The Desert Is Theirs

by Byrd Baylor, Peter Parnall (Illustrator)

You may think of the desert as a harsh, dry place where no one would ever want to live -- but think again.
The Desert People know. so do the animals. Both love the land, and "share the feeling of being brothers in the desert, of being desert creatures together."
Byrd Baylor's spare, poetic text and Peter Parnall's striking illustrations lime the sky, stone and sand of the desert in this haunting book.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Poetry, Native American, Animals, Nature, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Byrd Baylor has always lived in the Southwest, mainly in Southern Arizona near the Mexican border. She is at home with the southwestern desert cliffs and mesas, rocks and open skies. She is comforted by desert storms. The Tohono O’odham people, previously known as the Papagos, are her neighbors and close friends. She has focused many of her writings on the region’s landscape, peoples, and values. Through her books of rhythmic prose poetry, written primarily for children, she celebrates the beauty of nature and her own feelings of rapport with it.
Byrd has written many books for children.

Her books have been honored with many prestigious children’s book awards, including the Caldecott Award and the Texas Bluebonnet Award. All of her books are full of the places and the peoples that she knows. She thinks of these books as her own kind of private love songs to the place she calls home.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. I love this book. I love the artwork and the splashes of color. I love the story of the desert and the desert people who choose to live there, the Papago Indians. I love their respect for the land and how animals teach them to live in the desert. This is an amazing book.

Personally, I have never been fond of the desert. I can’t find its beauty. Many people can, but I love the green and the trees and flowers. I like damp earth surrounded by giants with a canopy overhead protecting me from the sun. So, I don’t understand how a people can live in the desert. I might not have that in me, but I got to see their perspective through the poetry of this book. I can see their perspective. I still don’t care to go to the desert.

The artwork is stunning in this book. I love it!

The kids weren’t as into this book as me. They enjoyed seeing the hidden animals in the artwork. The story didn’t enchant them the same way as me. The nephew was interested in some of the animals, but he thought the story was boring and he didn’t care about the artwork. He gave this 2 stars. The niece thought this was an ok story and she did enjoy the artwork. She didn’t want to live in a desert either. She gave this 3 stars.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5

This harkens back to the days of the hippies, flower children, and rainbow family when there was an underlying current that we should all be living closer to the land and that we all have responsibility for the condition of the Earth. I like the message, so I appreciate BB's books. This isn't a story that all kids will love. It's a book to take off the shelf only when the time "feels right."

Papagos try
not to anger
their animal brothers
...
They know
the land belongs
to spider and ant
the same as it does
to people.

They never say,
"This is my land
to do with as I please."
They say,
"We share . . .
we only share."

And they do share.

[Rayona Hart-Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book goes over the desert. It tells about all of the different plants, creatures, and people who live in the desert. The book teaches us how those animals and plants can survive out there, and how they got there in the first place.

This book is great for readers who want to learn about different biomes. It is a very sciencey book, and can be used in a science class as well. The pictures are very beautiful, but the vocabulary may be a little advanced.

[Atlas DeBorde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parents please read this book to your children. It is a beautiful, poetic story about the Desert People and how they care for and love their land. The illustrations are also so beautiful! 😭

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, Byrd Baylor and Peter Parnall have hit a home-run with this book! Using Parnall's simplistic but gorgeous illustrations, Byrd Baylor weaves an expressive story, told in poetical form, about the Pagagos (called the Desert People throughout the book) and the way in which they interact and work with the local flora and fauna of the desert. Each respects the desert and knows their role. As the author still lives in the Arizona desert near the Mexico border, she knows what she is talking about and has probably observed the animals and plants that she discusses in the book. My only complaint is that it was a little too long. This book won a 1976 Caldecott Honor, and rightly so. Recommended for ages 5-10, 4 stars.

[SamZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

1976 Caldecott Honor: favorite illustration: the hawk floating in the wind.
This, like Baylor's previous Caldecott Honor, When Clay Sings, is a series of free verse poems depicting life of the Papagos people of the desert. I enjoyed reading the poetry that highlighted the harmony between the animals and people that inhabit the deserts of North America. I also really enjoyed the way Baylor highlights the fact that while the desert can be tough and unforgiving, it can also be beautiful and wonderful.
The illustrations, I felt, did an excellent job in matching the slow and gentle nature of the poetry, and highlighted the animals mentioned in various verses.

[Robert Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful discovery for me in this book, with vibrant illustrations and well formed verse. This is one of the better Caldecott Honored books I have seen. The pictures, mainly ink line drawings, are brought to life with exciting use of color. In fact, it is the colored illustrations that really bring excitement to this book. It is hard to pick a favorite picture because they are all done so magnificently. I will make a point of looking for more of Baylor & Parnall's collaborations, and I highly recommend that others do the same.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

You may think of the desert as a harsh, dry place where no one would ever want to live -- but think again.
The Desert People know. so do the animals. Both love the land, and "share the feeling of being brothers in the desert, of being desert creatures together."

Byrd Baylor's spare, poetic text and Peter Parnall's striking illustrations lime the sky, stone and sand of the desert in this haunting book.

[Alex Naujokas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very good. I enjoy the fact that it presents a different deographic perspective than most kids are used to: the desert. I also like the fact that it presents a different culture: the Native American culture. It is important for children to learn about different ways of thinking involving cultures and different physical landscapes.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Caldecott Honor picture book about the Desert People of the southwest United States. Readable with good but understated art. This books tries to capture the feel and spirit of the desert. And likely succeeded, but I'm not one much for the desert. So for me it was a miss. But it was still good and more than a little lyrical.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite of Byrd Baylor's books that I have read. The words are lyrical. The thoughts are peaceful. The little story transports us to a calm, beautiful place where the noise of the world doesn't exist. It is perfect to read aloud.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

She writes so powerfully about a subject that is often neglected, the southwestern desert and its inhabitants. The illustrations are certainly different than what people would expect today, but they're beautiful. I mean, after all, they did receive Caldecott Honors.

[Carmen Hartono · Rating 5 out of 5]

The wisdom of the Papago Indians comes alive in this poetic Caldecott honored book. The reader will learn to appreciate the sacredness of life and develop the virtues of sharing, patience, and much more.

[Gabriella Bumbaca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Informational Non-Fiction
Grade Range: 2-3
Review:
If I was teaching a lesson about different climates, this would definitely be a book I would use. It gave details about the desert and even what types of things live in the desert, so the students can learn a lot from it.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

A picture book but with verse and would be difficult to read at storytime. Also 'cause it's a bit long. But great story, different and interesting pictures.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brings out the oneness of nature and human beings, and ways of getting in tune with nature and oneself, that even small children can understand and enjoy.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the rhythm and the artwork and the heart of this book.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parnell is one of my absolute favorite illustrators. The pages and words in this book are breathtaking.

[CreateEveryday Classroom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend any book by this author for child or adult
Always a breath of fresh air and such an inspiration

[Ashley Levasseur · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't care much for this book

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

toeing the line between "picture book" and "art book"; the drawings in this are abstract and spare, beautiful in just the way the desert is.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a complete unknown to me, but I found a list of Caldecott books and have been slowly but surely working my way through them. So what a treat it was to find this unknown title among so many titles. The Desert is Theirs (1975) by Byrd Baylor, with illustrations by Peter Parnall, is a creative book that deals with the desert and the animals and Papagos Natives who reside in what most would consider a desolate landscape. But to the people and creatures who dwell there, it is their home and they live fully off the land and consider the earth their mother. They share between animals and humans what the earth provides for them. It's a beautiful story without a real plot, but more of a feeling of place and a sense of what it means to share the earth's resources, rather than waste them for greed and self-pleasure. The illustrations are a kind of abstract art and I loved them. There are hidden figures within them, and you have to do a double-take. I'm definitely doing to look for more by this author and illustrator. They make a great team. My rating - 4/5

[Cala · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short book about Desert People and their connection to the land and animals. Read it in one sitting to my 5 yo. Invoked a good discussion about what parts are fiction/nonfiction and how some others that don't have a Christian worldview view the created (land and animals) as equal to humans. I'd be careful with this book though, since it's clearly from a naturalist/atheist worldview. Useful for teaching but not as a pleasure reader.

[Maria Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

• 1976 Caldecott Honor Book •

This book just screams 1970s. I thought it was fun to read. I didn't immediately like the illustrations but by the end of the book, I loved them. The text was good, but I wasn't terribly moved since it's so quiet and peaceful.

Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: unlisted

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the book and how it emphasized the connection between the land and Papago people. I also liked how it showed their connection to plants and animals. It also stressed the importance and scarcity of rain. I enjoyed the illustrations too.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a Caldecott Honor book. I don't see why. I didn't like it at all. Way to wordy for a picture book. It would have been better off classified as a poetry book.

[Jeniece Goellner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always in awe of the work or Byrd Baylor. Her prose is beautiful. I feel at peace when I read her work and it does have a calming effect on my toddler as well.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book about all things that grown and thrive in the desert told in poetry. Elementary and up

[LaDow Picture · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book of poetry. Maybe a bit long for read-aloud at the library?

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a beautiful experience, lovely in its simplicity.