Roxaboxen
Marian called it Roxaboxen. (She always knew the name of everything.) There across the road, it looked like any rocky hill -- nothing but sand and rocks, some old wooden boxes, cactus and greasewood and thorny ocotillo -- but it was a special place: a sparkling world of jeweled homes, streets edged with the whitest stones, and two ice cream shops. Come with us there, where all you need to gallop fast and free is a long stick and a soaring imagination.
In glowing desert hues, artist Barbara Cooney has caught the magic of Alice McLerran's treasured land of Roxaboxen -- a place that really was, and, once you've been there, always is.
Author page
Illustrator Page
Other books by Barbara Cooney
Go-Alongs:
Online Units and Resources for Roxaboxen
GeoSafari Cards
Geosafari and vocabulary Laptop games by Educational Insights to go with Five in a Row lessons and other topics. (Y.M)
Communities, Culture, Connections
Grade K-3 Lesson Plan - Reading (Y)
Picture Setting
The students will verbally identify the definition of a setting and its purpose in a story. The students will use a picture set to write their own story with a predetermined setting. Grades 2-3. (Y)
Roxaboxen - The Park
In the spring of 2000, the City of Yuma finally dedicated a restored Roxaboxen as a natural desert park, a place where children can always create their own houses and communities -- just as Marian, her sisters, and their friends once did. (Y)
Creating a Classroom Community
Promoting Geographic Knowledge Through Literature. Grade 3 (Y)
Unit study in imagination, games, and desert habitat
(Y)
Roxaboxen - A Memorial
A memorial to the internationally known children's story entitled "Roxaboxen" by author Alice McLerran reflecting the time period of the story. Located on 8th Street and 2nd Avenue in Yuma, Arizona it is open year-round. The park is open from sunrise to sunset daily. The park is open to the public. There are no admission fees. (Y)
Arizona Highways Magazine
Contains information on plants and animals, tours and discovering Arizona (Y, M, O, T)
Desert: Diorama
A giant Cactus Flower Forest - Make this diorama based on the real Sonoran Desert diorama at the American Museum of Natural History! (Y)
Habitats and Biomes:Desert
From ABCteach.com (Y)
Apache Tears
The Apache tear has been traditionally considered to be one of the tears of Native American women, mourning for the warriors driven from a cliff by the cavalry. From Arizona, Apache tears are, a varitety of black obsidian, volcanic glass that are clear when held up to the light but are "black" when on a surface. (Y, M, O, T)
Habitats/Biomes
(Y, M, O, T)
Welcome to Yuma, Arizona
(Y, M, O, T)
Supplemental Book List
from the FIAR Message Board Archive (T)
Communities, Culture, Connections
Grade K-3 Lesson Plan - Reading for Roxaboxen (Y)
Social Studies Lesson Plan: Roxaboxen
(Y)
Alice McLerranTeacher Resource File
(T)
Roxaboxen - Mr. Fargan's Reading Pages
Grade 3 (y)
Go-alongs about Deserts
Desert: Diorama - A giant Cactus Flower Forest - Make this diorama based on the real Sonoran Desert diorama at the American Museum of Natural History! (Y)
Habitats and Biomes:Desert - From ABCteach.com (Y)
Mojave National Preserve - Singing sand dunes, volcanic cinder cones, Joshua tree forests, and carpets of wildflowers are all found at this 1.6 million acre park. A visit to its canyons, mountains and mesas will reveal long-abandoned mines, homesteads, and rock-walled military outposts. Located between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Mojave provides serenity and solitude from the crowds of major metropolitan areas. (Y, M, O, T)