Are you looking for some Desert children’s books to use in your classroom that include literacy extension ideas? This list may be just what you are looking for!
The Desert is a wonderful theme and is filled with some exciting literacy experiences to explore. You may have had the opportunity to read some of these Desert books already, but hopefully some will be a new adventure for you and your kids. Whether you like or dislike the Desert, try these engaging books and some of the extension activities suggested.
1. Desert Night Desert Day by Anthony D. Fredericks
The desert is an amazing place filled with secrets and surprises. Desert Night Desert Day brings the best of the desert out from the shadows with warm and enticing illustrations for kids to enjoy over and over.
Popular nature author Anthony D. Fredericks and artist Kenneth J. Spengler team up to bring the desert to life with lively verse and colorful illustrations.
Children and adults will have fun looking for the quail hidden in every illustration. The back of the book is packed with excellent information about the fascinating creatures that call the desert home.
Literacy Extensions:
- Desert Literature List
- Classroom Booklet: “All About Desert”
- Desert Counting
- My Desert Story: Student Worksheets
2. The Tortoise and the Jack Rabbit by Susan Lowell
The Tortoise and the Hare with a southwestern flair. Tortoise, living comfortably in her home on Slow Lane, awakens one morning feeling good and challenges cocky Jackrabbit to a race.
Patiently bumping her way through the desert landscape, Tortoise heads for the finish line as Jackrabbit cheerfully skips and sleeps. Roadrunner, Tarantula, Gila Monster and even a Javelina or three cheer them on. Irresistible fun for the young and old alike.
Literacy Extensions:
- “Our Favorite Desert Animals” Classroom Book
- “Desert Counting” Student Booklet
- Venn Diagram Comparing Desert vs Rainforest
- Desert Build a Two Addend Number Sentence
3. Why Oh Why Are Deserts Dry? By Tish Rabe
Laugh and learn with fun facts about desert animals, cacti, sand dunes, and more all told in Dr. Seuss’s beloved rhyming style and starring the Cat in the Hat!
“You may think that deserts are empty and bare, but you’ll be surprised by the things we’ll find there…”
Journey through the deserts of the world and learn how plants and animals have adapted to survive the unforgiving climate and why deserts don’t have to be hot. Learn what causes us to see mirages and much more!
Literacy Extensions:
- Classroom Book: “All About Desert”
- Desert Story Parts Worksheet
- Paper Plate Desert Snake Art Project
- Desert Number & Ten Frame Match Game
4. Cactus Hotel by Brenda Z. Gutberson
It is another hot day in the desert. Birds and other animals scurry about looking for food. When they get tired they stop to rest at a giant cactus. It is their hotel in the desert!
Many different animals live in the cactus hotel. It protects them; and they protect it, by eating the pests that could harm the cactus.
The cactus grows larger and larger and will live for about two hundred years. When one animal moves out, another moves in. There is never a vacancy in the cactus hotel.
Literacy Extensions:
- Desert Literature List
- Desert Story Parts: Student Worksheet
- Desert Roll It! Read It! Short Vowels
- Desert Cactus Art Project
5. How to Survive the Desert by Angela Royston
Many dangers lurk in the desert! Readers will learn about these specific dangers of these sandy expanses. They will learn the valuable skills necessary to survive such a difficult environment
All the dangers are thoroughly covered, and websites are provided for suggested further reading. There are sidebars and fact boxes add to the wealth of knowledge readers gain from the text.
Literacy Extensions:
- “Into the Desert” Classroom Book
- Desert Story Sequencing Student Worksheet
- Desert Snake Art Project
- Desert Add & Subtract Match Game
6. Way Out in the Desert by T. J. Marsh
This toe-tapping text will have you singing along with the lovable creatures of the desert in no time! Filled with vibrant illustrations of many of the charming plants and animals that call the Sonoran Desert home.
Way Out in the Desert is a wonderful teaching tool that takes you on a trip down memory lane. If you remember singing Over in the Meadow as a child, now you can give your children their own memories of this timeless tune. Take a child on a trip where Way out in the desert having fun in the sun lived a mother horned toad and her little toady one.
Literacy Extensions:
- Desert Word Bank
- Desert Literature Retelling Organizer Student Page
- Desert Make a Short Vowel Word Game
- Desert Roll & Cover Math Games
7. Over On a Desert by Marianne Berke
Deserts are full of surprises! An amazing array of animals calls this driest place on Earth their home. Through rhythm and rhyme, children meet a new animal on every page.
They won’t be able to resist getting in on all the action as animal parents teach their babies how to live in this unusual place camels kneel, armadillos dig, dingoes sniff, and jerboas jump.
The cut paper collages capture the subtle beauty of the desert and also hide more animals for young eyes to find. Additional information, a world map, and tips from the author give parents and teachers all they need to make learning fun. One part song, one part story, and one part sheer delight!
Literacy Extensions:
- “Desert Senses” Student Booklet
- Desert Make a Short Vowel Word
- Desert Sight Word Games
- Desert Build 2 Addend Addition Number Sentences
8. A Desert ABC by Blake Hoena
This book introduces the reader to the desert. Each page has photographs and brief text that uses one word relating to deserts for each letter of the alphabet.
It introduces the reader to desert plants, animals, and other things found in a desert by using each letter of the alphabet.
Literacy Extensions:
- “If I Went to the Desert” Classroom Book
- Desert Letter & Sound Match Game
- Desert Build a Word
- Desert Numbers & Ten Frames Math Game
Finally, there are so many Desert children’s books you can choose from. From fiction to nonfiction, the list of Desert books is endless. Remember to pick the books that best fit the needs of your students or children and support your learning activities. Happy Reading!
Find some more literacy and extension activities in my store, The Teaching Scene by Maureen.
To read more blog topics check out my blog, “A Guide to Using Literature-Based Units of Study.”
