WE WALK IN SANDY PLACES

by Byrd Baylor ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15, 1976

As you might expect, Baylor's approach to animal tracks is a receptive, even deferential one--conveyed here in the quiet voice of a child who begins, ""Forgive me for walking here,/Brother Lizard,/ Forgive me,/ Sister Quail;/I know this is your sand,/not mine."" For the rest she explains that she's not ruining, only following the paths made by the various desert animals, paths which some people can read like a story. The ""story,"" then, unfolds, aided by light brown photos (of tracks in the sand, sometimes with the animals who made them) which, like their subject, invite close looking--or demand it, if they are not to be monotonous. The child ends by asking the animals for guidance in natural path-making: ""I want ant/to like/my path.//I want/coyote/to sniff/and know/ I am a friend"" (a tall order), and, at last, "". . . wind/ will blow/my tracks away/with theirs."" Overall, a nicely scaled blend of outlook and observations, for other children of a patient, contemplative turn.

Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1976

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1976

Categories: CHILDREN'S