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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Mount Angel Public Library | E 597.8 SAYRE | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | SAYRE | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
The desert Southwest
is full of sounds.
Skitter, skitter, scratch.
A scorpion is crawling.
Pop, pop, pop.
kangaroo rat is hopping.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
A rattlesnake is
shaking its tail.
But the spadefoot toad
is quiet in her
underground burrow,
listening for one sound
in particular...
What is that sound?
And what will the
spadefoot toad do
when she hears it?
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Under the sand, a spadefoot toad waits for the sound of rain. She remains in her burrow as creatures, including peccaries, a rattlesnake, and a kangaroo rat, pass above her but finally emerges to lay her eggs when the distinctive patter of rain begins. Clear, often lovely watercolors illustrate the creature's wait, the desert animals, and the brief time the toad and tadpoles spend on the desert floor after the rain. The nature lesson is propelled by frequent sound effects and the palpable need for rain. Notes at the end give additional information on the habits of this toad and her animal neighbors. Pair this title with Lynn Stone's Desert Animals at Night (Rourke, 1997) or Bash's Desert Giant (Little, Brown, 1990) for a look at desert life. Or, compare the spadefoot toad with her flashier amphibian relatives of the rain forest in Joy Cowley's The Red-Eyed Tree Frog (Scholastic, 1999). The only book for children specifically about the spadefoot toad, Sayre's title is a useful and pleasing addition.-Ellen Heath, Orchard School, Ridgewood, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
(Preschool, Primary) Digging, waiting, and listening fill long days and months for the spadefoot toad living in its deep desert burrow. In this simple, elegant introduction, the toad hears the sounds made by other creatures passing overhead while she listens for the sound of falling rain, which she needs to start a new generation of toads. Preschoolers will enjoy the repetitious scheme announcing each animal: ""Skitter, skitter, scratch. / She hears soft sounds. / Is this the rain at last? / No. It's a scorpion overhead, / crawling slowly past."" The ""thunk, clink, clunk"" of peccaries' hooves, the popping hop of a kangaroo rat, the tapping of a gila woodpecker on a saguaro cactus, the crunch of the park ranger's boots, and the tsk, tsk warning of the rattlesnake sound above the brown-gold sand. Barbara Bash focuses viewers' attention on the animals+until the rain comes at last, and the toad emerges into a more subtly shaded landscape. Once above ground, the toad mates and lays her eggs in a puddle where the tadpoles emerge and quickly transform into young toads that must also dig down into the sand as the desert becomes dry again. Final pages of added explanation about the spadefoot toad and the other desert animals conclude the effective sketch of the toad's life cycle and habitat. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A patient spadefoot toad waits in her desert burrow, listening for rain so she can come forth to mate. Sayres (Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out!, 2000, etc.) onomatopoetic text, aided by energetic typeface shifts, presents the many sounds the toad would hear, from the skitter, skitter, scratch of a scorpion, to the tap, tap, tap of a gila woodpecker on a cactus, toat last!the plop thunk, plop thunk, plop thunk gussssshhhhhhh! of a sudden desert rain. The simple question-and-answer format (Whats that sound now? Is this the rain at last? No, its a rat . . . ) builds tension and involves readers directly in the toads experience. Bashs (Phantom of the Prairie, 1998, etc.) expressive pencil, pen-and-ink, and watercolor illustrations shift back and forth from the toads burrow to the action above, occasionally layering the two views until the rain brings the toads confinement to an end and she is out in the blessed, drenched open. The text and illustrations describe the lifecycle of the spadefoot toad in detail (including toad sex), the tadpoles swift metamorphosis in the drying puddles leading to a retreat to their burrows to wait for the next rain. Finely detailed illustrations capture the deserts denizens in motion, complementing the aurality of the text and contrasting with the ever-patient toad, which they invest with a remarkable amount of personality. This is top-notch nonfiction for the very young, introducing readers to desert wildlife in general and in particular to the remarkable spadefoot toad, who may wait in her burrow for up to 11 months for the next rain. (authors note, additional facts on desert neighbors) (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8)
Booklist Review
Ages 4-7. Several inches below the surface of the desert sand, a spadefoot toad waits and listens for rain. She hears the sounds of animals overhead: a scorpion, a kangaroo rat, a herd of peccaries, a woodpecker, and a rattlesnake. Finally, rains falls. She digs her way to the surface, where she mates. From the eggs she laid in a puddle of rainwater, tadpoles hatch and grow into toads. These tiny toads dig under the sand and wait, perhaps for months, for rain. Sayre, the author of If You Should Hear the Honey Guide (1995) and Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! (2000), once again writes about the natural world in a way that is clear, precise, and poetic. The text, which is akin to that of any good fiction picture book in its brevity, attention to sensory details, and read-aloud potential, also conveys the life cycle of a single species in a cogent and memorable way. The book ends with two appended pages that include a discussion of the spadefoot toad and a little information about each of the other animals that appeared in the book. Created with pencil, pen and ink, and watercolor, Bash's pictures illustrate the desert scenes with pleasingly varied colors, perspectives, and layouts. Preschool and primary-grade children will find this well-crafted book a wholly satisfying introduction to the spadefoot toad in particular and desert animals and the idea of life cycles in general. --Carolyn Phelan