Alejandro, a man in his 60s, lives in a small adobe house beside an isolated desert road. His only companion is a burro. To ease his loneliness, he tends to his garden. One day, a ground squirrel approaches the garden to drink from its furrows, followed by wood rats, pocket gophers, jackrabbits, kangaroo rats, pocket mice, roadrunners, gila woodpeckers, and thrashers. Time passes more quickly, and Alejandro enjoys his new companions. However, he soon realizes that they come to him for water, not for company, and sets out to dig a water hole for them. Albert's simple and poetic text evokes the silence and emptiness in Alejandro's life. He grows to understand his interdependence with the land and its creatures as he lives among them. Long's rich, detailed, and realistically rendered pictures provide the perfect visual setting to an already memorable tale. The colorfully illustrated glossary of flora and fauna is informative. An ideal book to develop in readers an appreciation for the beauty of the desert and its inhabitants. Graciela Italiano, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.