World Turtle Day, June 16, 2016
Tortuga Squad: Kids Saving Sea Turtles in Costa Rica
Cathleen Burnham, Author and Photographer
Crickhollow Books, Photodocumentary, Jan. 3, 2016
Suitable for Ages: 7-10
Themes: Sea Turtles, Environmental rescue, protection and rescue, Youth activism, Costa Rica, Global kids, Diversity
Synopsis: It is May and a group of children in Costa Rica are tirelessly working to protect and save the lives of sea turtles on Parismina Island. They call themselves the Tortuga Squad, which means “turtle” in Spanish. They are on the outlook for poachers who are watching the beaches for sea turtles that come ashore to dig deep holes and lay their eggs. They steal the eggs and kill the mama turtles and eat their meat for dinner.
Meet 6-year-old Bianca, who is patrolling the beach from a hidden bush. She recognizes the poacher, waits until the coast is clear, and races to her friend Christian’s house to get help for the trapped turtle. Melanie, Dylan and other children hear the cry for help and rush with Bianca and Christian to help flip the turtle back over and watch her escape into the sea.
The Tortuga Squad patrols the beaches every evening and works hard to protect turtles and their eggs. Humans are their greatest threat. The children build a hatchery to safeguard the eggs until they hatch. Once the turtles are ready for release, the Tortuga Squad clears the beach of crabs, birds, dogs and other potential threats. They want to make sure that every little leatherback baby turtle make it to the water on its first journey over the shallow reef and to the ocean.
Compliments of Crickhollow Books
Why I love the Tortuga Squad:
- Cathleen Burnham is on a mission to find, highlight and photograph children who are united in a cause to rescue and save endangered marine and animal life around the globe. Her true and inspiring story is a call to children worldwide that they don’t have to be adults to make a difference. The kids of Parismina Island are passionate young activists who care and want to be involved in protecting the turtles.
- The Tortuga Squad is an engaging story for readers and is perfectly paced. Keeping turtle nests safe is a busy job for the squad and readers will enjoy the important mission. There is factual information about the variety of sea turtles that visit Parismina Island to lay their eggs on the dangerous beach: leatherback, hawksbill, loggerhead and green turtles. There is also a map of Costa Rica and Central America. The Tortuga Squad is a winner and an excellent discussion book for children, parents and teachers.
- Every page of the book is filled with rich, beautiful and moving photographs that show the young Tortuga Squad activists in action. Burnham also captures every aspect of life in Costa Rica including family life, the market place, and travel by boat. Burnham devotes many double-page spreads to the delicate ecosystem and the gorgeous endangered species living there, including howler monkeys, sloths, pelicans, crocodiles and beautiful birds.
Resources: To learn more about the amazing things children are doing to protect wildlife around the globe, visit the World Association of Kids and Animals (WAKA) and get involved. There is a special teacher’s guide available for classroom use. Make sure you read the Author’s Note about sea turtles and the kids of Costa Rica. Check out the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries website. They will observe Sea Turtle Week, June 13-17.
Cathleen Burnham is a journalist, writer and photographer. In addition to the Tortuga Squad, Burnham is the author of Doyli to the Rescue, the first “photodocumentary” book in a series of six forthcoming books for young readers that profile wildlife preservation efforts being undertaken by kids around the globe.
Lovely and inspiring.
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It is an inspiring story about how kids can make a difference in the environment.
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Thank you, Patricia!
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Cathleen, I’m so pleased you liked my review of your book. It’s my favorite kind of book to share. Your books are perfect for children who are quite passionate about conservation and saving wildlife/marine life.
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Cathleen,
I am thrilled you liked my review and a pleasure to share with readers. Thank you for the e-mail message. I’m glad to have your e-mail address, as I can’t find our earlier e-mails. I wanted to contact you before I released my review. Please keep me advised of future books. – Patricia
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Thank you, Jill!
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Wow! What an inspiring story! It is really a great way to show kids something can be done to help situations when they work together. I wish that people just wouldn’t poach animals of any kind. 😦
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Erik, both you and Josie would enjoy this book. It is inspiring that kids can work together to help marine life. Poaching was a food source for many on the island, but I agree with you.
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Thanks so much! That’s exactly what I was hoping to show. And, I believe the day is coming when humans will stop poaching animals. It’s not coming soon, but I think it’s coming….
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So glad you are giving a shout out to this wonderful book for World Turtle Day, Pat!
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Thank you. It turned out to be a perfect time to share the book. I know how much you love sea turtles and this story.
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Yes, thank you, Joanna!
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Children need to know that they can make a difference and books like this show them that. An excellent choice and great review as always. .
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Yes, this is my favorite kind of story to share with kids who are naturally compassionate towards nature and saving wildlife.
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Thank you very much, Darlene. I agree that kids can do an awful lot!!
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I don’t think I could love a story more than this. How wonderful!
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Me too! Glad you like the story.
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BTW: I mentioned you last week on my blog. It’s about Erma. 🙂
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Have been gone and am madly trying to catch up. Thank you for the mention!
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Oh my goodness. What a wonderful thing to hear. I really appreciate it!!
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Doubly wonderful with saving sea turtles and kids taking action!
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This is my favorite kind of story to share — kids taking action and making a difference. This book is the second in a series to follow. Crickhollow has a great thing going with these uplifting books for kids.
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Thanks, Beth. I think kids so naturally love animals and if we can just gently keep that love open and a part of their daily lives we can change the world.
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Pingback: Reblog: Tortuga Squad: Kids Saving Sea Turtles in Costa Rica — Children’s Books Heal – Jasper Lynn
Very inspiring that the kids are taking action to protect the turtles.
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I know. Isn’t it exciting to see kids passionate about conservation and protecting the environment!
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Really appreciate it, Patricia.
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Thanks for highlighting this cool book!
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Yes, it is! I’m glad you like the book. There will be more books in the series.
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Thank you for calling it a cool book!
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We’re very fond of turtles… sea, land, and teenage ninja ones, too. How wonderful to see the next generation helping to protect endangered species. 😀
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Yes, I agree. This is a great series of books about kids making a difference in their world.
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Love to hear about people who love turtles. If your kids end up reading the book, will you let me know what they think? I’m at cathleenburnham@yahoo.com (the author)
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This looks like a lovely book, and a great review. I think my kids would really like it, they’re quite keen on turtles, and saving sea-life in general.
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I can’t say enough for Cathleen Burnham’s books. This is book two, with four more to follow about kids making a difference. You kids may also like her first book “Doyli to the Rescue.” A girl in the Amazon saves Howler monkeys from poachers.
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Thanks, Patricia! TodayWeDid, I hope your kids will enjoy the book! Yes, Doyli to the Rescue is about a little girl saving endangered monkeys in the Amazon. This fall I believe the next one to come out will be about a Thai boy named Tony who helps save elephants.
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Cathleen, I’m excited to know your next book is about a Thai boy who helps save elephants. Look forward to its release!
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Wow, what a wonderful story! I love sharing true stories with my students. Thanks for sharing this with #diversekidlit!
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I’m so pleased you enjoyed this true story about kids rescuing sea turtles. It’s a real gem!
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What an inspiring book to show kids how they can make a difference in the world! Thanks for sharing at the Diverse KidLit linky!
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Love Cathleen Burnham’s series about children making a difference in the world. Happy you liked the Tortuga Squad!
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Reblogged this on Pearlz Dreaming.
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Thank you for sharing this book. It’s great to read about girls and boys making a positive difference to our world. It’s important to look after the world and its creatures if we want to be looked after ourselves. I look forward to reading the book and exploring the additional resources it offers.
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Nora, Cathleen Burnham is creating a series of six books about children around the world making a difference. The Tortuga Squad is the second. The first book is Doyli to the Rescue is about a young girl saving monkeys in the Amazon. Another book is due out this fall, I believe. They are published by CrickHollow Books.
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Thank you, Patricia. It sounds like a wonderful series of books. I’ll have to check them all out. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
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You are welcome. Also look up WAKA books on the internet. They are involved with these books and others.
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Thank you. 🙂
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