Desert Baths

All animals bathe to keep their bodies clean and healthy. Humans might use soap and water, but what do animals, especially those living in dry climates, do to keep clean? Darcy Pattison and Kathleen Rietz team up again to explore the desert to find out how snakes, spiders, and birds bathe. This surprising book teaches children about hygiene and how some exciting desert creatures manage to stay clean without the help of soap and water.

"Throughout a day and night, a dozen U.S. desert animals demonstrate that not all animals use water to bathe. This intriguing combination of biology and earth science follows the model of Prairie Storms (2011), by the same pair. Here, while a short text describes an animal’s behavior, the illustrations also reveal the time of day. From the turkey vulture’s early-morning sun bath to the bobcat kitten’s tongue-wash late at night, each creature is shown in its natural habitat in Rietz’s realistic paintings, done with a mix of watercolor and digital effects. As in the previous title, these double-page spreads are framed with unlabeled but relevant border designs. Six pages of backmatter include “fun facts,” an adaptations matching game, a U.S. map, further information about animal cleaning methods and telling time by the sun’s position, and instructions for making a sundial, but no index. The creatures described are fascinating, but the text lacks an explanatory, unifying introduction or conclusion. It is only through careful reading of the backmatter that readers will discover the point of the text—the variety of ways animals get rid of dirt, germs, bugs and parasites—or the orientation of the illustrations (looking north) that demonstrates the time of day. A useful classroom teaching tool; it is also available in Spanish."
Kirkus Reviews

"Children are taught at a very young age that if there’s one thing this ecosystem lacks, it’s water. Pattison uses this as a jumping-off point to explore the hygiene of animals and birds living in the desert. The text is cadenced without rhyming, giving it a soothing feeling. It reads almost like a lullaby, which works well considering most of these desert animals are nocturnal. But this lullaby might spur readers to do additional research, since the facts are fascinating. For instance, in just a few lines of text, the author describes the unusual process the scaled quail goes through to get clean (called “anointing”): it uses an ant. Rietz’s richly colored illustrations are realistic, so readers can get a feel for the desert habitat. One of the most eye-catching details is the patterned frame around each spread. Eagle-eyed viewers will want to spot these textures on other pages. A six-page “For Creative Minds” section includes enrichment activities. This book is a must-have for libraries in desert regions since it is so applicable to many curriculum topics. But even libraries in other areas might consider purchasing it as it will hold children’s interest at many levels."–Susan E. Murray, formerly at Glendale Public Library, AZ
School Library Journal

Author/Illustrator Info:

Darcy Pattison (www.darcypattison.com) is published in eight languages. Recent titles include two nature books for Sylvan Dell, Prairie Storms and Desert Baths (August, 2012). Other recent titles include Wisdom: The Midway Albatross and 11 Ways to Ruin a Photograph. She also authored the ebook, How to Write a Children’s Book and the teacher resource book, Paper Lightning: Prewriting Activities to Spark Creativity and Help Students Write Effectively (Prufrock Press). Darcy is the 2007 recipient of the Arkansas Governor’s Arts Award, Individual Artist Award for her work in children’s literature. As a writing teacher, Darcy is in demand nationwide to teach her Novel Revision Retreat. She is currently the Co-Chair of the Children’s Program for the Arkansas Literary Festival.. For more information about Darcy, view her school visit info, or visit www.prairiestorms.com.

A lifelong artist and lover of nature, Kathleen Rietz was drawing and painting before she learned to write her name. Originally from Peoria, IL, Kathleen received her formal training from the American Academy of Art in Chicago, IL. In addition to illustrating Desert Baths, The Tree That Bear Climbed, Prairie Storms, and Champ’s Story: Dogs Get Cancer Too! for Sylvan Dell, Kathleen’s other books include Conce Tu Parque, Little Black Ant on Park Street, The ABC’s of Yoga for Kids, and Prayers for Children. She taught art to children and adults at the Community School of the Arts at historic Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL, and through a local home school program in her community. For more information about Kathleen, visit her website: http://www.kathleenrietz.com/.