Display: Desert Reads

The Night Flower
By Lara Hawthorne

As the summer sets over the desert, creatures gather for a very special event. The saguaro cactus is about to bloom. Join pollinating fruit bats, howling mice, and other animals on their journey to visit the flower in this beautiful nature-inspired story.

Hoot and Howl Across the Desert: Life in the World's Driest Deserts
By Vassiliki Tzomaka

Discover the remarkable plants and animals that live in the world's driest climates -- both hot and cold! With beautifully illustrated landscapes, this book proves just how much life exists in the world's deserts. Travel around the globe and encounter hundreds of rare and little-known plants and animals that thrive in dry environments.

Who Needs a Desert?: A Desert Ecosystem
By Karen Patkau

Describes creatures as well as ecological features and includes fact-filled notes, a useful glossary, and comprehensive mappages.

Joshua Tree National Park
By Jodie Shepherd

Young readers will love exploring Joshua Tree National Park where the oldest rocks are about 1.7 billion years old! They'll also enjoy discovering the park's plants, animals, and other landforms -- all in the pages of this fun and fascinating book.

I've Got Eyes!: Exceptional Eyes of the Animal World
By Julie Murphy

Animals in varied habitats describe unique features of their eyes and how they are adapted for the jungle, the deep ocean, the desert, and even the dark. From bulging eyes to hiding eyes, handlebar eyes to double-decker eyes, young readers will learn about the diversity of the animal world in this nonfiction picture book.

Dig, Wait, Listen: A Desert Toad's Tale
By April Pulley Sayre
Illustrated by Barbara Bash

A spadefoot toad waits under the sand for the rain, hears the sounds of other desert animals, and eventually mates and spawns other toads.

Over on a Desert: Somewhere in the World
By Marianne Collins Berkes

A counting book in rhyme that presents various animals and their offspring that dwell in desert environments around the world, from a mother camel and "her little calf one" to a father fennec fox and "his little kits ten."

Coyote Raid in Cactus Canyon
By Jim Arnosky

Four young coyotes harass the animals in a desert canyon until they run into a rattlesnake.

Survival at 120 Above
By Debbie S. Miller
Illustrated by Jon Van Zyle

Introduces the variety of animals who call the Australian Simpson Desert home and shows how they have adapted to survive extreme temperatures.

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Dragon Run

Dragon Run by Patrick Matthews Scholastic, 2013. 336 pgs. Fantasy Al Pilgrommor is excited for Testing Day, when he will receive his rank, a tattooed number on the back of his neck, and a path forward to his future occupation and life. He feels confident because his parents were fours on a scale of seven, but he is worried for his friend Wisp who doesn't have much of a chance of scoring above a two at best. But when Al is scored a zero, he not only has no prospects, he may lose his life as the dreaded Cullers are unleashed to kill him and his family to purify the land's bloodlines. Al's world is ruled by dragons--the lords and supposed creators of humankind--so he thinks that even if he survives, he will have to make his living as a beggar or thief. But when Al sticks up for his Earther friend in front of Magister Ludi, he is drawn into the struggle of a secret organization hoping to destroy the Cullers, and perhaps the dragons them...

If You Like...KPop Demon Hunters

KPop Demon Hunters has been one of the most talked-about movies of the summer. If you loved this movie as much as I did, you don't want the magic (or the music) to stop. Try reading these books that touch on some of the same topics and themes as the animated hit! Brick Dust and Bones By M. R. Fournet New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Fiction. 247 pages. Orphaned Marius works in the family business--as their cemetery's ghost caretaker. However, Marius also moonlights as a monster hunter in order to earn the costly Mystic currency he needs to bring his mother back from the dead. As the window to bring his mother back begins to close, Marius's exploits get more and more dangerous, and he may have set his sights on a monster too big to handle on his own. Like Mira, Marius longs for familial connection, and his work as a monster hunter will satisfy the thrill of demon hunting for fans the movie. Where's Halmoni? By Julie J. Kim Seattle, WA: Little Bigfoot, 2017. Comics. W...

Review: We're All Gonna Die-Nosaur!

We’re All Gonna Die-nosaur! By Kon Tan New York: Disney Hyperion, 2025. Intermediate. 157 pages. Pterry (the “p” is silent) pterodactyl is a worry wart. Pterry is worried about flying (he doesn’t how to fly yet), dinosaurs going extinct (he had a scary dream), and how to protect his family (he has a little brother who hasn’t fully hatched from an egg yet). Even though there is a lot of feels for Pterry, this is actually quite a funny book. Pterry tries to learn how to fly with kites as his “training wheels” and his brother who is inside an egg is quite the adventurer. This is a funny, heart-felt comic-like intermediate fiction book that will be great for many readers. If kids love dinosaurs, this book is for them. If kids like funny graphic novels, this book is for them. If kids want to read something about facing fears and doing things even though they don’t always want to, this book is for them. Plus, even though Pterry does a lot of things on his own, he still has s...

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