Little Turtle and the Sea is ‘a story of survival in our polluted oceans’. Lyrical language and beautiful illustrations combine to create awareness of the danger that our sea creatures are in as a result of our plastic waste being dumped into the ocean. The story, with its endearing main character, conveys an important message and gives us lots to think about in terms of our plastic use.
The Story: Little Turtle leaves the beach where she was born and swims to a cosy cave. After a long sleep she continues her journey to the other side of the world. Along the way she makes new friends and enjoys the companionship of the ocean. She finds a beautiful home and lives there for many years until she returns to the beach where she was born and welcomes new little turtles. She makes the journey several times but one day the ocean doesn’t seem so friendly, it’s filled with strange new creatures who put Little Turtle in danger…
Little Turtle and the Sea introduces the problem of plastic being dumped in the ocean and the dangers that it poses to marine life. Little Turtle gets snared in a net but is rescued by divers who are working to clear the ocean of pollution and return it to its natural state.
Little Turtle’s story highlights the dangers caused by pollution in the world’s oceans and how defenceless sea creatures and wildlife are impacted. It’s amazing how much learning is packed into this story, we didn’t know that sea turtles made such long journeys and we were encouraged to discover more about them.
We love the way that Jennie Poh’s wonderful illustrations depict life under the waves and, although not mentioned in the text, introduce a range of sea creatures including jellyfish, crabs and coral. But although she swims alone Little Turtle isn’t lonely and of our favourite illustrations shows her hitching a ride …
Double page spreads at the end of the book include a note from the author, a glossary of terms and an explanation of how rubbish gets into the ocean (which really made us think about how we inadvertently contribute) and we were horrified to discover how big The Great Garbage Patch is. There are also facts and information about the ways that plastic hurts marine life, how long plastic takes to biodegrade and what children can do to help. A book list for further reading and online resources are also included.
This would be a fabulous story to read to children in an Early Years classroom and can stimulate discussion about recycling responsibly and increase awareness of how our actions impact others. It would also be a fabulous book to include in a topic about seas and oceans and can encourage children to find out more about sea turtles.
Age Range: 3 +
Author: Becky Davies / Illustrator: Jennie Poh
Thank you to Little Tiger Press for sending a copy of this beautifully illustrated book which will hopefully encourage readers to think about their plastic use and how we can all reduce and recycle what we use.
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