One Tiny Turtle

One Tiny Turtle describes the life cycle of a loggerhead turtle and the complexities she endures in her lifetime, starting from hatching at the sandy shore to obstacles of the ocean, and then carrying a motherly role. This story definitely focuses on non-fiction material, though in the form of a story, and with side information that is more factual. On just about each page, the author wrote the factual information about the loggerhead turtles as though it were weaved into the waves, and it was a neat way to catch the reader's eye and make them want to look at the extra text. Nicola Davies wanted to write this story because she is passionate about animals ( especially sea turtles) and she wanted to portray how we are prohibiting their natural lifestyle when turtle eggs are hunted for food, pollution destroys the water they swim in and the beaches they lay eggs in, and of course the people who build on the beaches, which takes away from the natural environment of the sea turtles. Jane Chapman, who illustrated a beloved story in the classroom I work in (One Duck Stuck), also loves turtles and was waiting for her chance to illustrate a book involving Sea turtles, and you sure can tell--the art work is gorgeous.

I would use this book to teach a sequencing activity, or teach a lesson about the natural predators of sea turtles and human predators for that matter. As a pre-activity, I would allow the students to have a discussion with what they already know about sea turtles. Later as a post-activity, I would have them sequence the story, and reflect on anything that they didn't know that they now have learned from  reading the story. I would say the reading level is at a First grade place, but it is a great book to use when teaching about different animals and reptiles.