I love all of the installments of Messner's Over and Under series. Since I have hiked in deserts and canyons, I appreciate a picture book that will transport young readers to this ecosystem if they are unable to visit it themselves. Story of the mother and son hiking through the canyon is a wonderful way to introduce readers to the animals. The hikers are rewarded at the end of the hike with a valley full of desert wildflowers and dinner cooked by dad back at their campsite. ( )

I love the illustrations of this series, and that is gives little snippets of scientific info without it slowing down the narrative.

I should have loved this book. I’ve enjoyed similar “over and under” books by this author and this illustrator. I did like it even though I don’t think the premise worked as well as it has for the other books. The illustrations are good. The narrative seems realistic. I am fine with animals hunting other animals but I think I didn’t want to think so much about it in a children’s picture book. I also was squeamish about some of the creatures encountered. Rattlesnakes. Scorpions. I think I’m not a huge fan of deserts. I did love he wildflowers. In general I liked and admired but didn’t love the illustrations. I really enjoyed the 6 pages at the end that gave more information about the animals and plants that were in the book. There is just a short paragraph for each but I learned a lot. I appreciated the last page for Further Reading that listed books and websites. In the author’s note she says that this story came because of a family trip she took to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in southern California. I would highly recommend this book to families planning a visit there or other desert setting. ( )