About the Holiday

National Women’s History Month is all about celebrating women who broke barriers with their intelligence, creativity, courage, persistence, and unwavering confidence in their abilities. In every discipline, women have brought and continue to bring new perspectives, experiences, and talents to make contributions toward a better world. The theme for Women’s History Month 2024 celebrates “’Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.’ This theme recognizes women who understand the need to eliminate bias and discrimination from individuals’ lives and institutions.”

Today’s book celebrates a visionary woman who made it her life’s work to protect a unique ecosystem, educate people on the importance of the environment and conservation, and provide the US with one of its most stunning national parks. 

I’d like to thank Calkins Creek/Astra Books for sharing a copy of Cactus Queen” Minerva Hoyt Establishes Joshua Tree National Park with me for review consideration. All opinions on the book are mt own.

Cactus Queen: Minerva Hoyt Establishes Joshua Tree National Park

Written by Lori Alexander | Illustrated by Jenn Ely

Even as a child, Minerva loved the outdoors, was eager to share her thoughts and opinions, and enjoyed “long chats with friends.” When she grew up she married Dr. Albert Hoyt. In 1897 Minerva and her husband moved from Mississippi to Pasadena, California, close to Los Angeles. To meet new friends, Minerva hosted a backyard party, complete with games, food, and, of course, long chats.

Settled into her new city, Minerva took to making trips to the Mojave Desert. She was awed by the Joshua trees, which grew nowhere else but here. After the death of her husband in 1918, Minerva spent more time in the desert, even camping out while “the wind whistled through the Joshua trees,” and “bright constellations swirled overhead.”

Illustration copyright Jenn Ely, 2024, text copyright Lori Alexander, 2024. Courtesy of Calkins Creek, Astra Books for Young Readers.

As Los Angeles grew and grew, with more buildings, more cars, and more noise, people began to visit the desert frequently. They didn’t just visit, though, they wanted to take it home. People dug up the “… fuzzy cholla, spiky yucca, and barrel cacti to keep in their backyards.” They even dug up Joshua trees and carted them away. Many of these desert plants didn’t survive their new city surroundings. The Joshua trees were also cut down for construction materials, and motorists lost in the desert set them afire to communicate with other drivers.

By the late 1920s little remained of Minerva’s beloved desert. She wanted to save it . . . but how? Suddenly, “Minerva had a wild idea.” She would show the rest of the country just how special the desert was. With help from garden clubs, artists, taxidermists, and friends, she gathered samples of desert flora and fauna and took them east—by train.

Illustration copyright Jenn Ely, 2024, text copyright Lori Alexander, 2024. Courtesy of Calkins Creek, Astra Books for Young Readers.

At the 1928 International Flower Show in New York City, Minerva erected a display of the desert. Crowds were thrilled to discover this “strange landscape,” and reporters took pictures for magazines and newspapers. Minerva won a gold medal for her exhibit, The Spirit of the Desert. Minerva also won awards in Boston and London for exhibits there. But more important than these accolades was that people were really listening to her and beginning to love the desert. When she donated her exhibits to museums, more people became interested in the desert.

By 1933, Minerva was ready to move on to the next stage in her plan. She wanted 1,000,000 acres of the desert to be declared a national park, protected by federal laws. Minerva garnered an audience with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and brought photographs to show him. She convinced the President—now it was up to Roger W. Toll, superintendent of Yellowstone National Park, to inspect Minerva’s desert and agree.

Illustration copyright Jenn Ely, 2024. Courtesy of Calkins Creek, Astra Books for Young Readers.

As Roger Toll stood in the middle of the desert on a rainswept day, he asked, “where are the lush trees, the waterfalls, and lakes?” When he later filed his report, he rejected the desert for National Park status. Minerva was disappointed but did not give up. She began a letter-writing campaign, convincing “scientists, teachers, politicians, and friends” to write to the National Park Service. Letters poured in—enough to convince the Service to send out a new inspector.

This time Assistant Director Harold C. Bryant, who lived in California, was sent. “He knew all about desert plants and animals.” When he arrived, Minerva and more than one hundred supporters greeted him. After touring the desert for three days, Bryant announced his decision: Yes! “Minerva’s desert was worth saving.”

Illustration copyright Jenn Ely, 2024, text copyright Lori Alexander, 2024. Courtesy of Calkins Creek, Astra Books for Young Readers.

Extensive backmatter, accompanied by photographs, offers more biographical information about Minerva, points about wildlife in Joshua Tree National Park, facts about other national parks in the United States, tips for how young people can help the environment through easy-to-implement actions, and a bibliography. In Lori Alexander’s Author’s Note, she relates the dangers and destruction that the fragile environment of Joshua Tree National Park and the surrounding desert continues to suffer from “vandalism, urban development, and the effects of climate change,” a report that demonstrates the need for continued education and care taking of our natural resources.

In Cactus Queen, Lori Alexander has created a compelling biography of a remarkable woman as well as a call to action for readers to stand up for the environmental or other causes that are important to them. Alexander highlights Minerva Hoyt’s love of the desert, her dedication, and her unflagging determination to overcome setbacks. Hoyt’s creativity, pragmatism, and lifelong focus serves as an inspirational roadmap for accomplishing goals for children, teens, and even the adults who read with them.

The first thing readers may notice upon opening Cactus Queen is Jenn Ely’s beautiful color palette that mirrors the unique hues of the desert. Her stunning images of the desert and Minerva’s ingenious ways of rallying the country and the President to her cause transport children from Hoyt’s earliest days through her long-fought success. Ely’s charming illustrations reveal not only the special plants and creatures of the Mojave Desert but Minerva’s distress at its destruction and her tenacity to enact change to protect it. 

Both a fascinating biography of Minerva Hoyt and an in-depth look at the multifaceted workings of conservation efforts, Cactus Queen: Minerva Hoyt Establishes Joshua Tree National Park will inspire readers to advocate for causes that are important to them. For educators the book would make an excellent addition to science and language arts curriculum. Cactus Queen would also be an engaging accompaniment to museum visits or field trips for families and teachers.

Cactus Queen is a top pick for classrooms, public and school libraries, museum shops, and families.

Ages 7 – 10

Calkins Creek, 2024 | ISBN 978-1662680212

About the Author

Lori Alexander is the award-winning author of several children’s books, including All in a Drop: How Antony van Leeuwenhoek Discovered an Invisible World, which won a Robert F. Sibert Honor, and A Sporting Chance: How Ludwig Guttmann Created the Paralympic Games, an NCSS Notable Book. Her work has received several starred reviews from Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Horn Book Magazine, has made the NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book list, and has been selected by the Junior Library Guild. Visit Lori Alexander at lorialexanderbooks.com.

About the Illustrator

Jenn Ely is an artist and animator, who has worked on the movies The Boxtrolls and Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio. In her recent foray into children’s books, she illustrated The Gardener of Alcatraz and If You Were a Kid Building a Pyramid. Visit Jenn Ely at jennely.com.

Women’s History Month Activity

Become a Joshua Tree National Park Junior Ranger

How would you like to become a Joshua Tree National Park Junior Ranger? You can your badge with this online program full of fun and educational activities for all ages! You can learn how to draw a Joshua Tree, create your own constellation, learn all about desert tortoises, create your own rock formation, learn about adaptable plants and design your own, and more.

To earn your badge kids ages 5 – 7 are asked to complete 2 activities; kids ages 8 – 10 are asked to complete 3 activities; and kids ages 10 and above are asked to complete 4 or more. After finishing projects, you just need to send images of your work to receive your badge in the mail!

Simply visit the official Joshua Tree National Park website and learn more about their Junior Ranger program! Learn more about the park and view lots of pictures and videos here.

Joshua Tree National Park Coloring Page

Enjoy this activity page by filling it with all the colors of the desert.

Joshua Tree National Park Coloring Page

Order from Bookshop to support your local independent bookstore.

You can also find Cactus Queen: Minerva Hoyt Establishes Joshua Tree National Park at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

Picture Book Review