In the Desert

With wonder and wit, David Elliott’s poems look beyond the Sahara’s blinding surface to the rich flora and fauna of the world’s largest hot desert, depicted in Gordy Wright’s vibrant illustrations.

The Sahara, covering more than three million square miles, is a harsh and uninviting landscape, inhospitable to most forms of life. But under every rock, in every crevice, and hidden in the growth of the landscape, life persists. From the dangerous deathstalker scorpion and the Nile crocodile to the familiar Saharan cheetah and Nubian vulture, the animals of the Sahara not only survive but thrive. In his iconic and admiring poetry, David Elliott reveals the secrets of barren desert landscapes, featuring animals both familiar and elusive. With comprehensive back matter offering notes on the poems and Gordy Wright’s striking, saturated paintings, In the Desert seeks out the hardy animals who have made the desolate deserts their home.Refreshing reminders that there is bustling life even in hostile environments.
—Kirkus Reviews

In fifteen verses, Elliott celebrates creatures who inhabit the Sahara Desert. As always in this winning series, the poems are an enticing mix of the evocative and the witty, with haunting language characterizing some poems and light wordplay others.
—The Horn Book

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.
—Publishers Weekly

Prolific author Elliott has written eight books of short poems focused on animals dwelling in biomes around the world. . . This well-crafted book is an excellent resource for language arts, animal studies, and geography units. The eye-catching art and wordplay also make this an excellent choice for reading aloud.
—School Library Journal

Elliott reflects the harshness and beauty of the desert. . . The compositions are by turns dreamy, thought provoking, and funny.
—BooklistDavid Elliott is the award-winning author of many books for children, including the New York Times best-selling And Here’s to You!, illustrated by Randy Cecil, as well as On the Farm, In the Wild, In the Sea, all illustrated by Holly Meade; On the Wing, illustrated by Becca Stadtlander; In the Past, illustrated by Matthew Trueman; In the Woods, illustrated by Rob Dunlavey; At the Pond, illustrated by Amy Schimler-Safford; and At the Poles, illustrated by Ellen Rooney, which was a Claudia Lewis Award winner. He is also the author of Baabwaa and Wooliam, illustrated by Melissa Sweet; Nobody’s Perfect, illustrated by Sam Zuppardi; and The Two Tims, illustrated by Gabriel Alborozo. David Elliott lives in Warner, New Hampshire.

Gordy Wright is an artist and illustrator of several books for children on the topics of nature and animals, including Great Barrier Reef by Jessica Stremer, Sharks: A Mighty Bite-y History by Miriam Forster, and more. He lives and works in Glasgow, Scotland.