Listen to the Desert/Oye al desierto

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This short picture book highlights common desert animals, as well as the sounds they make. Each phrase is repeated once in English then twice in Spanish. All of the illustrations are in a wonderful style that clearly represents the animals as well as their surroundings. 

This story highlights the Hispanic culture by introducing Spanish at an early age to young children through an easy book with repeating phrases. 

A connecting activity that can be done with this book could be for students to create a book of their own that includes animals from either their area or their culture. Students could use a similar phrase to introduce the animals on their pages. 


This book was reviewed by Kirkus Reviews, an excerpt of the review follows:

A rhythmic, lyrical bilingual chant suggesting the onomatopoeic powers of both tongues. Owl, dove, toad, snake, fish, mice, and rain complete a roster, supplemented by spreads whose pleasingly spare designs feature handsomely stylized figures beneath a mellow sky. A brightly decorative geometric motif runs through the pages to tie it all together. An attractive book for introducing the desert- -and a second language--to young children. (Picture book. 2-7) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Citation: 

Mora, P. (1994). LISTEN TO THE DESERT/OYE AL DESIERTO. Ill. by Francisco X. Mora. New York, NY: Clarion Books.