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...” The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library series combines beloved characters, engaging rhymes, and Seussian illustrations to introduce children to non-fiction topics from the real world! Journey through the deserts of the world and learn: how plants and animals have adapted to survive the unforgiving climate why deserts don’t have to be hot what causes us to see mirages and much more! Perfect for story time and for the youngest readers, Why Oh Why Are Deserts Dry? All About Deserts also includes an index, glossary, and suggestions for further learning. Look for more books in the Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library series! Cows Can Moo! Can You? All About Farms Hark! A Shark! All About Sharks If I Ran the Dog Show: All About Dogs Oh Say Can You Say Di-no-saur? All About Dinosaurs On Beyond Bugs! All About Insects One Vote Two Votes I Vote You Vote There’s No Place Like Space: All About Our Solar System Who Hatches the Egg? All About Eggs Wish for a Fish: All About Sea Creatures
This is a compelling, eye-opening portrait of two communities in Philadelphia with drastically different economic resources. Over the course of their10-year investigation, the authors of this important new work came to understand that this disparity between affluence and poverty has created a knowledge gap--far more important than mere achievement scores--with serious implications for students' economic prosperity and social mobility. At the heart of this knowledge gap is the limited ability of students from poor communities to develop information capital. This moving book takes you into the communities in question to meet the students and their families, and by doing so provides powerful insights into the role that literacy can play in giving low-income students a fighting chance. Important reading for a wide audience of educators, policymakers, school reformers, and community activists, Giving Our Children a Fighting Chance: Documents how inequalities begin early and are reinforced by geographic concentration. Compares community libraries to see how print is used in each neighborhood and how children develop as young readers. Looks at patterns that create radical differences in experiences and attitudes toward learning prior to entering school. Explores the function of technology as a tool that exacerbates the divide between affluent students and those with limited access to information. Provides a comprehensive analysis of community literacy, documenting the transformation of media habits from books to computers. Concludes with a look inside schools to answer questions about what schools can do to overcome this complex, unequal playing field. Susan B. Neuman is a professor of Educational Studies at the University of Michigan, and has served as the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.Her books include Changing the Odds for Children at Risk. Donna C. Celano is assistant professor of Communication at La Salle University in Philadelphia. “Giving Our Children a Fighting Chance depicts a stark reality: the enormous and growing divide in literacy and reading skill development between children growing up in poverty and children from the middle and upper classes—and the social and economic ramifications. This book should be required reading, not just for those in the education and policy fields, but for anyone who cares about the lives of children and the health of our society.” —Kyle Zimmer, President and CEO, First Book “‘By walking the streets, riding the buses, and taking the subways,’ Celano and Neuman give us a groundbreaking and sobering look at print and education technology resources in two neighborhoods, one wealthy and one poor. The result is a must-read eye-opener for anyone who cares about equal opportunity. The stuff of learning is essential but insufficient. Only with close teacher, parent, and student-to-student coaching can better print and technology resources make a difference.” —Eugenia Kemble, Executive Director, Albert Shanker Institute “The authors of this text make you CARE about these communities and children. They provide insights about how we must focus on literacy in order to make a real difference in the lives of students. This is one of the most comprehensive analyses to date of community literacy, documenting the transformation of media habits from books to computers.” —Linda B. Gambrell, Distinguished Professor of Education, Clemson University
A Desert Habitat describes one of the world's most fascinating desert habitats: the Sonoran Desert. Discover how animals find food, keep cool, and stay alive.
Nearly one-third of the land area on our planet is classified as arid or desert. Therefore, an understanding of the dynamics of such arid ecosystems is essential to managing those systems in a way that sustains human populations. This second edition of Ecology of Desert Systems provides a clear, extensive guide to the complex interactions involved in these areas. This book details the relationships between abiotic and biotic environments of desert ecosystems, demonstrating to readers how these interactions drive ecological processes. These include plant growth and animal reproductive success, the spatial and temporal distribution of vegetation and animals, and the influence of invasive species and anthropogenic climate change specific to arid systems. Drawing on the extensive experience of its expert authors, Ecology of Desert Systems is an essential guide to arid ecosystems for students looking for an overview of the field, researchers keen to learn how their work fits in to the overall picture, and those involved with environmental management of desert areas. - Highlights the complexity of global desert systems in a clear, concise way - Reviews the most current issues facing researchers in the field, including the spread of invasive species due to globalized trade, the impact of industrial mining, and climate change - Updated and extended to include information on invasive species management, industrial mining impacts, and the current and future role of climate change in desert systems
In this refreshing collection, one of our best writers on desert places, Gary Paul Nabhan, challenges traditional notions of the desert. Beautiful, reflective, and at times humorous, Nabhan’s extended essay also called “The Nature of Desert Nature” reveals the complexity of what a desert is and can be. He passionately writes about what it is like to visit a desert and what living in a desert looks like when viewed through a new frame, turning age-old notions of the desert on their heads. Nabhan invites a prism of voices—friends, colleagues, and advisors from his more than four decades of study of deserts—to bring their own perspectives. Scientists, artists, desert contemplatives, poets, and writers bring the desert into view and investigate why these places compel us to walk through their sands and beneath their cacti and acacia. We observe the spines and spears, stings and songs of the desert anew. Unexpected. Surprising. Enchanting. Like the desert itself, each essay offers renewed vocabulary and thoughtful perceptions. The desert inspires wonder. Attending to history, culture, science, and spirit, The Nature of Desert Nature celebrates the bounty and the significance of desert places. Contributors Thomas M. Antonio Homero Aridjis James Aronson Tessa Bielecki Alberto Búrquez Montijo Francisco Cantú Douglas Christie Paul Dayton Alison Hawthorne Deming Father David Denny Exequiel Ezcurra Thomas Lowe Fleischner Jack Loeffler Ellen McMahon Rubén Martínez Curt Meine Alberto Mellado Moreno Paul Mirocha Gary Paul Nabhan Ray Perotti Larry Stevens Stephen Trimble Octaviana V. Trujillo Benjamin T. Wilder Andy Wilkinson Ofelia Zepeda
Taking a global perspective, this book provides a concise overviewof drylands, including their physical, biological, temporal, andhuman components. Examines the physical systems occurring in desert environments,including climate, hydrology, past and present lakes, weathering,hillslopes, geomorphic surfaces, water as a geomorphic agent, andaeolian processes Offers an accessible introduction to the physical, biological,temporal, and human components of drylands Investigates the nature, environmental requirements, andessential geomorphic roles of plants and animals in this stressfulbiological environment Highlights the impact of human population growth on climate,desertification, water resources, and dust storm activity Includes an examination of surface/atmosphere interactions andthe impact of ENSO events.
Readers will learn about the four major desert biomes, which are hot and dry, semiarid, coastal, and cold deserts. The text will focus on the climate and the very special plants and animals that are found in deserts around the world. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Abdo Kids is a division of ABDO.
Aidan explores the ways in which Nietzsche's warning that 'the desert grows' has been taken up by Heidegger, Derrida and Deleuze in their critiques of modernity, and the desert in literature ranging from T.S Eliot to Don DeLillo; from imperial travel writing to postmodernism; and from the Old Testament to salvagepunk.
