I recently received the picture book “Under the Desert Skies: Hiss, Sigh, Squawk!,” by Ana Lewis and Corinne Lewis. This book’s art is very collage like. It looks as if the authors cut out newspaper strips and painted them to look colorful. If you have a sister or brother 2 to 5 years old, then you should buy this book at Amazon or your local bookstore.

Worlds of Words is a center on the University of Arizona campus where children can explore global literature. The center is located in the College of Education and its mission is to have children learn more about literacy and the world through books. There is a large collection of about 40,000 books representing many global cultures and in a variety of languages. The center hosts school field trips and tours to help bring global literacy into classrooms.

I recently read “Belly Up.” It is about a 12-year-old boy named Teddy Fitzroy who is living in America’s newest theme park, FunJungle (The name of the book series). Soon, Henry Hippo, the park’s mascot, turns up dead, and Teddy suspects somebody murdered him. Was it the owner? The clown? Even the chief of security could’ve done it.

The author of this misleading mystery is Stuart Gibbs. Gibbs is also the author of “Spy School” and “Poached.” “Belly Up” consists of 294 pictureless pages and I enjoyed every single one of them. I recommend this book for ages 10 and up.

Do you know about the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater? I saw the show in October at Fox Tucson Theatre, and it was really interesting! It was fun watching all of the pets come out and do their cool tricks. I really like animals. They are so cute, no matter what they are.

Do you like the Mo Willems’ book “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus”? Have you read “The Elephant and Piggie” book series? If so, you should visit the Children’s Museum of Phoenix where there is an exhibit hosted by the Pigeon. There are so many games and activities to enjoy with many of Willems’ books characters.

In 1983, the famous El Tour de Tucson bicycle race was founded. It all started when a man named Richard DeBernardis was traveling around the United States on his bicycle. Upon visiting Tucson, he fell in love with the weather and thought this would be a perfect place for a bike ride. He checked the Old Farmer’s Almanac and learned the best time to have this event would be in the fall, the week before Thanksgiving, because it rarely rains that week.

In 2018, Boy Scouts of America made the historic decision to change its name to Scouts BSA, and allow girls to join troops. According to the Boy Scouts website, since then over 5,000 young ladies have earned Eagle Scout rank, and over 75% of those females reported that scouting had a very positive effect on their abilities to set and achieve goals.