Review by Booklist Review
The full moon shines on a Mexican nature reserve's beach, where a green turtle and her siblings struggle to crack their shells, climb out of their crowded pit in the sand dune where her mother laid around 100 eggs, and avoid predators while finding their way to the ocean. In the water, she's safe from most land-based threats, but with hungry sea animals searching for prey and seabirds attacking from the sky, the baby turtle is still in danger. Her body's shell provides a strong defense from many sea creatures, and as she grows, her size may discourage other potential aggressors. Bearzi, a marine biologist, points out dangers faced by many green turtles. This particular turtle survives until, years later, guided by Earth's magnetic field, she returns to the beach where she hatched, digs a sand pit, and lays her eggs. The relative sophistication of both the narrative's vocabulary and the illustrations indicates that the book would appeal more to middle-graders than to younger children. A handsome, informative account of a green turtle's life cycle.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In the opening sequence of this lush species biography, marine biologist Bearzi, making her children's debut, does not sugarcoat the fate of newly hatched sea turtles. Pictured with crisp realism in digitally finished graphite drawings by Boersma (The Whale Who Swam Through Time), the tiny turtles dig their way out of the sand and take off for the waterline, but crabs, raccoons, and other predators reduce the hatchlings by more than half. After they enter the water, fishing birds decimate the group to no more than a handful. "Our turtle" survives, with breathtakingly detailed close-ups showing her growing to maturity while evading sharks, briefly suffocating in a fishing net, and being saved by marine biologists. At last she returns to the beach where she was born to lay her own first clutch of eggs. Emphasis on the dangers sea turtles face make this a fittingly devastating natural history study, and the illustrations' delicate, close focus and dynamic angles add more drama. By underscoring the fragility of sea turtles' lives, the creators attach persuasive power to their appeal for preservation. Back matter includes an author's note and information about helping turtles. Ages 4--8. (May)
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Review by Horn Book Review
In a narrative beginning and ending at the Ria Lagartos nature reserve on the Yucatan Peninsula, readers follow the perilous and often enigmatic life of a single green sea turtle from birth to egg-laying adult. A cross-section image of a tiny green turtle still peacefully tucked away in its eggshell provides a moment of reprieve prior to the dangers that the hatchling (and siblings) will soon face. Circumstances for a newborn sea turtle are immediately perilous, with threats including everything from hungry predators to misdirecting light-pollution. Once in the ocean, and after a mysterious stretch of time in a young sea turtle's development identified as the "lost years," the focus shifts to sea turtle physiology, diet, defense strategies, migration habits, and other highinterest facts presented through approachable text and supportive illustrations. An emphasis on environmental protection, demonstrated by the actions of conservationists to save the turtle protagonist from a deadly drift net, adds drama. Marine biologist Bearzi skillfully balances scientific information with -evocative presenttense writing: "The moon is standing witness to this astounding new chapter of our turtle's life." Boersma's detailed graphite and digitally colored illustrations are accurate and expressive, with revealing depictions of life above and below the sand and waves, effective use of panels to show growth and time, and surprising shifts in perspective. Substantial back matter includes an author's note alongside sources and additional scientific information. Patrick GallSeptember/October 2025 p.82 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A sea turtle survives a perilous journey. Born on a nature reserve in Mexico, the turtle faces a series of challenges: climbing out of her nest, making it across the beach to the ocean while avoiding raccoons and other hungry creatures, searching for food, defying even more predators such as gulls and sharks, and getting entangled in a fishing net--which necessitates a rescue by humans. The turtle makes it to age 30. Now it's time to mate, return to her birthplace, "like a sailor equipped with an internal magnetic compass," and complete the delicate dance of finding the perfect spot for her nest. Employing language both precise and imaginative, marine biologist and conservationist Bearzi expertly describes the mechanics of sea turtles' movements and morphology. Boersma's stunning, intimate illustrations seamlessly complement the text, from a cutaway view of the nest to a gorgeous bird's-eye view of unsuspecting baby turtles making sand trails in the shadow cast by the wing of an avian hunter. She captures her subjects' every emotion: determination on the faces of hatchlings propelling themselves from the nest, fear in the eyes of an unlucky youngster grabbed by a crab. Sweeping undersea scenes, including maps of ocean currents on the sea turtle's journey, vividly illustrate the life of this wondrous creature. It's all capped by in-depth backmatter, including information on how readers can protect sea turtles and a look at several specific species. Mesmerizing and insightful. (author's note, guidance for those interested in studying sea turtles, information on how temperature and artificial lights affect sea turtles, bibliography)(Informational picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
