LISTEN TO THE DESERT OYE AL DESIERTO by: Pat Mora (Hispanic/Latino(a) Literature)

Bibliography: Mora, Pat. 1994. LISTEN TO THE DESERT OYE AL DESIERTO. Ill. Mora, Francisco X. New York: Clarion ISBN 0395672929

Summary: This picture book is a bilingual description of some of the sounds found in the desert of the Southwest. The text is very simple and is written with young children in mind. The sounds of the toad, dove and snake among others are repeated twice in English and twice in Spanish.

Critical Analysis:

The author is a native of the desert area of El Paso, TX and has taken her experiences with the animals found in this desert and developed a book with simple parallel text in a bilingual format. The rhythm of this book makes one consider a poem put into the form of a book. This picture book is set up in a double page spread. Within each spread is a four line text with the text repeated twice in English and then twice in Spanish. The text is rhythmic with the owl whoo, whoo, whoo and uuu, uuu, uuu and allows for comparison of the two languages. The rhythmic verse makes it a fun read aloud for young students. The illustrations cover the two page spread with the blue sky setting the background for each spread and each introducing a different desert animal and the sound it makes. The pages have a bright blue and red geometric design across the bottom and the animals are colorfully illustrated with some taking on the natural colors of the animals (the coyote and the dove), but others less realistic in color (the green toad). As a native of West Texas the most common toad is the horned toad which blends in with the West Texas desert. The snake is depicted with the geometric designs seen in the border of each page and his “rattle” on his tail is a baby-rattle. Since this is a picture book for young children one would not expect the illustrations to be totally realistic.

Because of the format of this book analysis is limited to the authenticity of the Spanish language and knowing the background of Ms. Mora and her reputation as a noted author within children’s literature it is my opinion that the Spanish within the text is authentic.

I was excited to find as I looked through the book to find the title page was autographed by the author during her visit to our school in April 2005. It was nice to see it within the library collection.


Horn Book Guide: Appropriate for the young age of the intended audience Age: the book's design emphasizes the spaciousness and spareness of the desert." This paean to the desert exhorts the reader to listen -- to the toad and the coyote, the rain and the wind. The simple, repetitive, bilingual text invites participation, giving the sounds in both languages (the owl says whoo.

Kirkus Reviews: very simple text, with each line (``Listen to coyote call, ar-ar-aooo, ar-ar-aooo/El coyote canta, ahúúú, ahúúú, ahúúú''; ``Listen to the wind spin, zoom, zoom, zoom...'') repeated twice in English plus twice in Spanish, becomes a rhythmic, lyrical bilingual chant suggesting the onomatopoeic powers of both tongues. Owl, dove, toad, snake, fish, mice, and rain complete a roster, supplemented by spreads whose pleasingly spare designs feature handsomely stylized figures beneath a mellow sky. A brightly decorative geometric motif runs through the pages to tie it all together. An attractive book for introducing the desert- -and a second language--to young children.

Connections:

An author study of Pat Mora

Use this when studying a unit on biomes – Venn Diagram (compare/contrast) desert sounds with sounds from area students live in.

If you are in an area with students of other cultures and experiences rewrite the book using the English and their native language.