Cactus Cafe: A Story of the Sonoran Desert [Hardcover]

Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld (Author), Paul Mirocha (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1997 | Age Level: 4 and up

Describes the activities of various animals living in the Sonoran Desert and their dependence on the saguaro cactus for sustenance.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4. The great saguaro cactus stands tall and majestic in the Sonoran desert as the relentless sun "hammers the dry soil, making the air above it shimmer." As evening brings relief, "the full moon cools the desert with its silvery light, and the saguaros begin to open their brilliant white flowers to the stars." The cactus welcomes its array of regular nocturnal visitors. First to be lured are the bats. The great horned owl is on the prowl above, while the kangaroo rat nervously escapes capture and outwits a hungry kit fox on the ground below. Noisy javelinas arrive, nipping off cactus seedlings. The desert is alive with the sights and sounds of night until the saguaro's white flowers begin to close with the first glimpse of morning's light. Pollination has allowed the saguaro seed to form. The ruby-red fruits to follow will delight the Gila woodpecker, the white-winged doves and the curved-bill thrashers. The fascination of desert life is expertly depicted with poetic narration and authentic illustrations. The audio accompaniment intensifies and personalizes the drama of this fragile habitat. A map marking the Sonoran desert and an encyclopedic article replete with statistics offer even more information for young researchers. The glossary deserves specific mention; each desert plant and animal is named and illustrated. The two-page spread opens further to a four-page colorful mural of the desert where students may locate and identify each plant and animal. No elementary library should be without this significant resource in its collection. Cactus Cafe will educate and delight youngsters.?Patricia Mahoney Brown, Franklin Elementary School, Kenmore, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Growing up on a two-hundred-year-old farm in the Catskill Mountain State Park fostered Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld's passion for observing, reading, and writing about nature in all its forms. With a bachelor's degree from Mount Holyoke College with a master's degree in English from the University of Michigan, Ms. Zoehfeld has been an ediotr of children's books for over ten years, concentrating on children's non-fiction. She has also written Seal Pup Grows Up and Dolphin's First Day for the Smithsonian Oceanic Colleciton, and Fawn at Woodland Way for Smithsonian's Backyard. She lives in Norwalk, Connecticut with her husband, Robert, and son, Geoffrey. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 36 pages
• Publisher: Soundprints; Book & Cassette edition (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568994273
• ISBN-13: 978-1568994277
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 10.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,831,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld is the award-winning author of more than sixty books for children, including DINOSAUR TRACKS, "a great choice for even the most discriminating dinophiles" (School Library Journal); DID DINOSAURS HAVE FEATHERS?, a Children's Book of the Month Club selection, described as "fascinating" by Kirkus Reviews; and DINOSAURS BIG AND SMALL, a 2003 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Book Award winner.

When she's not reading, researching, writing, or editing, Kathleen loves to spend her free time exploring, doing fieldwork, and preparing fossils for her local natural history museums.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read and a lot to learn, September 24, 2001

By 

Elizabeth "vegie5" (Chevy Chase, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cactus Cafe: A Story of the Sonoran Desert - a Wild Habitats Book (Paperback)

My son read this aloud to our extended family of 9 on a summer driving trip to the desert. Everyone enjoyed the book, and there were things for us all to learn. Great pictures for the younger kids, too.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book about the desert, March 4, 2010

By 

Digger (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cactus Cafe: A Story of the Sonoran Desert - a Wild Habitats Book (Paperback)

We bought this on vacation in Arizona 2 years ago and my son still loves to read it. It has an educational text and the illustrations are excellent as well. This explains the life cycle and importance of a sugaro cactus in the Sonoran Desert in an interesting and entertaining way.