Interview with the author
Why did you create these books and what do you hope readers will take away from them?
A couple of years ago, on a long drive to California, I was taken by the beautiful, but seemingly-barren landscape of the Sonoran Desert. I wondered what kind of creatures could survive in such extreme temperatures with few food and water resources. When I returned home, I felt inspired to paint these scenes and the story just followed.
I would like children to be appreciative of the variety of animals that live in the Sonoran Desert and how they survive together in this environment. The short subject/verb rhymes can be memorized by young children and the factual information will interest more accomplished readers. The "photographs" on each page are meant to be animal identifiers with the background illustrations highlighting a particular feature about the creatures. My hope is; 1) that early readers will see that written words have meanings and that illustrations enhance those meanings, 2) that the simple format informs and instills confidence in the reading proficiency of older readers, and 3) that ALL readers enjoy these books as much as I enjoyed creating it!