Are you looking to learn about the Sonoran Desert animals of Arizona? I reviewed Julie Bonner’s Desert Dwellers Flashcards. Bonner is a local painter and graphic designer who created alphabet flashcards about Southwest desert animals. Each card contains an acrylic painting of the animal and a story.

The cards come in a small easyto- carry box, so I decided to show the cards to my 3-year-old brother at a restaurant. I spread out the flashcards on the table and had him find the letters I called out. Each card has both lower and uppercase letters so he could spot them easily. He liked the colorful pictures on the front but wasn’t willing to listen to me tell the story about the animal. He was more interested in finding the next letter.

I then had the idea to take the flashcards to my school and have the kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Jennifer Labonte, review them and show them to her class. She gave each student a card and had them say the letter and show the class. They were very eager to listen to the stories and learn about each animal’s habitat, food, predators, size, life span and when they are active. As Mrs. Labonte went through the cards the students were more interested in learning about the diamondback rattlesnake, mountain lion and scorpion–the scary animals. To my surprise I learned a lot by watching Mrs. Labonte go through the flashcards with her class.

When I first got the flashcards, I wanted to see what more could I learn about the alphabet, I was also amazed by all the animals that we have here in our desert and by how little I knew about them. The pictures are beautiful and truly describe the animals. The cards are well made with the letter and animal in the front and the story in the back. I highly recommend these cards for all kids.

Top Photo: julieorginals.com