Chase the Moon, Tiny Turtle: A Hatchling's Daring Race to the Sea

by Kelly Jordan, Sally Walker (Illustrator)

Overview

Young readers will witness rare and extraordinary natural event as a baby loggerhead hatches from its shell. With nothing but the light of the moon to act as a guide, readers will follow the newborn turtles’ harrowing attempts to outpace a series of predators on their march toward the glistening shore. After only narrowly avoiding hungry crabs, owls, and foxes, the turtle rides ocean waves to a calm clearing. Following a moment of peace in the still ocean water, the turtle joins the rest of its pack on a dive into the moonlit sea to continue the voyage home.

Told with a beautiful, lyrical rhyming sequence, this book introduces readers to the birth cycle of a loggerhead sea turtle. Through the newborn turtle’s eyes, both kids and adults will marvel at the majestic, and sometimes dangerous seaside landscape from a perspective rarely seen before.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781645671527
Publisher:	Page Street Publishing
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	421,186
Product dimensions:	10.60(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kelly Jordan has a journalism degree from the University of Georgia and spends her days as a communications manager and magazine editor. She lives with her husband in Decatur, Georgia. This is her second book with Page Street Kids.

Sally Walker has received an MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art. She is currently working as a graphic and motion designer for an eLearning company in the UK. She has a strong passion for nature and conserving the remaining natural wonders of the world.

Editorial Reviews

"This will show well to a small group and reads aloud smoothly. An appealing addition to a nature collection." — Kirkus Reviews

"A pleasant, light offering that will fit nicely into a juvenile nonfiction picture book section." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

12/01/2020

PreS-K—This picture book uses rhyming verse to follow a hatched loggerhead turtle's journey to the sea. The opening pages depict a large number of turtle eggs buried in a mound of sand. Walker's illustrations use a combination of styles and moods, including romantic swirls of the dark blue night and smiling turtles lit by a bright full moon. Jordan employs short, brisk sentences to describe the challenges and dangers in the turtle's path. Predators wait for the turtles across the sandy beach, including an owl and a crab. The text encourages the hatchling to follow the moonlight. The light is an important guide. In the afterword, Jordan advises readers to turn off any lights near nesting sites because the lights could confuse the turtles and take them off course. For the sake of preschooler and kindergartner sensibilities, no turtles are captured in this narrative. The afterword also includes additional information and several suggestions to boost turtle survival rates. VERDICT A pleasant, light offering that will fit nicely into a juvenile nonfiction picture book section.—Nancy Call, formerly at Santa Cruz P.L., Aptos, CA

School Library Journal

2020-12-15
Rhyming couplets describe a sea turtle’s suspenseful journey from egg to ocean.

This tale from the natural world opens with a full moon shining on a sandy beach. The dune is shown in cutaway view to reveal a nest of turtle eggs. Turn the page: The eggs crack, and a hatchling peeks out. Soon it’s digging its way out and crawling down toward the ocean. Danger lurks along the way—an owl, a dog, and crabs—but the turtle perseveres, finally swimming away through a coral reef and on to a seaweedy area of open ocean. Jordan directly addresses the turtle, urging it onward while describing, for readers, the sights and sounds of its journey. The rhyme and rhythm usually land. An author’s note identifies the turtle as a loggerhead, and the account is true to nature though somewhat anthropomorphized. The most jarring note occurs toward the end as the hatchling takes off into the water. “Catch the wave. Use your shell. / Surf, turtle. Ride the swell!” A turtle’s first swimming efforts are not at all like a surfer’s joyful glide. The illustrator echoes the anthropomorphic tone, endowing the tiny turtle with a most expressive face. Walker backs up, then closes in, using spreads and frames to indicate the passage of time. The owl’s threatening claws are particularly effective. This will show well to a small group and reads aloud smoothly.

An appealing addition to a nature collection. (advocacy tips) (Informational picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews