ALA Booklist (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2007)

From the Sills' About Habitats series, this handsome book introduces deserts. On each right-hand page is a large painting illustrating plants, animals, or both in a specific desert landscape. Some of the paintings focus on particular plants or animals, while others show broad landscapes, but all are well composed, delicately colored, and sensitively lit. Each left-hand page identifies the locale and featured flora or fauna on the right and carries a brief line of text commenting on deserts, their characteristics, and their inhabitants. Facing the title page, a helpful map shows the locations of major deserts around the world and indicates those referred to in the book. The afterword repeats each of the 17 color plates in miniature, accompanied by a paragraph of related information. A glossary and short lists of books and Web sites are appended. Accessible to very young children as well as older students, this is an appealing introduction to the subject.

Horn Book (Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2007)

Full-page paintings of desert scenes from around the world introduce this habitat and its inhabitants to young readers. A simple sentence on each facing page offers minimal information: e.g., "Deserts are dry places that get very little rain." The text doesn't provide much information; more facts about the illustrations are included at the back of the book. Website. Bib., glos.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-This first entry in a new nature series explores the characteristics, flora, and fauna of desert habitats. Brief, easy-to-comprehend sentences ("Deserts are dry places that get very little rain") are paired with realistic full-page illustrations depicting these arid landscapes. The location and names of featured plants and/or animals are listed for each plate. Alternating between broader viewpoints and close-ups, the artwork captures the character and terrain of each region, while unexpected spots of color-a collared lizard's bright neckband, yellow blooms on a prickly pear cactus, green date palm trees surrounding an oasis-add interest and variety. An outline map displays the world's deserts and identifies those highlighted in the book. While the Southwestern United States gets much attention (Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan), Sill also mentions attributes unique to the snow-covered Great Basin Desert, the Arabian Desert, and the Sahara. A six-page afterword presents small reproductions of the plates along with more details about each locale. A great choice for beginning readers and for sharing aloud, this elegant blend of clearly presented facts and starkly beautiful paintings makes an informative introduction to a harsh environment and the adaptations made by the plants and animals that live there.-Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.