One Tiny Turtle

Narrated by Scott James Hybl, this iconographic adaptation of author Nicola Davies and illustrator Jane Chapman's 2001 picture book explores the life cycle of the Loggerhead turtle (named for its helmet-like noggin). Similar in format to The Emperor's Egg (reviewed in VL-3/06), also illustrated by Chapman, One Tiny Turtle follows a baby turtle from its “nursery” (a sort of net of seaweed and driftwood), through its growth into a massive reptile protected by an armor-like shell as it embarks on a long migration, and its eventual return home to the same beach where it was born (drawn by current and sound, among other factors) in order to nest, after which the newborn baby turtles instinctively know how to “wriggle from their shells” and make their way into the sea, thus beginning the cycle anew. Concluding with a “Did You Know?” fact segment (turtles need to come to the surface for air, babies take six weeks to hatch, etc.), this is an informative overview of the life of an endangered species. Recommended. Aud: K, E, P. (J. Williams-Wood)