Review of "Alejandro’s Gift," by Richard E. Albert

 Review of

Alejandro’s Gift, by Richard E. Albert ISBN 0811804364

Five out of five stars

The gift of life through water

 Alejandro is a man that lives alone in the heart of the North American desert. His only companion is his burro. He farms and has a well that is powered by a windmill. Feeling lonely, he spots a chipmunk that is sneaking up in order to get a drink of water.

 Realizing that the local animals need water, Alejandro digs a water hole for them. However, the results are not as expected, for he sees few animals coming to the hole to drink. After seeing a skunk flee when he approached, Alejandro realized what the problem is. The watering hole was too close to his residence, making the animals fearful of his presence.

 His solution is to dig another watering hole farther away from his home, which led to a large number and wider variety of desert animals coming to drink. Alejandro is pleased that he is able to aid his wild desert friends and his loneliness is abated.

 The descriptions of the different species of desert animals is very educational and this story also emphasizes how humans can aid and coexist with their wild animal companions. It is a good story for children about how a quality life can be lived by cooperating with nature rather than exploiting it.