Mountains and Deserts

Children's Literature

There is no denying the beauty of the illustrations in this book. The animals, insects, and plant life of mountain and desert regions are beautifully and realistically depicted. There is a bright four-page foldout for each of the mountain and desert areas. These two larger areas are then divided into smaller regions such as the desert valley and the mountain peaks. The book consists of vibrant pictures of the habitats indigenous to these parts and brief three to four sentence descriptions. Words such as pollination, watercourses, and humus are frequently used. The wonderful illustrations and brief explanations will certainly appeal to younger readers, yet the difficult terminology may be beyond a young reader's comprehension. Although there is a glossary, many of the definitions are equally as complex. Given the difficult subject matter, it seems that simpler explanations would have been more constructive. This book is part of the "Nature Unfolds" series. 2002, Crabtree Publishing,
— Denise Daley