The Other Way to Listen
When you know “the other way to listen,” you can hear the
wild-flower seed bursting open. You hear rocks murmuring and hills singing, and
it seems like the most natural thing in the world. Of course, it takes a lot of
practice, and you can’t be in a hurry. Most people never hear these things at
all.
This is the story of an old man who had a special way of
hearing and of a child who hoped to learn his secrets. Byrd Baylor and Peter Parnall have combined their unique, award-winning talents
to celebrate the world of nature.
Desert Voices
On the hottest
summer afternoons
when desert creatures
look for shade
and stay close to the earth
and keep their voices low
I sit high on a cactus
and fling
my loud ringing trill
out to the sun...
So sings the Cactus Wren, one of the ten desert creatures that speaks for
itself in the evocative and lyrical verses of Desert Voices. In
both text and illustration, Desert Voices conveys a message of
spirit and courage from the shy and quiet creatures of the beautiful desert
land.
I'm in Charge of Celebrations
From the highly acclaimed team of Byrd Baylor
and Peter Parnall comes the story of a girl who
shares her love for desert life as she tells of treasured experiences like
dancing in the wind on Dust Devil Day or sleeping outside on a hot summer night
during The Time of the Falling Stars. Baylor's radiant prose-poem and Parnall's exquisite illustrations combine to create a
joyous celebration of the human spirit.
The Table Where Rich People Sit
A young girl
discovers that her impoverished family is rich in things that matter in life,
especially being outdoors and experiencing nature.
Mountain Girl knows her family doesn’t have enough money. But as the family
sits around their scratched-up kitchen table and discusses the subject, her
parents say they’re rich. Don’t her parents see her worn-out shoes
or the patches on her little brother’s pants?
They begin to count up the value of the things they have. How much is it worth
to be able to see the sky all day and feel the wind and smell the coming rain? Or to watch a cactus bloom or to sleep outside under the stars?
After a while, Mountain Girl begins to realize money may not be as important as
she thought. Could her family really be rich after all?