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Desert Animals

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Birds

Around one cactus : owls, bats, and leaping rats by Anthony D. Fredericks.
Nevada City, CA : Dawn Publications, 2003.
A child sees a saguaro cactus by day but there are no animals until after he leaves, when various creatures come out to play and prey. Also includes "field notes" which provide more facts about desert animals.
Desert animals by Christy Steele.
Austin, TX : Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 2002. 48 pages.
Discusses the physical characteristics, behavior, and habitat of various animals that live in the desert biome.
Animal life in the desert by Lynn M. Stone.
Vero Beach, FL : Rourke Publications, 1997. 24 pages.
Describes the lives and interaction of animals and plants in the desert.
Birds by Lynn M. Stone.
Vero Beach, Fla. : Rourke Publications, 1997. 24 pages.
Describes how birds living in the desert adapt to the harsh environment.
Cactus cafe : a story of the Sonoran Desert by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld.
Norwalk, CT : Soundprints, 1997. 27 pages.
Describes the activities of various animals living in the Sonoran Desert and their dependence on the saguaro cactus for sustenance. (Also available in a kit).
The cactus wren and the cholla = El reyezuelo y la cholla by Valerie Chellew García.
Tucson : Hispanic Books Distributors, 1997.
(Text in English and Spanish)
Desert birds by Alice Flanagan.
New York : Children's Press, 1996. 47 pages.
Discusses birds that live in a variety of deserts all over the world, including subtropical deserts, cool-coastal deserts, and polar deserts.
Easy field guide to common desert birds by Richard and Sharon Nelson.
Phoenix, AZ : American Traveler Press, 1996. 30 pages.

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Mammals

C is for coyote : a southwest alphabet book by Andre Helma.
Flagstaff, AZ : Rising Moon, 2002. 30 pages.
An alphabetical journey through the Southwest, showing animals and places from the region.
Saguaro moon : a desert journal written and illustrated by Kristin Joy Pratt-Serafini.
Nevada City, CA : Dawn Publications, 2002. 32 pages.
When her family moves to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, Megan keeps a nature journal in which she describes the desert, the changes that occur throughout the seasons, and how these affect the plant and animal inhabitants.
The Sonoran Desert by day and night by Dot Barlowe.
New York : Dover Publications, 2002.
The great Sonoran Desert in the American Southwest teems with all manner of creatures and plant life. Seemingly asleep during the hot daylight hours (although many animals are astir), the desert awakes with activity after nightfall. This entertaining and educational coloring book abounds with realistically rendered illustrations of wildlife found in this area--from tiny lizards, an antelope jack rabbit and darting road runner, to a desert tortoise chewing on a beavertail cactus and a turkey vulture soaring on updrafts above the desert. Nature lovers will be thrilled with this collection, as will colorists of all ages. Dover Original. 29 plates of black-and-white illustrations and 5 in full color on covers.
Coyote and Badger: Desert Hunters of the Southwest by Bruce Hiscock.
Honesdale, PA. : Boyds Mill Press, 2001.
Since the springtime rains have not come to New Mexico's Chaco Canyon, both Coyote and Badger have a hard time finding food, until they team up together, in a natural history story of desert predators and their struggle for survival.
Little critters of the Southwest by Sarah S. Gustafson.
Tucson : Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, 1999. 16 pages.
Briefly introduces some animals found in the deserts of the American Southwest, such as the javelina, bobcat, and horned lizard.
Watching desert wildlife by Jim Arnosky.
Washington, DC : National Geographic Society, 1998. 32 pages.
Illustrations and text describe some of the animals the author encountered in the deserts of the American Southwest.
Desert babies by Kathy Darling.
New York : Walker & Company, 1997.
Photographs and brief text describe a variety of baby animals, some of whom are endangered, who make their homes in the desert.
Habits of desert animals by Lynn M. Stone.
Vero Beach, Fla. : Rourke Publications, 1997. 24 pages.
Describes the behavior and daily lives of various desert animals, including the jack rabbit, cactus wren, and rattlesnake.
Mammals by Lynn M. Stone.
Vero Beach, FL : Rourke Publications, 1997. 24 pages.
Describes how mammals living in the desert find water and adapt to the harsh environment.
Desert mammals by Elaine Landau.
New York : Children's Press, 1996. 48 pages.

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Reptiles

Journey into the desert by John Brown.
New York : Oxford University Press, 2002. 48 pages.
Words and photographs guide the reader through a visit to the Sonoran Desert, examining the landscape, climate, plants, and animals found in this region of Mexico and the southwestern United States.
Dig, wait, listen : a desert toad's tale by April Pulley Sayre.
New York : Greenwillow Books, 2001.
A spadefoot toad waits under the sand for the rain, hears the sounds of other desert animals, and eventually mates and spawns other toads.
Desert song by Tony Johnston.
San Francisco, CA : Sierra Club Books for Children, 2000.
As the heat of the desert day fades into night, various nocturnal animals, including bats, coyotes, and snakes, venture out to find food.
Looking at animals in hot places by Moira Butterfield.
Austin : Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 2000. 32 pages.
Presents various animals that live in such hot places as deserts, rain forests, and grasslands. Describes how they adapt to their environments.
Look who lives in the desert by Alan Baker.
New York : Peter Bedrick Books, 1999. 29 pages.
A simple introduction to the variety of animals living in the desert, including the puma, rattlesnake, and gila monster.
Crafts for kids who are wild about deserts by Kathy Ross.
Brookfield, Conn. : Millbrook Press, 1998. 48 pages.
Provides instructions for twenty projects, creating such things as a cactus puppet, tortoise treasure keeper, egg carton rattlesnake, oasis stamp licker, sand art necklace, and more.
Animals of the desert by Stephen Savage.
Austin, TX : Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers, 1997. 32 pages.
Describes the desert environment and some of the various birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles that live there.
Desert animals at night by Lynn M. Stone.
Vero Beach, FL : Rourke Publications, 1997. 24 pages.
Describes the behavior of desert animals that are active at night, including bats, owls, foxes, and toads.
Reptiles by Lynn M. Stone.
Vero Beach, FL : Rourke Publications, 1997. 24 pages.
Describes how reptiles living in the desert adapt to the harsh environment.

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Videos

Desert animals: inside out [videorecording]
produced by KUAT-TV in cooperation with the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and the Nature Conservancy, Arizona Chapter. Tucson : KUAT Communications Group, 1999. 1 videocassette (30 min.)
Through the use of fluoroscopy, or moving, live-action x-rays, learn how insects, reptiles, birds and mammals eat, move and function. See how bones and joints work from the inside, and learn how some animals have special traits uniquely adapted to the desert. Also, take a close-up look at the outside of some desert animals. See how a rattlesnake's skin is so tough that it is hard to penetrate, yet designed for a smooth glide across the desert floor. The program uses high-technology to learn more about desert creatures.
How desert creatures survive [videorecording]
produced by KUAT-TV in cooperation with the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and The Nature Conservancy, Arizona Chapter. Tucson : KUAT-TV, 2001. 1 videocassette (30 min.)
The kangaroo rat can live its entire life without even a sip of water. Agave cacti provide their own shade. Desert fish can survive extremely high temperatures and periods of drought. How do these and other living things cope? This program focuses on the many clever and unique survival strategies of desert mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, insects, fish and plants.

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