Using children's books that reflect the cultural heritage of the American Southwest, this paper offers suggestions for integrating the language arts through reading, writing, and listening activities. Activities are arranged into two sections: (1) integrated language arts approaches to writing springing from Southwest picture books by Byrd Baylor, including "The Desert is Theirs,""We Walk in Sandy Places,""When Clay Sings," and "Hawk, I'm Your Brother"; (2) integrated language arts approaches to writing springing from other books on the Southwest, including "The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses" (P. Goble), "The Day It Snowed Tortillas" (J. Hayes), "Annie and the Old One" (M. Miles), and "A New Miguel" (J. Krumgold). (FL)