Ann Nolan Clark

An Irish boy is sure he saw a horse among the cliffs but fellow islanders think he imagined it.

Describes the ceremonies and festival rituals of the Pueblo Indians to recognize and celebrate the changing of the seasons.

Here is the flavor, the romance, the very essence of old New Mexico captured in a series of profiles of men and women who, like Kit Carson, "led the way" and helped to develop the New Mexico of today. This is a nostalgic look at the past that will help New Mexicans to understand the present, as well as to enjoy remembered adventures of other days. Across the pages of this informal history march the great and near-great of yesteryear...Kit Carson the scout; St. Vrain, the trader-trapper; Bishop Lamy, General Kearny, Sam Watrous, the tree-planting trader; The Hermit of Hermit's Peak, Granny Brackett, Mother Magdelen and the Miraculous Staircase, the Romeros of Romerville, and many more--some well-remembered, some forgotten, except by their families or an obscure footnote in a volume of history. Ann Nolan Clark in a beautiful writing for which she is so well known to New Mexicans brings to sparkling life little known episodes in the lives of pioneers of northern New Mexico.

A Papago Indian girl and her grandmother go for a walk and observe plants and animals of the Arizona desert.

Six year old Doli and her family share a simple Navaho life--caring for sheep, weaving blankets and making jewelry--yet they also face the pressures of a changing society.

"Tia Maria's Garden" is about a child's visit to his aunt's. The reader quickly discovers that Tia Maria's garden is the Sonoran Desert, which lies just beyond the home. Walking around, the youngster sees saguaros, chollas, jackrabbits, washes and prickly pear cacti. The book is beautifully written and can be appreciated by third graders and up. The author was well up to the task of writing this book. A New Mexico resident, Ann Nolan Clark (Newbery Award winner) had already published books on the desert. The text is written as poetry. While the language is poetic, the book also instructs the reader on what's out in the desert. It inspires the reader to explore wild places. In this respect, a comparison can be made with Byrd Baylor's "Desert Voices" and "The Desert Is Theirs." This was initially published the same year that the illustrator (Ezra Jack Keats) won the Caldecott Medal for "The Snowy Day." The illustrations are simple pencil drawings. Despite being created by two of the greats of their day, "Tia Maria's Garden" is out-of-print and mostly forgotten. It is the illustrations that date the title. In this respect, "Tia Maria's Garden" may best be appreciated by those with an interest in vintage desert books.

Anxious to prove his bravery and his readiness to be a man, Little Dog goes out hunting alone in the snow and discovers a mysterious animal.

Rabbit tricks the other animals of the African plain into giving her food and other treats.

An Indian boy of the Southwest describes his daily life, the customs, the animals, the desert and its changing seasons. Grades 2-5.