This book is awesome! It teaches kids to celebrate even the little things in life. ( )

Byrd Baylor was born in Texas and now lives in Arizona. She has written several Caldecott Honor Books about the Southwest, all were illustrated by Peter Parnall who lives in Maine. The book shares a girl's private way of celebrating the desert and it's beauty and creatures. She celebrates such things as dust devils, rainbows, green clouds, coyotes, falling stars, the New Year

A girl lives in the desert and makes a celebration of things. We are in charge of our happiness. Pictures are amazing. The book is great visually and also inspires thoughts about the world around us.

Baylor is a wonderful artist of images and words. This book for the intermediate grades and tweens beautifully tells a story about a child finding special meaning in her own experiences. An empowering tale.

700L ( )

I'd use this book in a third grade class during a read aloud and have students become familiar with a different culture. I'd have them write a paragraph afterwards, comparing and contrasting their own holidays with the little girls in the story.