Carolina's Story: Sea Turtles Get Sick Too! [Hardcover]

Donna Rathmell (Author), Barbara J. Bergwerf (Photographer)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

"Carolina's Story: Sea Turtles Get Sick, Too!" is the photographic journal of Carolina, a critically ill loggerhead sea turtle, as she is nursed back to health at the Sea Turtle Hospital of the South Carolina Aquarium. Just like hospitalized children, Carolina experiences 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 hydrated through an IV just as ill children may be.

Join her as she interacts with her many caregivers and her sick or injured roommate turtles and then celebrate the happy day she is released back into the open ocean--a healthy and happy turtle.

An educational "For Creative Minds" supplement in the back of the book includes teaching trivia, conservation issues, a make-your-own sea turtle craft, and sea turtle math games. "Learning Links" and "Teaching Activities" are also available on the Sylvan Dell website, so that educators can use the books even more easily in their lessons.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1–A photographic journal of the rescue and rehabilitation of an ailing female loggerhead turtle. Close-up color photos record Carolina's arrival at the Sea Turtle Hospital, her medical treatment, and the efforts of staff and volunteers to get her back on her flippers and seaworthy. The simple text is highly anthropomorphic (Carolina feels better when she sees another ill turtle; upon release, she is thankful to all the people who had helped her when she was sick, etc.), but it will appeal to its intended audience. Back matter includes photos showing other rescued loggerheads being cared for, Fun Facts, and a template for making a paper turtle. Similar to (but far simpler than) Kathryn Lasky's richer Interrupted Journey (Candlewick 2001), Rathmell's book will find eager readers and perhaps boost their empathy level.–Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. Using the form of a photo-essay, Rathmell tells the story of an ill loggerhead turtle that was found on a beach and brought to a South Carolina's sea turtle hospital. Brief but engaging, large-print type and color photographs (of mixed quality) follow the turtle as it undergoes a variety of treatments and eventually returns to the ocean. Despite the reptilian stoicism that the turtle exhibits most of the time, her recovery is effectively captured in pictures that highlight her increasing friskiness, including a great shot of the turtle furiously splashing water as a keeper tries to take her out of her pool. The added pages on sea turtle activities, intended for teachers, don't contribute much to the package, and more information on the sea turtle hospital would have been helpful. Still, this will be a useful addition to the sea turtle shelf of many collections. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Sylvan Dell Publishing (June 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976494302
• ISBN-13: 978-0976494300
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,077,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Turtle Rescue, November 13, 2005

By 

Sandra Dutton "Dear Miss Perfect, A Beast's G... (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Carolina's Story: Sea Turtles Get Sick Too! (Hardcover)

A sea turtle with turtle flu washes up on the Carolina shore and is lucky enough to be picked up by the Turtle Rescue Team. Carolina, as she is named, is taken to an animal hospital, where rescuers wash her sores, check her tongue, and hose her down. Kids will enjoy seeing this turtle who, much against her will, is forced to undergo a doctor's examination. "If Carolina could cry, she would cry and cry." She is placed on the X-Ray table, gets some shots, is put in a tank, and then begins to feel better. She plays with the water spout, learns to splash, comes eagerly to her dinner bowl, and makes friends with hospital visitors. Kids will enjoy the many themes explored in this book: it's normal to be scared in strange places; doctors can make you feel better; you can make yourself at home no matter where you are, but perhaps most significant: we need to care for and protect our wildlife. Carolina's story is told in on-the-spot photographs by Barbara J. Bergwerf. They capture Carolina's angst and frustration and the Turtle Rescue Team's calm determination. Author Donna Rathmell does not talk down to children. We learn that the turtle's shell is a "carapace," and that Carolina is covered with "barnacles," and that she will be treated with an "antibiotic." The typeface is large and bold, reminiscent of the text across the board of an elementary school classroom. At the end of the book are turtle facts and math games, and a sea turtle you can trace, cut out, and color. The lessons of "Carolina's Story" will be easily absorbed because children can all identify with Carolina.

Sandra Dutton is an artist, author and reviewer whose most recent book for kids is "Capp Street Carnival."

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful introduction to one of nature's wondrous sea creatures, September 14, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Carolina's Story: Sea Turtles Get Sick Too! (Hardcover)

With Donna Rathmell's simple, straightforward text suitable for children grades 1 to 3, and illustrated with the color photography of Barbara Bergwerf, Caronlina's Story: Sea Turtles Get Sick Too! is the true life story of the rehabilitation of a loggerhead turtle. Young readers get to see the inside of a turtle hospital, where sick and injured sea turtles are cared for and then released back into the wild when they are healthy. The final pages offer fun facts and a "make your own sea turtle" cutouts designs for photocopying and rainy day fun. A delightful introduction to one of nature's wondrous sea creatures.

5.0 out of 5 stars Sentient Being, April 9, 2011

By 

Sandy Carlson "SandyCarlson" (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Carolina's Story: Sea Turtles Get Sick Too! (Paperback)

Carolina's Story, Sea Turtles Get Sick Too! by Donna Rathmell is a photographic essay the narrative of which describes the rescue of a turtle suffering from the flu from her first moments with a rescue team to the turtle hospital, to her return to the ocean. Carolina, who is a loggerhead, made a full recovery thanks to the Sea Turtle Hospital and the folks at the South Carolina Aquarium.

During her time at the hospital, Carolina came to recognize the people and the routines of the hospital, bonding with the people around her and with the other turtles. The book shows that turtles are sentient beings; love is not the private proprety of human experience but something that shapes all life. Carolina's Story: Sea Turtles Get Sick Too!