Discoveries in the Sand
Document Type
Creative Work
Publication Date
4-18-2022
Publication Title
Discoveries in the Sand
Abstract
When faced with issues like climate change which can seem too big to handle, we are often left wondering, what can we even do to help? Education is key for finding solutions. Picture books are a perfect means for educating the next generation because they incorporate lexical and visual components together in an entertaining way for kids. Knowing this, I decided to create a picture book, Discoveries in the Sand, that introduces the audience––children from ages 4 through 8––to the animals of the Mojave Desert. The goal of this book is to increase children’s interest for this desert, and nature as a whole, so that when these children grow up, they will be inclined towards making decisions that promote the well-being of our environment.
In Discoveries in the Sand, readers meet the main character, Nyla, in a state of frustration after she finds out her family’s annual trip will be to the Mojave Desert instead of at the beach. To Nyla, the desert is a barren land filled with tumbleweeds and sand; it is not until her parents give her the task of searching for some of the many animals of this desert, that Nyla realizes how full of life this ecosystem really is. By the end of the trip, she has had a change of heart, and can’t wait to come back again so she can see more of what the Mojave Desert has to offer.
Keywords
mojave desert; umbrella species; desert tortoise; desert; picture book
Disciplines
Book and Paper | Desert Ecology | Illustration | Integrative Biology
Place Name
Mojave Desert
Time Period
Present
File Format
Language
English
Rights
IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Repository Citation
Bourne, K. (2022). Discoveries in the Sand.
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