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Title: Alejandro's Gift by Richard E. Albert, Sylvia Long ISBN: 0-8118-1342-8 Publisher: Chronicle Books Pub. Date: March, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.75 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A lonely old man decides to repay a gift with a greater gift
Comment: Having lived on the west mesa outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico I am certainly familiar with the flora and fauna of the southwest. In "Alejandro's Gift" we meet an an old man who lives in a small abode house besides a lonely desert road. Alejandro has a well, with a windmill to pump the water, and his only real companion is a burro. With visitors a rare treat, Alejandro busies himself by planting a garden to keep him self occupied. But as the days go bye and his garden starts to blossom, Alejandro finds a ground squirrel has come to visit him. The lonely man hopes that squirrel will come again and indeed it does, bringing other small friends of the desert. Enjoying his little visitors, Alejandro thinks of why they have come to visit him and what he can do to make his new friends more comfortable. The idea that forms in his mind becomes the gift of the book's title.
Author Richard E. Albert wrote pulp Westerns in his younger days and wrote "Alejandro's Gift," his first book for children, when he was eighty-three years old. What he has written is a book that is as much about living in harmony with nature as it is about the importance of friendship. The detailed illustrations by Sylvia Long show an understanding of both animals and the great outdoors. The back of this book contains an illustrated list of the over two-dozen animals who enjoy "Alejandro's Gift." Since most of them are not identified during the telling of the story, this will allow young readers to go back and identify everything from the Arizona Pocket Mouse to the White-Throated Wood Rat. However, be warned: if your children live anywhere near nature, where animals are frequent visitors to your backyard, then do not be surprised if they suddenly want to do something special after reading this book.
Rating: 5
Summary: A wonderful "Gift"
Comment: "Alejandro's Gift" combines a story by Richard E. Albert with illustrations by Sylvia Long. Together they tell the story of Alejandro, a man who lives in an adobe house beside a lonely desert road. His only companion is a burro.
When Alejandro plants a vegetable garden, his home is soon visited by small animals who drink from his irrigation furrows. Delighted by the appearance of these creatures, Alejandro conceives a project on a slightly larger scale.
The realistic illustrations of this book are full of life. The animals and plants, as well as Alejandro himself, are captured beautifully. Alejandro's gentleness, thoughtful nature, and hard-working spirit are wonderfully brought to life. The pictures and text together offer a good message about respect for nature.
The book ends with a short "mini-encyclopedia" that names and illustrates animals and plants of the southwestern United States: mesquite, saguaro cactus, the sage sparrow, the collared peccary, and more. An educational and heartwarming book.
Rating: 4
Summary: Good bed time story
Comment: Alejandro is lonley living in the desert. By accident, he learns that if he plants a garden, animals come for the water and shade and Alejandro's lonliness is lessened.
But later, Alejandro learns that gifts given (the garden) makes the gifts received (the company) all the more sweeter.
"Alejandro's Gift" is a quiet book - no need for funny voices or wild antics. It makes a great bed time story or a great "snuggle with your kids on a rainy day" book.
This can also provide a nice way to discuss nature and preservation with your children.
There are lots of interesting things to look at in the illustrations. I read this to a group of school agers and they all enjoyed looking at the pictures and trying to identify all the different animals. We live far away from any desert, so many of these animals were unfamiliar to us.
This is a good book and I definitly recommend it.
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Title: Cactus Hotel by Brenda Z. Guiberson, Megan Lloyd ISBN: 0805029605 Publisher: Owlet Pub. Date: 15 October, 1993 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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Title: Three Cheers for Catherine the Great! by Cari Best, Giselle Potter ISBN: 0374475512 Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux Pub. Date: 06 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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Title: Deserts by Gail Gibbons ISBN: 0823415198 Publisher: Holiday House Pub. Date: October, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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Title: Creatures of the Desert World by National Geographic Society ISBN: 0870446878 Publisher: National Geographic Pub. Date: 01 January, 1991 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Hickory Chair by Lisa Rowe Fraustino, Benny Andrews ISBN: 0590522485 Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Pub. Date: February, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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