Hail to the Chief – The Fire Chief. Booklist loves The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle: “The incredible story of Fire Chief is captivating on its own, and the illustrations only add to that appeal. Using what’s described as “a funny grip on the paintbrush,” the illustrator creates life-like images that heighten the drama while giving Fire Chief just enough of a smile to give him personality. Readers will find themselves rooting for him from the start. Young readers will be fascinated by the real-life resilience of this turtle and inspired by the people who helped him survive.”
The Washington Post loves Fire Chief.
Librarians pick the best new books for kids this fall:
The award-winning duo behind The Book of Turtles returns with a true fairy tale about the life of a snapping turtle named Fire Chief. Through Patterson’s realistic acrylic illustrations, readers see the animal mature from the size of an acorn to the size of a lawn mower before an encounter with a vehicle nearly ends his life. Turtle Rescue League conservationists nurse him back to health, and Fire Chief lives happily ever after in a freshly dug pond in the illustrator’s backyard. Montgomery addresses readers directly, inviting them into this remarkable story; an appendix offers resources about turtle stewardship.
Otis loves Fire Chief.
Otis the box turtle at Garden State Tortoise has given the first celebrity endorsement of Sy & Matt’s new book, The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle. Otis is known to his 542,100 followers on TikTok (with over 15.6 million likes), his 510,000 followers on Instagram, and heaps more on Facebook. Otis is one busy boxie.
Octo! Octo! The Secrets of the Octopus is #4 in the nature category on the Circana Bookscan list, which is the standard industry source for book sales. And The Soul of an Octopus is #5.
The Arab News is giving turtles a little love: “Sy Montgomery’s Of Time and Turtles tells of her curiosity to the wonder and wisdom of our long-lived cohabitants, turtles‚ and through their stories of hope and rescue. Elegantly blending science, memoir, philosophy, and drawing on cultures from across the globe, this compassionate portrait of injured turtles and their determined rescuers invites us all to slow down and slip into turtle time.”
