REVIEW and GIVEAWAY
Sweet T and the Turtle Team
(Sweet T Tales Book 3)
(Sweet T Tales Book 3)
by Cat Michaels
Sweet T and the Turtle Team is recommended for children ages 5 to 12. It is the third book in the Sweet T Tales by Cat Michaels. Also available: Sweet T and the North Wind (read my blog post) and Finding Fuzzy (read my blog post).
Sweet T and the Turtle Team is currently on tour with BeachBoundBooks. The tour stops here today for my review, an excerpt, and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
It’s nesting season for loggerhead sea turtles on North Carolina's Gull Island. Nine-year old Tara (or Sweet T as her family sometimes calls her) is determined to see hatchlings make it safely from their nests to their ocean home.
Summering on Gull Island with Great Aunt Mae could be tons of fun, but T is having a hard time making new friends with island children, let alone finding kids to help her monitor a sea turtle nest.
There’s little sister Jenna, but Jenna is, well, little. Fuzzy is around, too, but Jenna’s blue stuffy rabbit gets lost all the time. Besides, a toy bunny can’t help protect turtle nests.
Tara befriends Billy, a moody island child. He teaches her skimboarding and shows her the best shelling spots. But Billy stomps away when she asks him to read the "Turtle Team Guide" and join her in saving baby sea turtles.
What’s up with Billy? He’s nice one minute and grumpy the next. And why does he refuse to join T’s Turtle Team? T can't figure him out.
A tropical storm threatens Gull Island just as the sea turtle nest is ready to hatch. T must abandon the nest and prepare for bad weather.
Will Sweet T and her friends be safe in the storm?
Will the sea turtle nest survive angry ocean waves?
Will Billy share his secret with T, so she can help him?
Sweet T and the Turtle Team is the third book of the Sweet T Tales series of chapter books for early and reluctant readers by Cat Michaels, MS., Ed. It mixes fiction and kid-sized dilemmas with facts about marine life.
Its short chapters encourage early readers, and its content engages reluctant readers. The book includes a glossary, comprehension quiz, a sea turtle hatch photo gallery, and brain-stretching questions to discuss after the story.
With more than a dozen watercolor illustrations by artist Irene A. Jahns, Sweet T and the Turtle Team delivers powerful messages about protecting ocean life while helping young readers understand the true meaning of friendship.
Book Video
Excerpt
[Want more? Click below to read another excerpt.]
Praise for the Book
"I love how author Cat Michaels has created a perfect beachy, island setting with colorful descriptions of the flavors, smells, and sounds of the South. Readers will feel the ocean breezes as they are sitting on Aunt Mae’s front porch munching on nutty boiled peanuts and eating warm biscuits slathered with fresh homemade peach jam. Yum!" ~ Rhonda Paglia
"From saving pelicans to saving sea turtles and dealing with huge cockroaches, Tara takes your child on such a delightful adventure they won’t want to put this book down. It is filled with courage, hope, and love which will drive the imagination of any child." ~ Peggy M McAloon
"Author Cat Michaels writes this sweet story in such a way that readers will feel right there, smelling the sea water, and of course, the love and guidance of Aunt Mae. The bonus material in the back of the book will extend fun and learning." ~ Rosie Russell, Author and Illustrator
"It is summertime in the States and author Cat Michaels has timed her new beach book perfectly for lazy days in the sun. This is a great story for kids to read at the beach or to transport them there. Written for children ages 6 to 11 years this story is sure to engage both curious and reluctant readers." ~ Sandra Bennett
"Children's author Cat Michaels has created a delightful summer adventure and tale for pre- and early readers with Sweet T and the Turtle Team on Gull Island. The story is interwoven with wonderful lessons of ocean conservation, respect, kindness, friendships, and family bonding." ~ James Milson
My Review
By Lynda Dickson
Sweet T is spending the summer at her Great-Aunt Mae's house on Gull Island. But she's a bit lonely with only her aunt and little sister Jenna for company, while her mother is working on a special project at the Gull Island Aquarium. Things start to get interesting when T finds a pelican trapped in fishing line and rescues him with the help of Aunt Mae and her young neighbor Billy. Then T's mother asks them to form a Turtle Team to help monitor the sea turtle nests on the beach. But why won't Billy join them? The adventures continue with searches for Jenna's toy bunny Fuzzy, lessons in skimboarding, run-ins with local children, and a tropical storm that threatens to hit the island just as the turtles are about to hatch.
This book blends fictitious characters, places, and events with facts about ocean life. It brings home the message that everyone has different talents and that you can be good at some things but not others. The gorgeous watercolour illustrations by Irene A. Jahns lend an old-fashioned charm to the story. Not so old-fashioned are the illustrated texts from T's other sister, Kristen, who stays home with Dad. These texts help speed the story along by providing a summary of the action.
Fun extras at the end of the book include photos of a real turtle hatching event, a texting glossary, a quiz to test your child's comprehension of the story, as well as discussion questions about issues raised in the book.
You can also check out the author's website for some free downloadables.
A winner in all respects.
About the Author
Author, blogger Cat Michaels, M.S., Ed., has more than two decades of experience helping students from kindergarten to college with learning disabilities and Asperger’s syndrome.
Her chapter books and Sweet T Tales series for beginning readers tell of everyday life with a twist of magic and mischief. Cat’s books encourage young and reluctant readers to use their imagination and solve kid-sized dilemmas as they enjoy reading.
Cat lives in North Carolina with her family, where she enjoys digital photography and graphic design, creates pocket gardens, works out as often as she can, and writes.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win a $75 Amazon gift card or PayPal cash.
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