"Last year I gave myself one hundred and eight celebrations—besides the ones they close school for," states the narrator, who chronicles her observations in a notebook, telling readers about seeing seven whirlwinds of dust, a triple rainbow and meteor showers. Full-color illustrations employing negative space capture the spirit of a joyous tribute to the beauty, drama and order of nature in the open spaces of the U.S. Southwest. (All ages)

Byrd Baylor's text captures and shares some of the special experiences in the Southwest desert country that have inaugurated her private celebrations: The Time of Falling Stars, in the middle of August, when "every time a streak of light goes shooting through the darkness, I feel my heart shoot out of me"; Rainbow Celebration Day, marking the time she and a jackrabbit stood together watching a triple-rainbow over a canyon; and the real New Year's Day (January first is "just another winter day"), the day spring begins. "I celebrate with horned toads and ravens and lizards and quail...And, Friend, it's not a bad party."