Desert Baths
By Darcy Pattison; illus. by Kathleen Rietz
32 pages, ages 4 – 8
Sylvan Dell Publishing, 2012
Deserts are dry places – so how do the animals living there clean
themselves off? After all, everyone needs a bath now and then.
Darcy Pattison shows how twelve different animals get rid of
dirt, dust, grime and parasites – and takes us on a tour of the desert habitat
through a typical day. She opens with a turkey vulture awaiting dawn so it can
begin the day with a sunbath. Tiny hummingbirds preen with dewdrops, while
roadrunners shake off after a dust bath. Some moms use their tongues to groom
their young, while others make do with a spit bath. All accompanied by Kathleen
Rietz’s gorgeous paintings.
Pattison includes six pages of activities and desert details
in the “creative minds” section at the back. There are fun facts – did you know
that parts of the Atacama Desert in South America haven’t had any rain in 100
years? There’s a matching game, learning to tell time by the sun, and some “food
for thought” questions. Taken altogether, it’s no mystery that this book was
listed by the National Science Teacher Association as one of 2013’s “Outstanding
Science Trade Books”.
The other week I caught up with Darcy long enough to ask her
Three Questions about her book.
What inspired you to write about how animals take baths on the desert?
Darcy: When I learned about “Anting” – it’s such a bizarre way of cleaning
feathers. Scientists say that the formic acid from the crushed ants will help
control parasites. Also, several years ago while camping in the Boston
Mountains of Arkansas, I headed out on an early morning walk. It was chilly and
a group of vultures sat in the tiptop of trees, spreading their wings to warm
up.
What sort of research did you do for this book?
Darcy: I wanted to balance the types of animals – those
active in the daytime as well as those active at night. I really wanted to add
a spider, but they just don't have skin that needs to be cleaned. The
tarantula, a great desert species, molts – it sheds off its old exoskeleton for
a new one as it grows. But that didn't seem quite right for a book on baths.
With the hummingbird, I’d read a study mentioning how they take dew baths, and
then verified that with a couple of scientists.
How exactly does an animal get clean with a mud or dust-bath? And have you
tried one?
Darcy: We think of baths as something that keeps us
dirt-free. But at one time, humans were plagues with fleas, lice (in the hair)
and other parasites, the likes of which still plague wild animals. Dirt baths
can take care of those parasites.
Darcy
hasn’t taken a dust bath or wallowed in the mud, but she says she’ll try it…
some day. Drop by
Darcy’s website to learn more about desert baths and
see a video that children helped make about their take on the book. And head
over to
STEM Friday to check out more great science/tech/math resources.
Review copy provided by publisher.
