Saving Turtles: A Kid's Guide to Helping Endangered Creatures

by Sue Carstairs

A behind-the-scenes look at a hospital for severely injured turtles. Turtles have been around for 220 million years -- longer than dinosaurs. But now their time might be running out. Of the roughly 300 species worldwide, more than half are threatened with extinction. Freshwater, marine and land turtles are all affected. And their biggest threat is us! As the human race grows and expands on the planet, turtles are losing their homes, suffering the effects of pollution, the pet and food trade, killed by cars as they try to cross roads, and snared in fishing nets or by fish hooks meant to catch other species. Fortunately, a community of scientists, environmentalists and volunteers around the world are helping to protect and save turtles. The author, Sue Carstairs, is a veterinarian at a turtle rescue and rehabilitation center. She reveals how she repairs shattered shells, broken jaws, and injured skulls, and nurses severely injured turtles back to health for release into the wild. Carstairs also explains how turtle eggs are harvested from injured mothers, incubated, raised in tanks and released into the wild. Organizations around the world performing similar work with land and sea turtles are also profiled. What can readers do to help the worldwide effort to save and protect turtles? Two examples from the many offered in the participate in World Turtle Day, on May 23rd every year, sponsored by American Tortoise Rescue, and lobby for "turtle crossing" signs in nesting areas.

Genres: Science, Animals, Nature

64 pages, Paperback

First published August 5, 2014

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome work!!

[Lorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I think of all the criteria that libraries and educators agree are important for children’s non-fiction; excellent and engaging writing that not only informs but moves the reader, stunning visuals, value added extras like maps, indexes and further learning suggestions, and a cost that is affordable; this is book that I will hold as a gold standard for meeting and exceeding all of them.

In our world, lots of species that have survived millions of years are being threatened with extinction because of the intentional in unintentional things we humans do. It can be hard to get your message to be heard in the giant alarm that is being raised about so many; bees and frogs are just a few of the many I have read about in the last few years; yet this book makes its point about turtles both eloquently and clearly in a yet hopeful way that makes their message hard to ignore. As an adult who reviews and reads hundreds of children’s books a year, I get the privilege of reading about many subjects, but I learned so many wonderful things about turtles that I did not know before and it opened my eyes to how truly magnificent they are. I very rarely speak this personally about a book that I am reviewing, choosing to focus on content but I cannot ignore the powerful emotion this book invoked in me.

I would highly recommend this middle grade title for all school and public libraries. It is an excellent example of the power of words and how children can make an impact on the subjects that matter to them.
This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.

[Bady Turtle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could give it 6 stars

[Ashlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saving Turtles is an informational book all about turtles and 'A kids guide to helping endangered creatures'. This book has so much information all about the different aspects of turtles like the different kinds of turtles, the anatomy of a turtle, the threats to turtles, rescuing turtles, harvesting turtles, field research, and even conservation. And at the very back of the book there is a glossary as well as resources and how you can get involved.

This book features tons of photographs of different turtles, a map, pictures of veterinarians saving turtles and much more. There were some doable page spreads, most of the pictures have captions. This book would be prefect to use in a classroom if a teacher is ever doing a lesson on turtles!

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author, a veterinarian at a turtle rescue and rehabilitation center, tells how she repairs broken turtle shells, jaws, and skulls, and helps rehabilitate injured turtles so they can be released back in the wild. She tells about other reasons why turtles are becoming so endangered and relates what people and organizations are doing to help them, as well as what young volunteers can do. With excellent photos, this book will be great for the science curriculum, reports, and students interested in reptiles, conservation, and volunteering.

Original post at http://mackinbooksinbloom.com/2014/04...

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every resurrection of the Ninja Turtles franchise has conservation advocates worried, because the popularity of the series tends to coincide with a spike in demand for turtles as pets--a great many of whom are collected from the wild.

Help head off this trade by sharing this wonderful book with a turtle-loving child. This book explores the hazards turtles face and what can be done to help them. You even get a peek inside a turtle hospital!

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed for professional publication.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned so much from this; who knew that turtles' shells could be so wonderfully saved?

[Caitlin Lopez Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot, that I did not previously know about turtles, through this book. Great images, information, and facts.

[Sayana]

good