Desert Habitat Books

Many children think that the desert habitat is always a hot and desolate place, devoid of life...and interest. They are then quite surprised to learn how abundant life can be in the desert, and that the largest desert is actually not hot at all, but is frozen all year--Antarctica!

The children's books below help dispel misconceptions about the desert habitat, bringing to life this varied and fascinating ecosystem.  In fact, the creatures of the desert are some perennial kid favorites (like snakes, jackrabbits, toads...), so it's not hard to "sell" students on how interesting the desert habitat really can be.

Desert Night,
Desert Day
by Anthony Fredericks
Kindergarten - 2nd grade

Why Oh Why Are
Deserts Dry?
All About Deserts
by Tish Rabe
Preschool - 3rd grade

The Seed and the
Giant Saguaro
by Jennifer Ward
Preschool - 3rd grade

Way Out in the Desert
by Jennifer Ward
preschool - 2nd grade

The Magic School Bus
Gets All Dried Up
A Book About Deserts
by Joanna Cole
1st grade - 4th grade

Way Out West Lives
a Coyote Named Frank
by Jillian Lund
Preschool - 1st grade

Here Is the
Southwestern Desert
by Madeleine Dunphy
Kindergarten - 2nd grade

Cactus Hotel
by Brenda Guiberson
Kindergarten - 2nd grade

Deserts
by Gail Gibbons
1st grade - 3rd grade

The Three Little Javelinas
by Susan Lowell
1st grade - 4th grade

A Desert Scrapbook
Dawn to Dusk in the
Sonoran Desert
by Virginia Wright-Frierson
3rd grade - 6th grade

One Small Square:
Cactus Desert
by Donald Silver
3rd grade - 5th grade

Desert Giant
World of the Saguaro Cactus
by Barbara Bash
1st grade - 6th grade

There Was a Coyote
Who Swallowed a Flea
by Jennifer Ward
Preschool - 3rd grade

Creatures of the
Desert World
Nat Geo Action Book
1st grade - 3rd grade

A Walk in the Desert
(Biomes of North America)
by Rebecca Johnson
3rd grade - 6th grade