Desert Night Shift: A Pack Rat Story

Great little book.

We are studying desert habitats in my class. I read this book to my students and we made a desert scene using torn paper. They created a rat to glue on top of it. Fun lesson with illustrations that allowed my pupils to visualize the beauty of the desert.

I have purchased several of these books on desert critters for my Godchild who lives in England. This little Pack Rat calls his Grandmother NANA which is what my wee boy calls me. So we both got a kick out of this little story.

There was alot of information in this book. All kinds of animals and it showed the circle of life. I'm a teacher and I'm always trying to talk to the children about nature and how everything is connected. Nice pictures too.

Even as an adult, I LOVE LOVE LOVE any book by Conrad J. Storad. I am particularly partial to this one, because ... (true confession alert) "Hello, my name is Stephanie and I am a pack rat," just like "Penny Pack Rat." This delightful tale takes place in the Sonoran Desert. (I'm also a desert dweller from AZ). It's nighttime and Penny has her backpack on and is in search of a silver spoon for her Grandma.Told entirely in verse, we follow Penny as she tries to fulfill her nana's wish of owning a silver spoon. Penny braves the dangers of the night; snakes, coyotes and more. Hence, the title: Desert Night Shift."Oh, desert days are bright and hot,Swift, hungry creatures rule,But every little pack rat learnsThat night shift work is cool!"Although this is written with children in mind, I love Storad's charming approach to desert animals. The illustrations by Nathaniel P. Jensen are vibrant and endearing. At the end of each of Storad's books you can find a page of "Words to Learn" and facts about the animal hero of the book. Conrad Storad specializes in creating science books for children that make learning fun. In 2001 he was awarded the Arizona Library Association's Judy Goddard Award as Arizona's Children's Author of the Year. I'm a retired teacher and when I taught younger grades, Storad's books really fit the bill. I love them for my home library to read to my grandchildren and even to read myself. Fun times!!

This is one of my favorites in the series. Nathan is a phenomenal artist. The colors and details are exquisite.