Title - The Desert is Theirs Author: Baylor, Byrd Publisher: Scribner's Print Synopsis Authors Purpose Genre You may think of the desert as a harsh, dry place where no one would ever want to live -- but think again. The Desert People know. so do the animals. Both love the land, and "share the feeling of being brothers in the desert, of being desert creatures together." Entertain Folk Tales RDQ (Reading Difficulty Quotient) Accelerated Reader Lexile Find at 792 3.3 700 Amazon RDQ based on a maximum of 3000 words Levels are suggested levels based on RDQ, not official levels Sentences Total Words Different Words Max Word/Sent 44 Total # of Words 1024 # of Different Words 403 Ave Word/.Sent 11 Hi Freq occurs 670 65.4% # of Hi freq words 158 39.2% % of Long Sentences 12 Low Freq occurs 38 3.7% # of Low freq words 31 7.7% Subjective Criteria Illustrations: Some support Vocabulary: More decoding/definition issues Language: Many descriptive words Sentences: Some Long/Complex Text structure: Story/Poem Inferences: Some implications Complexity: Several ideas - closely related Mature concepts: With common experiences or clear fantasy Features Integral Setting - Cultural/Regional Mood/tone Topics Snakes Sun Superstition *Weather Traditions Spiders Challenges Environment Thanksgiving Values Customs Deserts Ecology Habitat Legends Native Americans Low Frequency Words adobe advice burrow burrowed buzzard ceremonies coyotes earthmaker ease elder gopher greasewood happier harsh loneliest meadows mesquite moonlight papago papagos patient rockiest saguaro scorpions sewed shove squash underworld wisdom wobbled yucca