for Children's Literature and highlighted as a Southwest Children's Book of the Year, The Giving Tree of the Desert: The tale of a saguaro cactus and its nurse tree, is a Southwest twist on The Giving Tree, based on the real-life relationship between young saguaro cacti and the nurse trees they depend on for survival as they grow.

A lonely palo verde becomes the nurse tree for a tiny black saguaro seed. It protects the baby saguaro from animals, heat, monsoon storms, and many other dangers in the desert. What will happen to the nurse tree as the saguaro grows big and tall?

This is a science-meets-storytelling tale from nature itself on how we all rely on the support of others for us to thrive.