THE DESERT IS THEIRS

Talk to the Papago Indians. They're Desert People. They know desert secrets no one else knows""--how the spider people ""sewed earth and sky together. . . Buzzard made mountains with his wings. . . and Gopher burrowed a path to lead people out of the underworld and up/ up/ up/into the fierce white sunlight."" So--beginning with the Papago myths and going on to praise the Saguaro and Yucca, the Kangaroo Rat and the ""doves dipping down for the juicy red fruit that grows high on a cactus""--Baylor's spare lyricism recreates the intimate relationship between Desert People and their land. The message is kinship with the environment and all living things (""Papagos try not to anger their animal brothers. . . They say, 'We share. . . we only share'""), and Parnall's delicate line drawings, layered like sand paintings with brigh color, reverberate with peace and harmony. Ready and waiting for that special, receptive moment.