert food web of your own?

Where to find out more:

Ages: 8-11
Series: Searchlight Books
Paperback: 40 pages
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group (August 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1467715522
ISBN-13: 978-1467715522

Disclosures: I am an affiliate for Amazon, and if you click through the linked titles or ads and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Proceeds will be used to maintain this self-hosted blog.

 

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

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