The guide provides background information on the story’s origins and cultural significance, as well as suggested lesson plans and activities that align with educational standards. Davies’s words are simple yet remind you how beautiful turtles really are.The Teacher’s Guide for Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China is a resource for educators who wish to incorporate this traditional Chinese folktale into their curriculum. I found myself getting swept up in this wonderful tale even though it only describes the life of a turtle, nothing fanciful or fictional added on. The cool colours and the layout on the page give you a sense of being underwater and you rise to the surface as the turtle does, Chapman placing you on the beach alongside the turtle and back into the sea. Truly the illustrations are beautiful realistic and beautifully coloured images of the growing turtle and her underwater world. While the story itself is beautiful, there’s no doubt it’s enhanced by Chapman’s stunning illustrations. These are educational and add real life information based on whatever is currently happening in the narrative. There is a simple narrative but it covers a lot and in addition there are footnote type facts as well, smaller in print and separated from the main text. Davies’ words are lyrical and poetic and tell the fascinating and amazing journey from a baby turtle to a full grown Loggerhead. The focus is on one small female turtle as she survives in the sea and we follow her as she grows and explores the ocean.

Nicola Davies’s lyrical text offers fascinating information about the journey of the tiny, endangered loggerhead, while charming paintings by Jane Chapman vividly illustrate one turtle’s odyssey.ĭavies has written a beautiful book about the majestic nature of sea turtles and while she doesn’t mention the human impact on their environment or habits, there is no doubt when you finish reading it makes you think about what that impact has been.

Then, one summer night, she lands on a beach to lay her eggs-the very same beach where she herself was born. For thirty years she swims the oceans, wandering thousands of miles as she searches for food. Far, far out at sea lives one of the world’s most mysterious creatures, the loggerhead turtle.

One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies