In the Desert
by David Elliott; illus. by Gordy Wright
Primary    Candlewick    40 pp.
3/25    9781536223385    $18.99

In fifteen verses, Elliott celebrates creatures who inhabit the Sahara Desert—and, in one introductory poem, the desert itself. As always in this winning series (see At the Poles, rev. 9/23, and eight other titles), the poems are an enticing mix of the evocative and the witty, with haunting language characterizing some poems and light wordplay others. Many use an engaging direct address: for instance, for the desert horned viper, “Why do / they call / this place / the Land / of Fear? / Perhaps / because / they know / that you / are here.” Wright employs a desert-appropriate palette, with warm browns and light oranges and greens dominating the mixed-media illustrations. The animals are often shown looking out at the reader, enhancing the book’s arresting effect. Appended with extremely useful and illuminating “Notes about the Sahara Desert and the Animals”; the information that dung beetles navigate by the Milky Way is particularly “cool.”

From the March/April 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.