Review by Booklist Review
In short, spare verse, Elliott reflects the harshness and beauty of the desert, with each entry appearing on its own spread and relating to one kind of animal. The compositions are by turns dreamy ("Above his sandy head / the desert stars / are glistening, / glistening"), thought provoking ("Red of face / and black of wing / you descend // and we recall / that everything / must have its end"), and funny (the poem "The Desert Hedgehog" has two lines: "Yikes! / Spikes!"). All are presented on beautiful full-spread gouache and acrylic illustrations in rocky and sandy shades with splashes of blue and purple skies. Readers are likely to learn about animals that are new to them while enjoying the verse descriptions of the creatures' habits and surroundings; they can also use this work for report inspiration (aided by the closing list of animals covered) and to learn about poetry conventions. But mostly this will be enjoyable for independent leisure reading and makes a solid additional choice for school and public library collections.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Fifteen poems from Elliott spotlight Saharan desert fauna in this evocative, place-rooted collection. Employing a range of poetic styles, spare but effective second-person lines pay tribute to the creaturely essences of the fennec fox, deathstalker scorpion, Anubis baboon, and many others. "You are spotted," read the double-edged opening and closing lines of a piece about a Saharan cheetah stalking prey. Other carefully composed verses incorporate rhymes: "Yikes!/ Spikes!" is the entirety of a telling two-liner about the desert hedgehog. Wright's digitally finished, warm-toned gouache and acrylic paintings take full advantage of the spreads. On one, an ostrich's behind fills the verso with feathers, while its long pink neck peeks over the top of the recto to gaze at a nest. Notes about featured subjects conclude. Ages 3--7. (Mar.)
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Review by Horn Book Review
In fifteen verses, Elliott celebrates creatures who inhabit the Sahara Desert -- and, in one introductory poem, the desert itself. As always in this winning series (see At the Poles, rev. 9/23, and eight other titles), the poems are an enticing mix of the evocative and the witty, with haunting language characterizing some poems and light wordplay others. Many use an engaging direct address: for instance, for the desert horned viper, "Why do / they call / this place / the Land / of Fear? / Perhaps / because / they know / that you / are here." Wright employs a desert-appropriate palette, with warm browns and light oranges and greens dominating the mixed-media illustrations. The animals are often shown looking out at the reader, enhancing the book's arresting effect. Appended with extremely useful and illuminating "Notes about the Sahara Desert and the Animals"; the information that dung beetles navigate by the Milky Way is particularly "cool." Martha V. ParravanoMarch/April 2025 p.91 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A gallery of distinctive Saharan wildlife, paired with short poems and nature notes. "The addax / is xeric / and also / the oryx. / It means / they live / in the desert, / of couryx." Elliott's latest set of nature verses, as pithy and playful as ever, offer observations on creatures from quick-stepping Saharan silver ants to a soaring Nubian vulture. Closing factual notes expand on them in a similar vein: Anubis baboons communicate "by smacking their lips, sticking out their tongues, grinding their teeth, and even yawning. Why not try some of that at the dinner table tonight? If anyone objects, simply explain that you are speaking baboon." Said baboons may cluster around a water hole in the illustrations, and the Nile crocodile in an even wetter locale, but for the most part, the landscapes in which Wright poses his animal cast are evocatively sandy, rocky, and decorated with at-best sparse wisps of vegetation. Still, despite the vulture's message "that everything / must have its end," readers will come away with a stronger impression that the desert, empty as it may look at first glance, is really rich in living things. Refreshing reminders that there is bustling life even in hostile environments.(Picture-book poetry. 6-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
