Desert Surprise Series

Emily York, author and Mary Stokrocki, illustrator of the “Desert Surprise Series Books” are artists of the month at the Mountainbrook Village Library in Gold Canyon, AZ.  Original art work for the illustrations for “Sarah’s Desert Surprise” are featured in the display and two books, “Lindsey’s Desert Surprise” and “Sarah’s Desert Surprise” are on display.    

Each month a different artist is displayed in the library and are featured in the Mountainbrook Mountaineer newspaper.

After reading “Sarah’s Desert Surprise“, Sarah was inspired to draw this picture for the web site.

We have added a couple of new pages to our site. They can be found at the top of the screen and links are on the left side of the screen.

The first page Site Links is simply a page of links to all the information on our site.

We are very excited about the second page Visitor Comments. This page contains the various comments we’ve received from YOU when you have visited our site. Thank you for making this a more interactive site and sharing your thoughts with us.

We love hearing from you.

In this second book of the Desert Surprise Series, Sarah and her Grandmother hike in the Superstition Mountain foothills looking for a dancing cactus.  Do they find one?  Read this informative book about the cacti of the Sonoran desert while learning surprising facts about the cacti.  Maybe you will find the dancing cactus that Sarah is looking for.  Have fun looking.

INTRODUCTION

  This Book is written and illustrated to stimulate the child’s imagination and to foster a love of nature.  The child will find many hidden images in the impressionistic illustrations and will learn about the cacti in the Sonoran Desert while enjoying a story about a visit with Grandma.  To personalize the story, Sarah’s name is printed in italics so that any child’s name can be substituted, making the child feel a real part of the story.  At the end of the book are suggested discussion starters.  A page of photographs, taken by the author, is provided for the child to match realistic cacti illustrations with the artistic illustrations in the book.  It is the hope of the author and the illustrator that both the reader and the listener will see the world of nature in a new and exciting way through this second story in the Desert Surprise Series

This book and “Lindsey’s Desert Surprise” can be purchased from EYE Exceptionals, 2851 Century Harbor Dr., Middleton, WI.  53562  See “Buy Lindsey’s Desert Surprise with Pay Pal.”

One of the unique feathers of the Desert Surprise Series books is the discussion questions at the end of each book.    These questions expand the information in each book and help make the reading of the books an interactive experience for both the reader and the listener.

Here are a few of the questions from “Sarah’s Desert Surprise”.

What surprised Sarah about the desert?

What was your biggest surprise?

Can you name the cacti in the illustrations?

Do the illustrations look the same as the photographs of the cactus?

Why do you think the illustrator drew them the way she did?

If your curriculum contains a unit on deserts check out this web site.  The books in the Desert Surprise Series are a unique combination of an easy to read  story for elementary school children and accurate information on desert life.  To make your planning easier each book has discussion questions at the end of the story.  These questions lead into lessons about; the ecology of the desert, the animals that inhabit the desert, the cacti of the desert.

These books can also be used to study art appreciation and artistic techniques.  The illustrator is a Professor of Art Education and her illustrations offer an impressionistic view of the desert.  The series books have discussion questions to encourage the reader to analyze and intemperate the art.  When art classes are being cut from curriculums across the country here is a way to integrate art appreciation into a reading or nature study lesson.  

“Lindsey’s Desert Surprise” has traveled to St. Andrews in New Brunswick, Canada. This is a surprising place for a book about the Sonoran Desert. You may wonder how this happened.

A long time ago when I was in high school before I ever dreamed of writing a book, I took clarinet lessons from Lewis Dalvit. Maestro Lewis Dalvit is the founder and co-artistic director of St. Andrews Arts Council, and the conductor of the Eastern Tennessee Regional Orchestra. We have renewed our association and so I sent a copy of the book to him. He was impressed with my book and took it to St. Andrews where it will be on sale. I think this is a wonderful story of people connecting and reconnecting after many years. Our influence on those around us is amazing. People in beautiful St Andrews will see wildlife of the beautiful Sonoran Desert, as illustrated by Mary Stokrocki, in the children’s’ picture book, “Lindsey’s Desert Surprise.”

Emily York, author of “Lindsey’s Desert Surprise” first book in the Desert Surprise Series.

Visit the St. Andrews Arts Council site  http://www.standrewsartscouncil.nb.ca/

The cover for Sarah’s Desert Surprise shows the prickly pear cactus in full bloom blowing kisses to the wind.

This illustration from Lindsey’s Desert Surprise depicts the dancing cactus she dreams about at the end of the book.

I have returned to Wisconsin until next January.  I will miss our Arizona desert home with the mountain backdrop, the wildlife and the cacti in bloom.

The second book in the Desert Surprise Series is written and ready to be published.  Sarah’s Desert Surprise is about the cacti in the Sonoran Desert.  The book contains beautiful, impressionistic illustrations by Mary Stokrocki.  It also has a reference page with photos I have taken of the various cacti.  Like Lindsey’s Desert Surprise, there are discussion questions at the end of the book.

Watch this site for some pages from both books.

Emily York, author of the Desert Surprise Series.

This deer is enjoying a leisurely dinner.

Why do you think there is such a difference between the painting of the deer and the photograph?

This website is also a blog so please join the conversation and leave a comment.  Scroll to the end of the post and click on the word, comments.  Then just follow the directions.  I would love to hear from you and you will be able to read the other comments.