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Turtle in the Sea
A poignant story of a sea turtle mother who lays her eggs late one night, this is also a subtle story about how important it is for mothers to take care of themselves for their children's sake. Dramatic and perfect for beginning readers, this book tells of near misses with sharks, boats, storms and nets-all the things a turtle mother must battle in order to stay alive. The turtle mother will not stay to see her eggs hatch, because that is the turtle way. But by ensuring her own survival, she gives her children the gift of life.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published July 22, 2002
2 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Jim Arnosky
162 books76 followersJim Arnosky was born in New York City, NY Sept 1, 1946. He was raised in Pennsylvania. Jim graduated from high school in Philadelphia and joined the US Naval Reserves. His active duty took him to Maryland and Bremerhaven, Germany.
In 1976 Jim and his wife Deanna moved to Vermont with their two daughters where they have lived in an old farmhouse for the past 28 years. 17 of those years were spent raising sheep.
Jim is self taught in writing, art and the natural sciences. He has written and illustrated 86 books on nature subjects and has illustrated 46 other books written by various authors. He has been awarded the Christopher Medal, Orbis Pictus Honor, ALA Gordon Award, and Outstanding Science book awards from National Science Teachers Associations.
Jim loves to fish, boat, and play his guitar. In his work, he uses a Betacam SP video camcorder with a 1600 mm lens to record the wildlife he and Deanna find all across the country.
In 1976 Jim and his wife Deanna moved to Vermont with their two daughters where they have lived in an old farmhouse for the past 28 years. 17 of those years were spent raising sheep.
Jim is self taught in writing, art and the natural sciences. He has written and illustrated 86 books on nature subjects and has illustrated 46 other books written by various authors. He has been awarded the Christopher Medal, Orbis Pictus Honor, ALA Gordon Award, and Outstanding Science book awards from National Science Teachers Associations.
Jim loves to fish, boat, and play his guitar. In his work, he uses a Betacam SP video camcorder with a 1600 mm lens to record the wildlife he and Deanna find all across the country.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 17, 2021
A mother sea turtle makes her way up onto a beach one night in this lovely work of picture-book natural history from Jim Arnosky, laying her eggs in the sand and then proceeding on her way. While it is not the turtle way to raise their young, who hatch ready to head off into the ocean on their own, this mother has done what she can by surviving. Despite the many dangers she has faced at sea during her long life, she has endured, allowing her to play her part in bringing forth the new generation...
Like so many of Arnosky's other picture-books, Turtle in the Sea pairs a simple, engaging story of the animal world with vibrant, appealing artwork, created in watercolor. I thought the narrative here, which emphasizes the many dangers the mother turtle had to face, from sharks and boats, to storms and nets, in order to arrive safely on that beach, was quite interesting. Although it is structured somewhat differently, I was reminded of other picture-books about sea turtles, such as April Pulley Sayre's Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! and Brenda Z. Guiberson's Into the Sea . Recommended to young animal lovers and marine biologists, and to all picture-book readers interested in sea turtles.
Like so many of Arnosky's other picture-books, Turtle in the Sea pairs a simple, engaging story of the animal world with vibrant, appealing artwork, created in watercolor. I thought the narrative here, which emphasizes the many dangers the mother turtle had to face, from sharks and boats, to storms and nets, in order to arrive safely on that beach, was quite interesting. Although it is structured somewhat differently, I was reminded of other picture-books about sea turtles, such as April Pulley Sayre's Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! and Brenda Z. Guiberson's Into the Sea . Recommended to young animal lovers and marine biologists, and to all picture-book readers interested in sea turtles.
March 13, 2018
The story of a Momma turtle as she battles the negative areas of the sea to make it to a beach where her children will be birthed. Although she comes out with scars, life still prevails.
The first thing that grabs you about Turtle In The Sea is the beautiful illustrations. Each page could be a work hanging in a museum. Just really wonderfully detailed. The writing is smart and fits with the artwork masterfully.
There is really nothing I can find wrong with this book. Even the slightly sad parts which are just realistically what happens in the sea are pleasant to view.
This is my first book by Jim Arnosky but from what I have read in other reviews all his books have similar beauty. They are the type of books I would love to collect even though I do not have kids.
The first thing that grabs you about Turtle In The Sea is the beautiful illustrations. Each page could be a work hanging in a museum. Just really wonderfully detailed. The writing is smart and fits with the artwork masterfully.
There is really nothing I can find wrong with this book. Even the slightly sad parts which are just realistically what happens in the sea are pleasant to view.
This is my first book by Jim Arnosky but from what I have read in other reviews all his books have similar beauty. They are the type of books I would love to collect even though I do not have kids.
December 16, 2017
I really enjoyed how the storyline was laid out for this book. It starts with an older turtle making her way to shore to lay eggs, and then it brings the reader's attention to the scars on her shell. This then becomes the story--how she received those scars, some of which were human interactions. For this reason, this story could be part of so many different units, so many different discussions and investigations.
April 2, 2023
4/2/23: This was a little darker than I'd hoped as it tells of all the bad things that has happened to the mother turtle. But it ends with little turtles hatching and racing to the sea. At least it wasn't hyper realistic here because then it might have shown just how few actually make it to the sea and all the predators the little ones have. But it didn't so it did fulfill the prompt of "hope" for the #picturethis 2023.
October 21, 2023
4/2/23: This was a little darker than I'd hoped as it tells of all the bad things that has happened to the mother turtle. But it ends with little turtles hatching and racing to the sea. At least it wasn't hyper realistic here because then it might have shown just how few actually make it to the sea and all the predators the little ones have. But it didn't so it did fulfill the prompt of "hope" for the #picturethis 2023.
November 26, 2018
a nicely crafted (and very realistic!) tale about a sea turtle who manages to survive one disaster after another as she ages, growing wiser and more cautious with each near-miss. While I appreciated it, the little one with whom I was reading did not. She kept trying to skip pages when she got bored. Oh, well. The rating is an average of hers and mine.
August 20, 2023
This is a very informative book and it has beautiful illustrations. The colors are very striking.
April 22, 2018
This is a story about affection and courage. Mother Turtle has overcome many difficulties for her children.
December 14, 2011
Turtle In The Sea by Jim Arnosky tells the story of a mother sea turtle and the many dangers she barely avoided before laying her eggs that will result in more baby turtles.
When she was young, the sea turtle was attacked by a shark who damaged her shell before she hid in a coral cave to heal. Hit by the bow of a large boat while hunting a jellyfish, her shell cracked and broken, she recoved in a small cove. A waterspout tumbled and tossed the sea turle. Nicked and scratched all over and hungry, the turtle hunted for fish. Lunging into a group, she was tangled in a fished net. Fortunately the fisherman released the sea turtle back into the sea. The old turtle lays her eggs then swims away. By ensuring her own survival, she has given her children the gift of life. Once hatched, her baby turtles propel themselves off the beach and into the sea.
The descriptive text is written in lyrical prose with a few phrases on each page.
The illustrations clearly portray the story. Among the other animals pictured are a variety of fish, rays, a shark, swordfish, flying fish, swordfish, and a variety of sea birds. My favorite images include the overs pictures, the turtle by the lighthouse, the shark attacking the turtle, turtle chasing the jellyfish by the boat, turtle lunging into the fishing net, and baby turtles rushing into the sea.
This is a more dramatic book than some of Arnosky's others, detailing the many dangers sea turtles face in the ocean: including sharks, boats, storms and nets. This could be used when introducing ocean animals, habitats and endangered animals. It will also work for beginning / transitional readers.
For ages 4 to 7, sea turtles, ocean, mother and babies, natural science, and fans of Jim Arnosky.
When she was young, the sea turtle was attacked by a shark who damaged her shell before she hid in a coral cave to heal. Hit by the bow of a large boat while hunting a jellyfish, her shell cracked and broken, she recoved in a small cove. A waterspout tumbled and tossed the sea turle. Nicked and scratched all over and hungry, the turtle hunted for fish. Lunging into a group, she was tangled in a fished net. Fortunately the fisherman released the sea turtle back into the sea. The old turtle lays her eggs then swims away. By ensuring her own survival, she has given her children the gift of life. Once hatched, her baby turtles propel themselves off the beach and into the sea.
The descriptive text is written in lyrical prose with a few phrases on each page.
The illustrations clearly portray the story. Among the other animals pictured are a variety of fish, rays, a shark, swordfish, flying fish, swordfish, and a variety of sea birds. My favorite images include the overs pictures, the turtle by the lighthouse, the shark attacking the turtle, turtle chasing the jellyfish by the boat, turtle lunging into the fishing net, and baby turtles rushing into the sea.
This is a more dramatic book than some of Arnosky's others, detailing the many dangers sea turtles face in the ocean: including sharks, boats, storms and nets. This could be used when introducing ocean animals, habitats and endangered animals. It will also work for beginning / transitional readers.
For ages 4 to 7, sea turtles, ocean, mother and babies, natural science, and fans of Jim Arnosky.
August 22, 2010
I saw a few books by Jim Arnosky while browsing in the library the other day and after flipping through one or two we took a few out. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they aren't all written the same.
Turtle in the Sea is a pretty cool book. It's even better for a kid really into turtles. My daughter has two Red-Eared Sliders and ever since she got those she's been into everything turtle related.
This is about a sea turtle of course and the story tells of a Mother turtle and her life in the sea. It's not a happy-go-lucky book in a sense because the turtles life isn't easy by any means. It's told about her scars from meetings with sharks and boats among other things. The story ends with the Mother turtle climbing on the shore to bury her eggs and the turtles hatching and climbing into the ocean to begin their own lives.
The "circle of life" talk could easily be brought up while reading this if a parent wanted. We simply talked about different kids of turtles ourselves but the opportunity for different talks is definitely there with this kind of story.
The illustrations aren't anything special if you ask me but because of the turtles Julia was into them. the writing is easy, simple verse style and I would have liked them to flow a little better. I can't explain it better than that.
Turtle in the Sea is a pretty cool book. It's even better for a kid really into turtles. My daughter has two Red-Eared Sliders and ever since she got those she's been into everything turtle related.
This is about a sea turtle of course and the story tells of a Mother turtle and her life in the sea. It's not a happy-go-lucky book in a sense because the turtles life isn't easy by any means. It's told about her scars from meetings with sharks and boats among other things. The story ends with the Mother turtle climbing on the shore to bury her eggs and the turtles hatching and climbing into the ocean to begin their own lives.
The "circle of life" talk could easily be brought up while reading this if a parent wanted. We simply talked about different kids of turtles ourselves but the opportunity for different talks is definitely there with this kind of story.
The illustrations aren't anything special if you ask me but because of the turtles Julia was into them. the writing is easy, simple verse style and I would have liked them to flow a little better. I can't explain it better than that.
Read
November 7, 2010Jim Arnosky has given us another accessible introduction to the habitat and habits of an interesting animal. This book traces the life of a sea turtle, beginning as she swims toward her nesting grounds to lay eggs, then flashing back to the beginning of her dangerous life to trace her growth up to this time. The story ends on a hope-filled note when her tiny hatchlings leave their nest, dispersing into the sea to find their own lives.
The book is written in gently lyrical prose, a few phrases on every page, illustrated with attractive pictures that help carry the story's action. Targeted to an older preschool audience, this serves as a good precursor to Berenzy's Into the Sea. It's a great choice for reading aloud.
The book is written in gently lyrical prose, a few phrases on every page, illustrated with attractive pictures that help carry the story's action. Targeted to an older preschool audience, this serves as a good precursor to Berenzy's Into the Sea. It's a great choice for reading aloud.
February 27, 2015
Turtle in the sea is a good book to use in a classroom setting to teach children about the marine life. I thought this book was very inviting by the pictures. The illustrations were filled with color and different types of movement that drew the readers eye in. The purpose of this book is to gain more information about the turtle of life and its surrounding habitat. I think this book would work well with k-3rd graders because the sentences are short yet filled with information. The pictures do a great job connecting with the text and explaining new terms that the children may be unaware with.
March 21, 2013
Turtle in the Sea gives a description of the trials a turtle overcomes throughout her life in a dangerous sea. Not only is this book informational (realistic fiction) which could make a great science lesson, it also uses a lot of descriptive words (adjectives); for example, blue-green waves, soft, white turtle eggs, etc, that can be used in a language arts lesson.
July 22, 2021
A sea turtle comes to shore to lay her eggs and reflects on her life: being attacked by a shark, being hit by a boat, experiencing a water spout, and being caught by a fisherman. Despite all of these hardships, she was still able to stay alive and finally lay eggs.
This would be an okay choice to introduce the idea of ecological conservation.
This would be an okay choice to introduce the idea of ecological conservation.
April 25, 2016
I liked this book. The story talks a lot about real things that happen to sea turtles. However, the fact that it is a "fictional" picture book left me with wanting more of a character-driven story. The sea turtle does not have a name.
I mainly picked it up because I loved the illustrations.
I mainly picked it up because I loved the illustrations.
October 19, 2010
mother and babies
natural science
natural science
January 1, 2014
I really loved the story. The art was very inspiring too.
Oki
Oki
July 1, 2016
pretty art work, not as good as "one little turtle"
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews