Since this month’s theme is “Deserts,” I thought I’d share a book that we love that takes place in the desert.
It’s called “Art & Max” and is not only about creatures in the desert, it’s also about ART and making art and being creative and not always painting inside the lines – the best!
Art (Arthur) is a horned lizard, and Max is a collared lizard. They live in the desert. The desert makes a great backdrop, because there isn’t much happening besides distant mountains and the occasional cactus to distract you from the story.
But even though the desert is just “the setting,” it’s also a very important player in the book. At one point, Art gets covered with paint and it dries up and gets all cracked, just like mud will do in the heat of the desert.
It’s kind of a climactic moment (which basically means it’s one of the most important things that happens in the book, so pay attention!). A moment that couldn’t have happened, say, in a humid rainforest or a dank swamp. And so the desert is actually a crucial part of this story.
Have a look for yourself. The illustrations are wonderfully detailed and there’s lots of fun to be had. My favorite moment is this one, where a lizard looker-on gets tangled up in some linework:
The book is Art & Max, by David Wiesner (whom I met at an illustrator’s event once and got very excited over but then whiffed my introduction because I couldn’t in the moment remember if it was WEE-sner or WHY-sner. He was very gracious and kind and I got it wrong but I still don’t remember which one it is).
And here’s a question for you: