Hawksbill Promise: The Journey of an Endangered Sea Turtle

by Mary Beth Owens

Overview

There is a deserted bay on a small island off Antigua where hawksbill turtles crawl ashore at night during the mating season to lay their eggs. Two months later the hatchlings—each weighing less than an ounce—emerge from the sand and scramble to the sea in the moonlight. Only a lucky few survive.

Mary Beth Owens was inspired by her admiration and concern for these critically endangered animals to write and illustrate this beautiful book. The narrator—a craggy, ancient jumby tree that stands sentinel over the bay—observes a hawksbill’s arrival by night, her arduous trek to excavate a nest and bury her eggs, her solitary return to the sea, and the later diaspora of her hatchlings. Spare prose complements pages saturated with Caribbean color or brooding in ghostly moonlight.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780884484301
Publisher:	Tilbury House Publishers
Publication date:	07/30/2019
Series:	Tilbury House Nature Book Series
Pages:	36
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 11.40(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	NC930L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

MARY BETH OWENS (Newcastle, ME) is an award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books, among them Panda Whispers, Caribou Alphabet, Counting Cranes, and Be Blest: A Celebration of Seasons. She incorporates her passion for the natural world with her enthusiasm for children’s books and teaching art. Research trips have taken her to study caribou in northern Maine, whooping cranes in New Mexico and Texas, sea turtles in Antigua, and marsupials in Australia.

Editorial Reviews

" 2020 NCTE Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels List"

NTCE - Hawksbill Promise: The Journey of an Endangered Sea Turtle (Tilbury House Nature Book)

"5 Stars!

Anything you didn’t like about it?  Nothing.

To whom would you recommend this book? Perfect for children between the ages of four and eight.

Who should buy this book? Public and school libraries, preschools, daycare centers, anyone who works with children between the ages of four and eight.

Where would you shelve it? Beginner nonfiction books

Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? Yes"

Hawksbill Promise: A Sea Turtl'es Journey - Youth Services Book Review - Kristin Guay

"5 stars! Hawksbill Promise: A Sea Turtle’s Journey is a good story for any age of reader who enjoys the islands because chances are that they also love turtles. There is a lot to be learned from this story, and the added information included at the end of the book was a definite bonus. Read Hawksbill Promise: A Sea Turtle’s Journey, and you will learn a lot about the journey of this special sea creature."

Hawksbill Promise: The Journey of an Endangered Sea Turtle (Tilbury House Nature Book) - Kids' Book Buzz - Ania - Age 8

"" 2020 NCTE Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels List""

NTCE - Hawksbill Promise: The Journey of an Endangered Sea Turtle (Tilbury House Nature Book)

06/14/2019

K-Gr 3-Owens brings readers to the shores and waters of the Caribbean. Colorful watercolor and ink drawings accompany poems that build the story through crisp imagery. The journey of Hawksbill sea turtles, driven by instinct and inherent memory, is told by a tree on the island where the turtle will come to lay her eggs. The unique narrative voice carries the reader to the tropical island home of the turtles. A perilous journey told in lilting prose paints mental pictures to complement the visual images on paper. Colorful depictions of native wildlife weave through each page. Information about the Hawskbill sea turtle, plants and animals of Jumby Bay, and further resources enhance the reading experience. VERDICT A beautifully illustrated book of informational poetry.-Elizabeth Speer, Weatherford College, TX

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