The Astonishing, Astounding, Amazing Sonoran Desert
Illustrated by Roni Alexander
This book is an entertaining introduction to the Sonoran Desert ecosystem, designed for visitors who want a quick read about the Sonoran Desert and its wildlife. Vibrant full-page color illustrations capture the colors of the desert and behavior of its wildlife. The Sonoran Desert differs from other deserts. Readers learn how having two rainy seasons and more rainfall on average than other deserts have produced a landscape far richer in plant and animal life than is typically found in other deserts. Accounts of 20 species that live in or migrate to the Sonoran Desert are featured with fascinating natural histories that readers might not have heard of before.
Learn about the grasshopper mouse, which is carnivorous and howls at the night sky; the white-winged dove, which migrates to the Sonoran Desert during the hottest time of year to feast on the flowers and fruit of saguaro cacti; and desert termites, without which the Sonoran Desert would be knee-deep in cow dung. These accounts and others show how native plants and animals have adapted to the high temperatures and scarcity of water characteristics of the Sonoran Desert.
The book concludes with a description of the threats to the Sonoran Desert and what citizens can do about them. Learn about the negative impact of invasive species including sunfish and buffelgrass on native species. Open-pit mines and border barriers are some examples of human disturbance that adversely affect plants, animals, and fragile desert soils. Finally, read how climate change, if not addressed, could eventually convert the desert into a wasteland. Acknowledging climate change and actively conserving the desert now is our best hope for protecting this astonishing, astounding, and amazing ecosystem for the future.
Bio
Andrew Smith is a conservation biologist whose work includes the behavioral ecology of mammals, the effects of habitat fragmentation and ecosystem services provided by small mammals. He works in the western United States and on the Tibetan plateau. His research focuses on the pika, a small relative of rabbits. He is involved in global conservation issues.
Praise for this book
'The Astonishing Astounding Amazing Sonoran Desert' is like the desert it reveals. The book is charming and beautifully sparse, yet sufficiently deep to both pique and satisfy one’s curiosity. The authors and illustrator have done a splendid job interpreting this exquisite ecosystem, which needs that love. Threats abound, and all of us can help. The book’s sales benefit the nonprofit group Friends of the Sonoran Desert. The book itself will benefit all who seek to experience and share happiness from nature. Read it with your kids, or your inner kid, and go explore!
Blair Witherington Author of “Florida’s Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber” and “Our Sea Turtles: A Practical Guide for the Atlantic and Gulf, from Canada to Mexico”
A wonderful and superbly illustrated book that touches on the key plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert, focusing on how these marvelous organisms manage to survive in a hostile environment while also encouraging the reader to protect the desert from the many threats it faces.
John Alcock Author of “Sonoran Desert Spring” and “When the Rains Come: A Naturalist’s Year in the Sonoran Desert”
