School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-A tiny turtle scuttles past T. rex to reach the ocean's sheltering seaweed, where she grows into a two-ton Archelon. Swimming with Plesiosaurs and escaping a massive Mosasaur, she eventually returns to the same beach to lay eggs for another generation. Easy-flowing narrative verse plus large illustrations encourage read-aloud visits to ancient seas. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this companion to Tadpole Rex, a prehistoric turtle hatches on a "primeval beach" and slips beneath the waves. Cyrus's illustrations incorporate dramatic scale, movement, and majesty: the spreads are a marvel of lighting and texture, as swirling ocean and sky symbolize the passage of time ("The hatchling who hid in the seaweed was gone.../ grown to a two-ton archelon"). As the turtle treads the starlit sea after laying her eggs, Cyrus comments on species loss: "Gone is that sea and the creatures it knew./ Archelon. Mosasaur. Pterosaur, too./ Gone is the plesiosaur's clam-cracking smile.../ but full-body helmets are still in style." A moving and truly epic journey. Ages 4-8. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
