Virginia Wright-Frierson

Very cool book and a must-see for kids, in my opinion. We follow a natural scientist as she sketches all of the things she observes in the Sonoran Desert. This book really captures all of the life and movement of a place that can seem empty and still. We see marvelous illustrations of both wildlife and plant life inside this particular desert biome. As she is still among the rocks, she sketches what the animals she comes across are doing as well as all of the colors, textures, and patterns she observes. We see a mixed medium of sketches, photos, and collected samples such as feathers and small rocks and seeds. We also see descriptions of all the different kinds of cacti and flowers she comes across. On one page, we see drawn samples of about 40 different patterns she observed in the desert, from a tortoise shell to a coss section of a saguaro cactus. All of the beautifully detailed drawings and descriptions capture such rich immersion of the desert.

This could be a great project for an art class to have kids go out with a paper and pencil and draw what they see around them in their natural habitat and to collect small samples. This is really a very cool inside look at the relationship between natural science and art and a fantastic model for anyone interested in a career in this field.… (mere)

This beautiful book about life in the Sonora Desert in Arizona is written and illustrated in watercolor by Virginia Wright-Frierson, who grew up in this part of the country. For any science class discussing the desert ecosystem or the survival of animals and plants in the desert, this is definitely a great read. The first thing the author does is address the misconception that the desert is simply dry, dusty, hot, and barren. The desert is full of life and vegetation if one has the patience to wait 'for the reveal.'
The author is kind enough to include phonetic spellings adjacent to some new (occasionally difficult) names of animals and vegetation, like ocotillo (ah-ko-TEE-oh) and cholla (CHOY-uh).
I had to laugh when she said she was sketching out in the desert and had to wave her arms to show the vulture circling overhead that she was still alive and it would not be eating her for lunch!
It is a beautiful book about a day in the life of the desert and the author includes a nice variety of plants, animals, landscape, weather, and helpful hints.… (mere)

This book is about a young boy and his sister who only have one week left staying at their island home before summer ends. They decide to take an adventure because they don't want to waste a minute of their final days. They stay out all night painting things they see until the sun rises. They go through the forest and see many different animals and trees. While they are out there, they are taking pictures for a scrapbook. The book does a wonderful job describing what each animal is, what each tree is, what each fossil is, etc. It's a very informational book and teaches kids different things you'd see on an island and how many different kinds of animas, trees, and fossils there are. This would be a great book for a science class and the illustrations are great for them to look at and learn.… (mere)