A Desert Scrapbook: Dawn to Dusk in the Sonoran Desert [Paperback]

Virginia Wright-Frierson (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

In the early morning hours, an artist stirs. Gathering her paints and notebook, she heads into the Arizona Sonoran Desert to explore its treasures. Sketching, painting, and writing, she records all that she sees and as night falls, she spreads out her pictures to make this scrapbook of her day, from dawn to dusk.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6?An artist's readable narrative accompanies her accomplished drawings in this slim, colorful volume. Wright-Frierson invites readers to spend a day in her company, savoring the Sonoran Desert of the American Southwest. She presents a dawn to dusk panorama in a profusion of watercolor sketches and a brief, conversational text. While calling to mind Jennifer Dewey's Night and Day in the Desert (Little, 1991) or Joyce Powzyk's Wallaby Creek (Lothrop, 1985), this artist's sketchbook is intensely personal. Her goal is not scientific depth, though the snippets of information may well entice the intellectually curious to conduct further investigations. Rather, her "scrapbook" serves to give a rich impression of a unique ecological environment: a feel for a landscape of compelling extremes and the creatures who have adapted to meet its unforgiving demands. Admirably done.?Patricia Manning, Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 3^-5, younger for reading aloud. This is a lovely tribute to the Sonoran Desert by an author-illustrator who has spent many hours observing and sketching there. Writing in the first person, Wright-Frierson describes the many sights she has seen on her rambles and includes handsome watercolors of animals, insects, and plants, as well as tinier pieces of the desert's landscape, such as quail eggs, butterfly wings, a prickly pear pad, and even cottontail droppings. The picture-book format makes this accessible to younger children as well as middle-graders who might use it for school reports. Highly evocative and quite beautiful, this will give readers a real sense of the desert and what is hidden just below its expansive surface. Ilene Cooper --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689850557
• ISBN-13: 978-0689850554
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 10.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #738,969 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must For Every Elementary School Classroom, June 23, 2000

By 

Frank Murphy - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Desert Scrapbook: Dawn to Dusk in the Sonoran Desert (Hardcover)

This book is so very full of incredible information about deserts. Amazing illustrations too!Buy it and show your kids! They'll keep coming back to it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for learning about the Sonoran Desert, May 30, 2009

By 

PJ Fred (NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Desert Scrapbook: Dawn to Dusk in the Sonoran Desert (Paperback)

I use this book at school when we are learning about the Sonoran Desert. I love the scrapbook style and the real connections the author makes. I use it to encourage my students to keep a nature journal.

5.0 out of 5 stars So Beautiful!, July 13, 2009

By 

H. Keimig "Library Frequent Flyer" (DC area, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Desert Scrapbook: Dawn to Dusk in the Sonoran Desert (Paperback)

Our family loved this book! Truly beautiful illustrations, really lovely prose text. Teaches about life in the Sonoran desert, yes, but also about how to observe wildlife, how to appreciate the little bits of beauty to be found in so many "scraps" of nature around you everywhere. Introduces the idea of a nature journal and sketching and so forth, too. When our science curriculae calls for it, I will be looking for other books by the same author/illustrator. Don't miss her work!