Picture Book 7

Title: Desert Giant
Illustrator: Barbara Bash

Genre: Picture Book
Sub genre:
Theme: Culture and Life
Primary and Secondary Characters: The Saguaro Cactus and the Saguaro People
Award(s) date of publication:1989
Publishing Company: Little, Brown Company
Brief Summary: This book is about the Saguaro Cactus and the Saguaro people. It describes the life cycle of the cactus and how it is beneficial to all of the many animals and people that live around them. It mentions that the cactus has a flower-bearing fruit or saguaro blossoms. These are used by the people as food and as a sacrifice. At the end of the story, it shows that the cactus has decomposed and all that is left are the saguaro seeds. On the very last page, it shows what the saguaro cactus looks like at four months, two years, and twelve years.
How it would be used in a classroom setting: i would use this book when talking to the class about life cycles and culture. The pictures are great and there could even be a class project to go along with the book to help instill the big ideas and main points of the book.