Intended as an early-reader non-fiction piece, it does an adequate job of providing some basic information about desert conditions and about how plants and animals adapt to those harsh conditions.  It did a good job of clarifying that the distinctive characteristic of a desert is its lack of precipitation, not its heat, drawing distinctions between hot, cold, and polar deserts.  It provided a decent world map, showing locations of different types of deserts.  I just wish it had done a better job of providing pictorial support when listing types of plants and animals that are likely to be very unfamiliar to most American children.