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In Madera Canyon
         written by Jane E. Holt
                 illustrated by Rick Wheeler

~ a children's book highlighting the nature of Madera Canyon, Arizona ~

 Birds, flowers, and animals are revealed one by one in
a progressive verse.

 The natural elements unite at poem's end, creating a complex illustration depicting nature's diversity and interdependence.
hummingbird trumpet (flower)
white-tailed deer
magnificent hummingbird
side-blotched lizard
elegant trogon
Arizona gray squirrel
Madera Canyon Creek
white-nosed coati
black bear
Harris hawk

    In Madera Canyon is a progressive verse similar to the folk poem, "The House that Jack Built" or the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas."  It is also known as a cumulative verse because it repeats and builds as it goes.
     There are 13 elements in the book based on a scratchboard painting by Rick Wheeler which features several animals native to Madera Canyon.
    
     Madera Canyon is located in southeastern Arizona on the western slope of the Santa Rita Mountain range. Surrounded by the Sonoran Desert 45 miles south of Tucson, the canyon runs along a basin four miles long enclosed by tall rocky peaks.  
  
scratchboard illustration by Rick Wheeler
    

      Beginning at the bottom of the illustration, at the base of the stream, and traveling up to the sky at the top, the verse highlights the various natural elements in the picture -- 

the magnificent hummingbird,

the hummingbird trumpet plant,

Madera Canyon Creek,

the side-blotched lizard,

the Arizona gray squirrel,

the mountain lion,

the white-tailed deer,

the white-nosed coati,

the elegant trogon,

the western tanager,

the black bear,  

the American kestrel

and the Harris hawk.

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