CHASE THE MOON, TINY TURTLE

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.