Cactus Hotel

It is another hot day in the desert. Birds and other animals scurry about looking for food. When they get tired they stop to rest at a giant cactus. It is their hotel in the desert

Many different animals live in the cactus hotel. It protects them; and they protect it, by eating the pests that could harm the cactus.

The cactus grows larger and larger and will live for about two hundred years. When one animal moves out, another moves in. There is never a vacancy in the cactus hotel.

This story--about a desert, a giant cactus, and the animals who live in it--is one that even the youngest child will understand and enjoy.

Parents' Choice Award
IRA-CBC Teachers' Choice
An NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book
An NCTE Notable Trade Book in the Language Arts

Brenda Z. Guiberson has written many books for children, including Cactus Hotel, Into the Sea, Moon Bear, The Greatest Dinosaur Ever, and Disasters. As a child, Brenda wanted to be a jungle explorer. Her books are full of well-researched detail, and Brenda sees this research as an adventure--one that allows her to be a jungle explorer at last.

Megan Lloyd read the manuscript for Cactus Hotel and went to the Saguaro National Monument in Arizona to see the cactuses herself. Lloyd is the illustrator of many picture books, including Guiberson’s Spoonbill Swamp.