Interview with the author

Why did you create these books and what do you hope readers will take away from them?

Some 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 animals in their environments while providing information about them that would intrigue children. Following the success of the two Sonoran desert-themed books, I created a book abouth The Sea of Cortez which follows the same format as the others.

I would like children to become appreciative of the variety of animals that live in both The Sonoran Desert and The Sea of Cortez and how they survive with others in these environments. The short subject/verb rhymes can be memorized by young children and the factual information and worksheets will interest more accomplished readers. The "photographs" on each page are meant to be animal identifiers with the background ilustrations highlighting a particular feature about the creatures. My hope is that; 

1)early readers will see that written words have meanings and that the 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 them!