Follow the photo journal of Carolina, a critically ill loggerhead sea turtle, as she is cared for and nursed back to health at the Sea Turtle Hospital of the South Carolina Aquarium. Just like hospitalized children, Carolina goes through a variety of emotions and procedures during her care and recovery process. When she first arrives at the hospital, she is too sick, weak, and confused to understand what is happening. She has blood drawn, x-rays taken, gets shots, and is fed through an IV…just as ill children may be! As she gains strength, she begins to interact with her caregivers and to, begrudgingly, understand that they are really trying to help. Join her as she interacts with her many caregivers and her sick or injured roommate turtles. Celebrate the happy day she is released back into the open arms of the ocean – a healthy and happy sea turtle! The “For Creative Minds” section includes a craft, game ideas and information on sea turtles. The author and photographer donate a portion of their royalties to the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Program at the South Carolina Aquarium.

My Comments:  My second graders LOVED this book.  We read it together and it enabled so much great discussion about illness.  Children, of course LOVE animals and since we live in Southern California and not too terribly far from the Ocean and Sea World, many of the children have seen turtles.  We couldn’t believe how large Carolina was!  The illustrations were superb.  The information was age-appropriate and these books are so educational!  They include other information you can use in the classroom (would be really awesome for homeschoolers too!)  The appropriate age for this book is: 4-9

The Accelerated Reading Level is: 3.6

***NEW ALERT*** The publisher (Sylvan Dell) will be giving away one copy of this book through The Friendly Booknook.  All you have to do is leave a comment telling me  what your favorite sea animal is and why – nothing long, just ONE sentence.  The winner will be chosen at random.  You will have until May 31 to comment on this blog in order to win a copy of the book.  I know you will enjoy it as much as my second graders and I did.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 14th, 2012 at 9:45 pm

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