But Where Do Sea Turtles Live?

by Elina Ellis

Dive deep into the mystery of sea turtles in the latest addition to the Alex’s Field Guides series.

The Curious Explorers Club has one question for Alex: Where do sea turtles live? As her friends share their theories, Alex checks her journal for clues. How big are they? What do they eat? Where do they lay eggs? The explorers follow the answers to find out: Where exactly do sea turtles live?

As in each of the titles in author and illustrator Elina Ellis’s Alex’s Field Guides series, this engaging book offers a child-friendly allegory on the importance of protecting the habitats of endangered species. Appealing characters asking kid-friendly questions will draw in children wanting to know the answers. Colorful spreads showcase Alex’s journal – jam-packed with sea turtle facts, including how they’re being threatened. The back matter shows readers how to start their own explorers club. With its clever blend of story and information, this is an excellent choice for life science lessons on marine animals, habitats and characteristics of living things. It also fosters critical thinking and inquiry-based learning.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

Published June 3, 2025

Reviews

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Children's book I read to my twin boys, and this is the third book in the Alex's Field Guides series. I found this book to be fun to read, and the pictures were cute. My boys really enjoyed this book. Very fun read. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.

[The Sassy Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review: But Where Do Sea Turtles Live? by Elina Ellis

Ratring: 4 Stars

I recently picked up But Where Do Sea Turtles Live? by Elina Ellis, and I have to say, it’s a charming and informative read that both kids and adults can appreciate. Part of the Alex’s Field Guides series, this book follows Alex and her friends from the Curious Explorers Club as they try to solve a simple but intriguing question: where exactly do sea turtles live?

The story unfolds through Alex’s journal entries, filled with fascinating facts about sea turtles—their size, diet, nesting habits, and the environments they call home. As the explorers share their guesses and observations, readers get drawn into a fun blend of storytelling and factual learning. What I really liked is how the book subtly stresses the importance of protecting endangered species and their habitats without feeling preachy. It’s educational while still being engaging.

The illustrations are bright and inviting, perfectly complementing the text and making the science feel accessible for young readers. Plus, at the end of the book, there are some great ideas for kids to start their own explorer clubs—encouraging curiosity and environmental stewardship in a hands-on way.

Overall, I found this book to be a wonderful resource for anyone interested in marine life or looking for a thoughtful addition to a school library. The cover itself caught my eye right away, and inside, it’s packed with interesting info that can spark meaningful conversations about nature and conservation. My only reason for holding back from five stars is that some sections felt a bit dense for the youngest readers, but that might just mean it’s perfect for slightly older kids or those with a keen interest in animals.

If you’re looking for a well-rounded introduction to sea turtles—complete with facts, fun, and a call to protect our natural world—this book is definitely worth checking out!

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

[YSBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where do sea turtles live?  Young readers can join this wonderful adventure with Alex and friends in the Curious Explorer Club to find out the answer.  They will quickly discover many interesting facts about the 7 different species of these mighty ocean creatures: they are amazing swimmers, each kind has its favorite treats, baby sea turtles face many dangers, and they live in the whole wide ocean.  The digitally rendered illustrations appear watercolor-like and use earth tones.  A combination of story and informational nonfiction, each page is full of turtles, a diverse group of kids, and lots of fun facts.  Alex’s journal includes sea turtle facts, what they eat, all about birth and beyond, where their home is in the ocean, and how this endangered species are being threatened.  The back pages include tips on how kids can  start their own Curious Explorers Club and resources for how to protect the sea turtle habitat. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was poor. With the first book in this series (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), our lead kid was completing her journal into elephants, but asking all the other neighbouring critters if they were or had seen the beasts. Everything the book could teach us about them was on just three spreads. Here (having skipped over the second book) we get our lead with some friends, and the same journal-styled, scrap-booky pages for the science, but the in-between bits are useless flights from one habitat to another, and the question of whether the sea turtle would appreciate them. This might be a way of teaching about habitat, but it doesn't work well, and it certainly isn't entertaining.

You might think of this as worthwhile, with its eight pages about the subject, but the value of the rest is really debatable. Looking back, the first book didn't instil me with much confidence about these titles going forward. Unfortunately, I was spot on – so many series can give the science straighter and much better.

[Shan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! It was such a clever idea for the author to use a story with a plot to inspire and educate readers all in one book. The story creates fun and gives the book a solid structure, and the facts about sea turtles gives this book a purpose and meaning. These two things came together flawlessly in the end, and really finished the book off nicely. Adding onto the information bits: it was all genuinely interesting! Nonfiction can usually be pretty dull, but this book went against that and made learning engaging. I also loved the variety of different sea turtle types included in this book; it widens the scope and makes for a much "fuller" and "rounded" book. Lastly, I loved the last few pages that provided tips and steps for readers to start their own Explorers Club. Including this in the book was such a great choice, bravo! I have zero doubt that many young readers are going to read this book and immediately want to be the best animal experts in their communities. Great job!!

[Bookmeaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

The members of the Curious Explorers Club go on a new adventure, traveling across the oceans and seas to study the lives of Sea Turtles. Where do they live ? What do they eat ? How big or small are they ? What about their carapaces ? How are they born ?

This book is a treasure of knowledge about all kinds of sea turtles and their lives. We learn a lot through Alex's journal, which is filled with drawings, informations, facts, about them.
We get to see beautiful environments illustrated, like estuaries, coral reefs, sea caves, beaches. It also touches on the pollution, the climate change, plastic, fishing gear that are hurting our turtle friends.

It's a really cool book, mixing a fun traveling story and knowledge about sea turtles. Then we have recs on how to create our own club, with activities, rules and how to make your own journal with everything you learn along the way. And also, the ressources page is a really good touch to make the reader go through more if interested.

[Srujan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interactive, fun book about Sea Turtles! The book is filled with facts and factoids about Sea Turtles but that I distinctly recognised as a discerning feature was how the information is presented. It is divided into interactive chunks that let the children come to an inference or conclusion rather than plainly stating it. My 5 year old twins really enjoyed reading this one. Thank you Kids Can Press, Elina Ellis and NetGalley for the DRC of this book. My review is voluntary and thoroughly honest! ❤️

[Jaymie · Rating 4 out of 5]

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Such a fun addition to this great series. I loved the illustrations - especially of Alex's field guide pages. They are so engaging while also being colorful, informative, and well organized. This can be used as both a mentor text for animal studies and field guides but also as a guide to creating a Curious Explorers Club of your own.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice mixed used book. It’s both a picture book with an adventure club as well as a nonfiction book with facts about sea turtles. It altogether works quite well. You can leave out the info bit if you want to read it for story time or just read the info bit if you’ve got a kid really interested in sea turtles.

[Ember Air · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazingly in-depth introduction to all types of sea turtles and will leave you wanting to learn more. A little light on the story part in comparison to the fact pages, but an engaging read nonetheless - chock-full of information. The end of the book has a bunch of fun ideas on starting your own club to learn and protect animals, plants, and nature in general.

[Amanda Sanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mix of fiction and nonfiction has a group of children exploring in a boat, looking for sea turtles in kelp forests and coral reefs and caves and more. Between stops there are pages with turtle facts. Lots of turtle facts. The story with the explorers seems appropriate for pre schoolers while the facts are definitely 2nd and 3D grade material.

[Danielle Mccoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this eBook from netGalley for a honest review.

A fun way to learn about sea turtles and the scientific process. I like how the kids guess and give reason and then learn if they are right or wrong in their assumptions. I look forward to more books like this one.

[Amethyst Maxey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for the ARC. Although this book was a bit advanced for my son, one day it will be a cute book for him. Loved the illustrations and it was very informative about turtles

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended ages: 4 to 8

In this Alex’s Field Guides book, the Curious Explorer Club members embark on a mission to answer the question “Where Do Sea Turtles Live?”. With beautiful illustrations, the pages describe the various habitats (ex: estuaries, coral reefs), types of turtles (ex: loggerhead, hawksbill), typical meals (ex: crab, kelp). The book also explains how turtles hatch and return to their hatching grounds as well as how kids can start their own Curious Explorers Club (ex: name and logo and planned activities like nature walks and scavenger hunts). My five-year old and I really enjoyed reading this book and learning all the new information this book imparts. We are looking forward to reading more books from the Alex’s Field Guides series.

But Where Do Sea Turtles Live? will be published June 3, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kids Can Press, and Elina Ellis for this free, advance copy in exchange for an honest review.