Sea Turtles, Vol. 2

Children's Literature

This book in the "Ocean Life" series gives young children a few simple facts about sea turtles. Using just fifty words, the text explains that sea turtles live in the ocean, they are reptiles, have a shell, a beak, four flippers, and can swim quickly. They lay eggs on land and young sea turtles must hatch from the eggs and crawl into the sea. There is a table of contents, a word list, an index, and a list of resources (books and Web sites) for more information. Each page of text is accompanied by a full-color photo illustration. Where needed, arrows and labels show the part of the sea turtle being discussed (such as the beak and the flippers). The text is large and well spaced on a white page. Sentences are kept short and simple. An important basic fact about sea turtles (they must come to the surface to breathe) is not mentioned—a curious oversight since other books in the series (the volumes on sharks and rays) describe how fish use gills to breathe. Overall, Sea Turtles is a quick, easy read for younger children. 2001, Pebble Books/Capstone Press, Turner