Tortoises

Children's Literature

This entry in the "Animals of the Rainforest" series includes information about how some varieties of land turtles, or tortoises, including the Galapagos Giant Tortoises, survive (on this island off the coast of Ecuador but in other areas as well), their future in the rainforest, a map indicating where the island is located, charts, and sidebars of interesting facts. Children may be misled by the map which only pictures the location of the Galapagos Giant turtle while the text discusses tortoises in general, mentioning that there are over 40 kinds. A short chapter is devoted to what the animal eats, a typical day in its life, and the animal's life cycle. Research is further supported by a glossary, well-selected and vibrantly colored photographs but with modest captions that are mostly descriptive rather than informative, an index, a few Internet sites, and a useful address to which to write. 2002, Steck-Vaughn,