What Good is a Cactus?

by Peter Marchand

Poco, the little scientist, sets off on a journey to answer the question, What good is a cactus? Along the way he discovers that those spiny, fearsome desert plants are filled with life-giving resources. A charming introduction to the desert ecosystem. Full color photos.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1879373831
• ISBN13: 9781879373839
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Roberts Rinehart Publishers
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 8.0" x 10.1"
• Age Range: 7 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 7

Customer Reviews

Making Connections

In this book, Poco, "the curious scientist," gets asked a difficult question: "What good is a cactus?" He goes into the desert to search for the answer and some beautiful insights emerge. Lovely illustrations enhance the beauty of this thoughtful little book.This is a wonderful book for helping children gain an awareness of ecological connections. I am an environmental educator in southern California who teaches in an outdoor science school (5th-6th grades), and I find this book to be a wonderful springboard for writing. When we are studying ecosystems or plants (the book works well with either), I take the students to a special place and read it aloud to them. After reading, I ask them to think about the different plants we have studied and challenge them to write a story, essay or poem (or even conduct an "interview" with the other members of the natural community) answering the question, "What good is a ________?" Replacing "Cactus" with another plant (or anything else in nature, for that matter). Some wonderful stories showing understanding of the connections in nature have resulted from using this book as a writing prompt.I place this book in the category with other great environmental children's literature such as "The Great Kapok Tree" and "The Lorax." Recommended for teachers, parents and environmental educators who wish to help children understand the importance, connectedness, and beauty of all life forms.