John R. Cobb

The illustrations in this picture book are a delight, from spotted turtle smelling dandelion seeds to scary red-furred fox. Meanwhile the text flows, written in straight-forward paragraphs, offers lots of pleasing internal rhymes. A slightly unbalanced rhythm is perfect for a tale of an unbalanced world where “Because his species is endangered, Clemmie is surrounded by lots of strangers.”

But man isn’t the only danger in this tale of nature. “Clemmie’s mom the fox did kill,” so show more Clemmie lives in fear. Eating bugs with morsels of meat, and fishing for bruised and battered applies, he waits for his happy ending with lighter brighter images of spring and summer to come.

A Turtle Tale is a fun short story which teaches children about nature in a pleasingly honest way. The illustrations, from season to season, will keep pre-readers happily satisfied.

Disclosure: I was lucky enough to find a free ecopy and I enjoyed it. show less