Children's Story Time

New Books and Old Favorites Aug 2009

This month's Story Times dates are: August 2nd and 16th

Featured Book of the Month:

Cactus Soup

When a troop of soldiers rides into the town of San Miguel during the Mexican Revolution, the people aren't happy to see them. The townspeople hide their food, smear mud on their faces, and put on torn clothes to look poor. But the hungry soldiers charm the townspeople into helping make a soup from water and a cactus thorn.

(j)SB438 .C12 K571 2004

Cactus Soup. Kimmel, Eric A., pictures by Phil Huling. New York : Marshall Cavendish, c2004.

Desert Song. Johnston, Tony. San Francisco : Sierra Club Books for Children, c2000.
As the heat of the Sonoran desert day fades into night, various nocturnal animals, including bats, coyotes, and snakes, venture out to find food.
(j)QH541.5 .D4 J648 2000

The Desert Is My Mother (El Desierto Es Mi Madre). Mora, Pat. Houston, Tex. : Piñata Books, c1994.
A poetic depiction of the desert as the provider of comfort, food, spirit, and life. In English and Spanish.
(j)QH541.5 .D4 M791 1994

The Seed and the Giant Saguaro. Ward, Jennifer. Flagstaff, Ariz. : Rising Moon, 2003.
In this very well told variation on "The House that Jack built," a packrat, carrying fruit from the giant saguaro, is chased by various desert animals and inadvertently helps spread the cactus seed. Includes information on saguaros.
(j)SB438.3 .S14 W213 2003

Cactus Poems. Asch, Frank; photographs and notes by Ted Levin. San Diego, [Calif.] : Harcourt Brace, c1998.
Poems and photographs depict desert ecosystems in North America.
(j)QH541.5 .D4 As23 1998

Alejandro's Gift. Albert, Richard E. San Francisco : Chronicle Books, c1994.
Lonely in his house beside a road in the desert, Alejandro builds an oasis to attract the many animals around him.
(j)QH541.5 .D4 AL14 1994

The Moonflower. Loewer, Peter and Jean Loewer. Atlanta, Ga. : Peachtree, c1997.
A brief look at some of nature's nocturnal behavior including the blooming of the moonflower, how moths drink, how bats "see," and how vines climb includes a glossary and instructions for planting a moonflower.
(j)QK495 .C78 L825 1997

Mr. Carey's Garden. Cutler, Jane. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co., c1996.
All of his neighbors have suggestions for how to get rid of the snails in his garden, but Mr. Carey isn't interested.
(j)SB998 .S7 C976 1996

In My Garden. Cristini, Ermanno and Luigi Puricelli. Saxonville, Mass. : Picture Book Studio, c1981.
Presents a wordless panorama of assorted domestic animals sharing a garden environment with a variety of small wild creatures.
(j)QL59 .C868 1981

Jack's Garden. Cole, Henry. New York : Greenwillow Books, c1995.
Cumulative text and detailed illustrations depict the plants and animals in the garden which Jack plants from seed.
(j)QL59 .C674 1995

A Dandelion's Life. Himmelman, John. New York : Children's Press, c1998.
Text and illustrations follow the life cycle of a dandelion, describing seed germination, growth and flowering, visits by various insects, the dissemination of new seed, and the withering of the flower stalk in winter.
(j)QK495 .C74 T17, H576, 1998

Discovering Nature's Alphabet. Castella, Krystina and Brian Boyl. Berkeley, Calif. : Heyday Books, c2005.
Photographs from nature illustrate the alphabet from A to Z and stimulate us to strengthen our powers of observation.
(j)QH48 .C276 2005