TRACKS IN THE SAND

Known for her lighthearted treatments of a variety of subjects (The Monster Money Book, 1992, etc.), Leedy takes a more direct look at sea turtles. Her simple text outlines life-cycle events: ``The sea turtles swim free in the ocean, eating, floating, mating''; the mother comes ashore to lay eggs; they hatch; the young return to the sea. The full-bleed art, in earth tones and muted blues, lovingly depicts the turtles on sea and sand, evoking the slow pace of one turtle and the night that hides her as she finds a place to lay her eggs; cross-sections of the developing embryos, while undetailed, are a nice touch. An afterword gives more specifics about loggerhead turtles, threats to their survival, and ways people can help preserve them. Quiet and appealing. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 4-8)