Rebecca L. Johnson - A Walk in the Prairie

Second Editions

2nd Edition

by Rebecca L. Johnson

with illustrations by Phyllis V. Saroff

Lerner Publications Minneapolis

For Dano, who loves watching storms
track across prairie skies

Text copyright 2021 by Rebecca L. Johnson
Illustrations copyright 2021 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
Map on page 8 by Laura Westlund 2021 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the
prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of
brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

Lerner Publications Company
An imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
241 First Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA

For reading levels and more information, look up this title at www.lernerbooks.com.

Main body text set in Garth Graphic Std.
Typeface provided by Adobe Systems.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Johnson, Rebecca L., author. | Saroff, Phyllis V., illustrator.
Title: A walk in the prairie / by Rebecca L. Johnson ; with illustrations by Phyllis V.
Saroff.
Description: 2nd edition. | Minneapolis : Lerner Publications , [2021] | Series: Biomes
of North America | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Audience: Ages
812 | Audience: Grades 46 | Summary: How do the plants and animals of the
prairie depend on one another for survival? Discover a world of tall grasses and
wildflowers that creatures from butterflies to badgers call home Provided by
publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020034190 (print) | LCCN 2020034191 (ebook) | ISBN
9781728429182 (library binding) | ISBN 9781728429199 (paperback) | ISBN
9781728429205 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Prairie ecologyJuvenile literature. | PrairiesJuvenile literature.
Classification: LCC QH541.5.P7 J65 2021 (print) | LCC QH541.5.P7 (ebook) | DDC
577.4/4dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020034190
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020034191

Manufactured in the United States of America
1-49447-49513-8/3/2020

BIOME (BYE- ohm) a major
community of living things that
covers a large area, such as a
grassland or a forest

CLIMATE (KLYE-mut) a regions
usual pattern of weather over a long
period of time

GRASSLAND a biome where the
land is covered with grass and few
trees grow

HIBERNATION (hy-bur-NAY-shun)
passing the winter in a special
deep sleep

NECTAR a sweet liquid produced
by flowers. Nectar is used as
food by animals such as bees,
hummingbirds, and bats.

POLLEN (PAH-luhn) fine, powdery
material made by flowers. Pollen is
often yellow.

PRAIRIE a type of North American
grassland. Grasses and wildflowers
grow well in the prairie, but it is too
dry for most trees.

PREDATOR (PREH-duh-tur) an
animal that hunts and eats other
animals

PREY (pray) animals that are
hunted and eaten by other animals

PUP a baby prairie dog or coyote

SHORTGRASS a type of prairie
where little rain falls and grasses
do not grow very tall

SOD a dense layer of grass roots and
dead grass that covers prairie soil

TALLGRASS a type of prairie
where enough rain falls for grasses to
grow several feet tall

Tall grass

swaying in the breeze

A mother prairie dog sits at the entrance to her
burrow. Her pups play nearby. Tense and alert,
she scans the low, grass-covered hills. Suddenly, a
shadow appears on the grass. It glides toward the
burrow. The prairie dog throws back her head and
barks out a warning. Yip-yip-yip!

The pups come running as a red-tailed hawk
descends. Its clawed feet are stretched toward them.
The last pup dives down the burrow just in time.
The hawks claws close on nothing but air. It flies
off to try its luck elsewhere on the prairie.

Imagine an ocean where the waves are made of
grass. Thats what a prairie looks like. When the
wind blows, the grass ripples like water. Here and
there, a few trees and bushes grow along a stream or
around a pond. But mostly there are just miles and
miles of grass. It stretches out in all directions
beneath a great dome of sky.

A prairie is a place of
wide-open spaces.
You can see for
long distances.