Friday, November 1, 2013

Book Reviews | A Tale of Two Turtles and A Whale’s Tale by Richard Marman

Written and illustrated by Richard Marman, A Tale of Two Turtles, and its sequel A Whale’s Tale, are fun educational reads for kids ages 5 to 8.

Both books provide an effective teaching guide for parents and teachers to help kids know more about different species of fish and marine life found in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.  The books are illustrated by Richard Marman and they are simple, yet imaginative and creative.  The illustrations help depict the reality of daily life for all marine species in these waters, some of which are thought provoking and insightful.  The illustrations also help to convey to the reader, the message of environmental responsibility and awareness.  With an expressive style of digital airbrushing and watercolor techniques, the pages come alive with color and vibrancy which kids will certainly appreciate when reading the stories.

A Tale of Two Turtles follows the life story of a young female turtle named Wave, and a young male turtle (Web) who later became her friend, and the adventures they both face as they navigate tropical waters and encountered both natural and man-made hazards which are unfortunately typical to earth’s marine life.  A Tale of Two Turtles gives insightful tidbits about the turtle’s perilous life and the odds they face of even one in a batch surviving. The story is broken down successfully in order to educate kids about marine life and their responsibility in helping to keep the ocean safe. For example, Web’s chilling tale of chomping on a plastic bag thinking it was a jellyfish, is an effective way of getting the message across to kids and adults that littering the beach with hazardous waste material like plastic bags is certainly not a good thing.

In A Whale’s Tale, Wave and Web met a humpback whale (Davo) who shares his story and experience of his annual migration from Antarctica to the warm tropical waters of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.  Davo’s adventure provides insight about the dangers humpback whales face from human predators that, despite the law, still practice whaling as a sport and for consumption.  Readers will be educated on the dangers of whaling, and hopefully this thought-provoking read will motivate children and adults to take a stand against such practices, and eventually one day it will cease altogether.

Other books by Richard Marman are McAlister’s Way, McAlister’s Hoard, and McAlister’s Spark. See our Press Release on these books and visit with the author on his website for more information.

Happy Reading!

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