The Voyage of Turtle Rex

PreS-Gr 2—Nestled in the sand of the title page, a clutch of eggs begins to crack. They are sea-turtle eggs, but from another time, as hinted at by the giant clawed foot just visible at the top. A young turtle emerges and crosses the sand under the shadow of a Tyrannosaurus rex whose interest has been captured by a pair of unidentified small, red dinosaurs. She slips into the sea and a world of sharp teeth: sharks, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs. She hides away in a lush kelp forest and returns years later to lay her own eggs. The book ends with a nod to the varieties of turtles and tortoises alive today, and a note about the dangers facing them. Told in rhyming text, the story bounces along with only a few minor hitches, though adult readers may stumble on a few of the dinosaur names. Oversize pages give satisfying scale to the dinosaurs, which are illustrated in a realistic style. Subdued blues, greens, and browns dominate the palette. The book will hook insatiable young dinosaur fanatics looking for readable, factual stories.—Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, OR