Silver Medal Winner in the 2011 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards!
Pragamatic Mom-July 2011 Set to nursery rhyme songs like Do Your Ears Hang Low and Baa Baa Black Sheep, the words are transformed to songs about desert creatures. It’s a delightful way to combine non-fiction with singing. My husband and I sang these repeatedly at our little boy’s insistence. It turns out that I’m the only one that knows the tune to Do Your Ears Hang Low … guess all those mommy and me music classes really sank in! In this case, though, I’m singing about the Fennec Fox! This is a diabolically clever concept! I love it! [picture song book, ages 4-9]
Yankee Texan Mom-June 2011 My daughter asked me to read this book to her again and again. We learned about a Fennec Fox to the tune of ”Do Your Ears Hang Low?” and about a Desert Tortoise to the tune of “Baa, Baa Black Sheep”. I enjoy reading to my daughter and this book made it even more fun! Go to review online
Home School Book Review-April 2011 Deep in the Desert is an extremely catchy way to introduce young students to life in the desert. It is amazing to learn how various plants and animals adapt to such harsh conditions and then to see them so brilliantly illustrated by Sherry Neidigh. In the back are six pages of activities such as further information about the desert habitat, desert fun facts, a map to locate the deserts of the world and find the answers to some questions, and matching the desert adaptations. Additional learning activities may be obtained at the publisher’s website, including sheet music for the songs. I have to agree with an observation from the inside front flap that this book makes learning about deserts anything but dry. Go to review online
Feathered Quill Book Reviews-April 2011 The perfect book for the school or homeschool setting to begin a discussion of desert habitats and animals. Go to review online
Story Time Under the Stars-May 2001 I started reading Deep in the Desert together with my eight-year-old son, and at first my two youngest sons had no interest in reading time. Then something caught my five-year-old's attention, and he made his way to the couch. When the three of us tried singing about the Thorny Devil to the melody of Yankee Doodle, my 20-month old became interested as well, and soon I had all three boys dancing around while singing a desert poem about the Thorny Devil. Sherry Neidigh has accomplished something to make the desert life come alive through the pages of Deep in the Desert. Colorful and very detailed illustrations kept my sons asking questions and wanting to see more. Meerkats playing in the desert, the carefully illustrated desert tortoise and the especailly out-of-this world Gila monster kept my kids studying the illustrations, and we had to take many breaks as we were reading. Deep in the Desert is a very entertaining book that taught us all quite a bit about the desert including myself. My oldest was so excited about the rhymes that he wanted to read everything by himself, and that was surely a treat for me. Go to review online
Books 4 Learning-April 2011 Rhonda Lucas Donald has written an entertaining and educational book of poems. Children are exposed to the sound of poetic words, providing opportunities to practice or to teach about rhyme (slant, eye, and true), alliteration, and onomatopoeia. Repetitive phrases and familiar tunes prompt children to participate in reading and reciting after a few exposures to the poems. Donald uses a variety of sentence types—declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory. Adults should point out these marks and teach how they are read differently. Older children can learn their names and functions. Most of the songs blend well with the poetic words. Parents may want to practice briefly before beginning to get the hang of it. I was not familiar with a few of them, but tunes are not difficult to find on the Internet. One of the best parts of Deep in the Desert is the illustrations by Sherry Neidigh. Whether it is a sweeping view of the horizon or an up close picture of small area of ground, her detail and color choices are impeccable. They are an essential element of the overall desert habitat experience. Go to review online
Awards
2009 Tech & Learning award of excellence for Learning.com’s online Aha!Science curriculum
Association of Educational Publishers 2005 Best Educational Publication for Your Big Backyard
Cat Writers’ Association 2000 Best Brochure or Pamphlet for Cats Indoors! educator guide
1997 EdPress Best Newsletter Award for EarthSavers
1996 EdPress Best Sponsored Publication for EarthSavers
1994 recipient of Trudy Farrand/John Strohm Magazine Writing Award for contributions to Ranger Rick
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