WILD & WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY : The Secret Life of a Sea Turtle by Maddalena Bearzi & Alex Boersma
ABOUT THE BOOK
On a beach at the Ría Lagartos nature reserve in Mexico, a sea turtle is born.
Newly hatched into a big world, she breaks out of an egg buried in the sand. Now, her journey begins. To reach the ocean she must avoid predatory opossums, crabs, and raccoons -- many of her siblings will not make it. But our sea turtle does, and when she finally dives beneath the blue sea, she’ll travel for thousands of miles on a beautiful and pulse-pounding adventure.
Brilliant, informative, and compelling, The Secret Life of a Sea Turtle is a sweeping nonfiction tale following one turtle’s extraordinary life from hatchling to adulthood, written by sea turtle expert and activist Maddalena Bearzi, and illustrated by rising star Alex Boersma.
REVIEW
The Secret Life of a Sea Turtle follows one small hatchling as she leaves the nest to seek the ocean. Facing numerous dangers including predators, obstacles on the beach, and the ocean itself, she heads out to face life on her own. While the specifics of life at sea for a young sea turtle remain a mystery, some things scientists can tell is that these young creatures spend their lives seeking food, avoiding predators, and navigating from sea current to sea current. Once she's big enough to discourage most predators she will return to shallower waters to graze on seagrass and algae. Dangers still abound with old fishing nets and larger sharks being two of the biggest risks. After reaching maturity around 30 years of age, she will return to the beach where she hatched to mate and lay eggs of her own before returning to life at sea. The author and illustrator provide many fascinating details about green sea turtles in this narrative nonfiction book. While written as a story details about size, shape, weight, and anatomy give readers a deeper understanding of the life cycle of a green sea turtle born in Mexico and living in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The back matter includes a note from the author, tips for helping protect sea turtles, and information about each of the seven identified types of sea turtle. Additional information about becoming a sea turtle researcher, the dangers of artificial lights near the beaches where sea turtles hatch, acknowledgments, and a short bibliography round out the back matter. The illustrations take the book to the next level with their gorgeousness. Eye-catching pictures of the turtle evading predators adds to the feeling of immediacy. A great book for classrooms and young turtle enthusiasts that will leave readers appreciating the difficulties of life as a sea turtle. Highly recommended.
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