Book cover titled 'A Rocket Tale' by John Cayden. The cover features a cartoon-style mouse with large black eyes, a tiny pink nose, and white whiskers, standing on a rock with a mountainous landscape and a blue sky with clouds in the background.

ROCKET

A ROCKET TALE

This favorite children's picture book is an illustrated story about Rocket, a small Kangaroo Mouse who made his home on a busy path in the beauty of the high desert. Other animals come and go, mostly in the evening and during the night-time when the air cools in the moonlight.

Rocket learns a little about each of the animals by watching and listening to them as they move along in their evening search for water, friends and food.

Now available in hardback!

  • Bat | Myotis ciliolabrum

  • Big Horn Sheep | Ovis canadensis nelsoni

  • Bobcat | Lynx rufus

  • Burrowing Owl | Athene cunicularia

  • Coyote | Canis latrans

  • Gray Shrew | Notiosorex crawfordi

  • Desert Tortoise | Gopherus agassizii

  • Fox | Vulpes macrotis

  • Ground Squirrel | Ammospermophilus leucurus

  • Jack Rabbit | Lepus californicus

  • Mountain Lion | Puma concolor

  • Opossum | Didelphis virginiana

  • Pack Rat | Neotoma lepida

  • Pocket Gopher | Thomomys bottae

  • Porcupine | Erethizon dorsatum

  • Spotted Skunk | Spilogale gracilis

  • Desert Vole | Microtus montanus

Animals Featured in A ROCKET TALE

Paperback Available Here
Hardback Available Here
Rocket, a small kangaroo mouse, watches his family sleep in a burrow in the desert
My TikTok Video on A ROCKET TALE
Rocket the kangaroo mouse talks with a ground squirrel family in the desert at dusk

Desert Resources 4 U

Check out these wonderful resources on biodiversity and desert conservation initiatives - they matter!

This program focuses on desert ecosystems and the unique species that inhabit them. The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance works on conservation efforts for desert species, such as desert tortoises and bighorn sheep, and provides scientific research on their habitats, behavior, and threats from climate change and human activities.

Desert Wildlife Conservation Program (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance)

The Arizona Game and Fish Department runs a comprehensive Desert Conservation Program, focusing on the preservation of desert species in the southwestern U.S.

The website provides detailed information about endangered species, conservation programs, and desert ecosystems, including desert bighorn sheep and various reptiles and birds.

The Desert Conservation Program (Arizona Game and Fish Department)

The World Wildlife Fund’s desert conservation efforts focus on desert ecosystems worldwide, including the Sahara, Sonoran, and Australian deserts. Their site provides scientific research on desert species, the challenges these species face, such as habitat loss, water scarcity, and climate change, and ongoing conservation strategies to protect desert biodiversity.

The Desert Biodiversity Project (World Wildlife Fund)
A digitally manipulated image showing a large aggressive-looking ferret with an open mouth and sharp teeth, standing on a rocky surface. On its back, there are several small mice with surprised or scared expressions. In front of the ferret, a tiny mouse with an alert expression looks up at it. The background is a blurry landscape with a sunset sky and stars.
Sample page from A Rocket Tale

Sample pages from A Rocket Tale

Rocket, a kangaroo mouse, hides from mountain lion under the stars at night in the desert
Book cover titled 'A Rocket Tale' by John Cayden. Features a desert kangaroo mouse with a surprised expression, standing on a rock in a rocky desert landscape with mountains and a starry sky in the background.

experimental flip book

Not sure if these flipbooks work. I wanted to give folks a way to see the book in part before they buy. Let me know if this doesn’t work and what platform you’re using. I’ll try to find a better approach if I get enough feedback.

Experimental Flip Book PDF