Watching Desert Wildlife

School Library Journal

Gr 4-7-Although opening comments are made about world deserts, the focus here is on the four U.S. deserts: Great Basin, Sonoran, Mohave, and Chihuahuan. Without explanation, the Arnolds jump from plant to animal, from one desert area, altitude, or region to another. The dictionary definition of ``wildlife'' (birds and animals) has been extended here to include plants. Exposition is generally clear, except for a comment about flash floods, which gets mixed up with ``heavy rain.'' Also, it is questionable whether clear water of a creek is necessarily ``brought by winter storms''; storm water is usually muddy. Some of the photos are lacking captions; others are incorrect. Ada and Frank Graham's The Changing Desert (Scribners, 1981; o.p.) is a much better choice.-George Gleason, Department of English, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield

Mary Harris Veeder

In order to make the title activity, watching wildlife, possible, this book first explains what deserts are and how they work as ecosystems. Readers look at specific animals only after Arnold explains the environment in which the creatures are sustained. Report writers can circumvent the introductory material by simply using the index, but the inclusion of solid background is praiseworthy. The photographs are clear, with a number of them offering wide-angled vistas to catch the overall effect. A glossary is included.