Ken Buchanan (1)

This is a simple story of a family living in the desert in southern Arizona close to the Mexican border. The story describes how the family built a house of mud, and how their daily lives intermingle with the environment around them. One part of the story talks about how the home has many friend and visitors who live in and around the family’s home, and no matter how big or small, they are all welcome. The story also describes the scenic views of the beautiful desert. Each page is also show more translated into Spanish.

I love that the book is completely translated into Spanish right on the same page as the English words. The story is simple but I really love how it gets right to the point of how beautiful desert living is. The illustrations provide a beautiful view of the subject matter. All of the illustrations were done in water color.

An obvious use of this book would be in working with Spanish speaking English learners. This book provides instant translation and would help them to make connections between words. Another extension idea would be to introduce this book in a lesson on desert living and the different cultures that live in desserts. show less

This is a very pretty book. It tells of an adobe house and the family that lives there. The illustrations are of the Sonoran desert. The house looks like a Navajo Hogan, but the book is not specific about it. It would be a good book to give to children who do not live in the desert to give them an idea of what it is like.

This was a cute bilingual book about the southwest. I️ enjoyed using in my southwest story box.

Personal Response:

This book is a reminder of the simple things in life - home, family, and love. I felt very peaceful as I read it and enjoyed the beautiful pictures.