Turtles of the World: a companion book for turtle fanciers
582556
Turtles of the World by Frank Bonin, Bernard Devaux, and Alain Dupre was originally published in French in 1996 and was followed by two editions. Peter Pritchard, a well-known turtle biologist and conservationist, translated the third edition into English for Johns Hopkins University Press. The hardback book is printed on coated paper and bound well for moderate use.  It is more of a reference book than something one would carry in the field. In general, Turtles of the World is a good reference to all known species of turtles.

The front matter takes up 9 pages and covers general biology, paleontology, anatomy, physiology, behavior, and conservation. None of these sections is thorough, so readers should find other sources for in-depth information on these subjects. Each section to follow contains short species accounts that includes distribution, description, natural history, and protection. The distribution maps are shaded portions of continents showing country and major river outlines. One to two color photographs accompany each account. The maps are only generalizations and should not be considered accurate. The photos are attractive but provide only one or two views that may or may not be useful for identification because of the variation in color and pattern commonly exhibited by turtles. Some photos are much better than others.

Turtle taxonomy is in a state of flux. Name changes are published yearly due to our increasingly better understanding of relationships and geneaology. Some of the names in this book are stable but others; some are outdated. Kinosternon odoratum on page 173, for example, was used only temporarily in the scientific literature, as the long-standing name Sternotherus odoratus has remained otherwise stable for over a century. Nowhere in the species account is the more commonly used name mentioned. Thus, the names in this book should be checked against other, more scientific sources. Note that only scientific names are used in the book. Common names are not provided except in some accounts where they are deep in the text. The scientific names are followed by the authority, the name or names of the person or persons who provided the scientific name used here and the year in which that name was published. Readers unfamiliar with taxonomy will wonder why some of these names are in parentheses and others not. Nowhere in the book is that explained. Those in parentheses signify that the scientific name was originally placed in another genus by the authority, but that later changes put the species name in a different genus. Note here that a species name consists of two words: a genus and a species combined.  The species name must always be accompanied by the generic name.

This book gives short shrift to the extreme plight turtles face around the world. They are declining at an alarming rate, especially in southeast Asia where nearly all species are threatened with immenent full-blown extinction. Why? Two reasons: consumption of turtles in China and other oriential markets, and loss of habitat. Readers should search for other sources to learn about the problems and efforts being made by people who love turtles to keep species from declining further.

Turtles of the World is a book that all turtle hobbyists and many professionals will want on their bookshelves for reference and comparative photographs. It should be used in conjunction with other books on turtle biology and identification. Peter Pritchard should be thanked for making this book available to the English audience.
552277
This book is excellent and a must for every turtle owner.  This book covers everything from general information to major supportive care together with supporting photographs.  It is obvious the author took great time and care to provide such marvelous information to all turtle owners or turtle enthusiasts.  As a long-term experienced turtle keeper, I highly recommend this book.
3853499
This recent book by DeYoung and Hobbes is unique both in its content and format. The book is filled with specific examples of design that occur in nature that have been copied by human engineers, architects, and scientists. The main part of the book is divided into eight sections, each focusing on one specific part of nature: microorganisms, insects, flying creatures, underwater life, land animals, people, plants, and non-living objects. Each of the sections contains several specific examples in nature that humans have used to improve life. These include the human femur, cockleburs, beech leaves, the octopus, and the kingfisher bird. The examples include a short description of the object and how it has been used by humans, questions for further study, pictures, references, and key words for Internet searches. There is also a helpful list of general references in the back, as well as a glossary and subject index. The book demonstrates that the amazing designs we see in nature, both from living and non-living things, point to the Creator of the universe. It is sure to become a favorite for both scientists and non-scientists alike.
2295354
As a wildlife enthusiast, I found this book to be very informative and the photography to be excellent.  It has really helped me identify a few snakes in my area ( especially living in the country) when I wasn't quite sure what they were.  I was able to find the snakes quickly in this easy to read book.  I would recommend this book time and time again to anyone that loved outdoors or studied reptiles, etc.
4808089
I liked my book so  much, I ordered another for my niece who lives close to the coast and knows about the turtles.  She's enjoying her book, too.
4197524
Sea Turtles is an excellent book with great photographs outlining the natural history, biology, and conservation of the world's sea turtles.  The authors make an effort to comment on all the sea turtles of the world (seven species), and add some information on salt water crocodiles, marine iguanas, and sea snakes.  Factually, the material is very good, and presented for a 3rd-4th grade reading level, with difficult or unique words spelled phonetically in the text.

Page 32 has a large photograph of two green sea turtles touching "noses"; the legend reads "A female sea turtle mates with a male before coming ashore to lay her eggs.  Mating takes place underwater."  These turtles certainly are not mating!  It seems a bit prudish to have such a erroneous legend to go with this photograph... any nature show on television shows giraffes, lions, and cranes mating.  This would have been a great opportunity to indicate how male and female sea turtles are distinguished, and how males compete with one another for access to females.

In addition, on page 12, a scuba diver seems to be touching a resting sea turtle... widely considered a no-no.  And there was a great opportunity here to have a picture of "sea turtle ecotourism" as a new industry that gives value to sea turtles for existing!

These issues aside, I enjoyed this book, and will use it when I give talks to children in elementary school.  I like to leave a book behind so that kids can continue to explore the topic of sea turtles.
4269618
For several years now, WILDguides have been setting the standard for small, handy field guides that focus mainly on the identification of neglected groups of wildlife. Their approach is characterised by portability, the emphasis on visual utility (the use of computer enhanced photographs) and a significant contribution to conservation. The latter is achieved in two ways: firstly by getting these guides into the hands of the public at very competitive prices (WILDguides is a non-profit publisher) and secondly by donating all profits to conservation organisations that work on the area or organisms treated by each guide.

In 2001, the authors produced the first comprehensive guide to the&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Whales-and-Dolphins-of-the-European-Atlantic-Ocean-Guides/dp/1903657008/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Whales and Dolphins of the European Atlantic (Ocean Guides)</a>. By making use of computer enhanced photographs - which combine the advantage of a photograph as an accurate record of an individual with the artist's ability to stress those features that are representative of the species - they created an impressive new tool for cetacean identification.

This current volume is a second edition. It describes all 31 species of cetacean recorded in the Bay of Biscay, English Channel, Celtic Sea and coastal SW Ireland. In a pocket-sized, 88 page, full-colour photographic guide you have all you need to identify whales and dolphins off the shores of the Cornish coast, on the ferry passage to France or Spain, or on a trip to the Hebrides. Improvements over the first edition include:-

 landscape (rather than portrait) format - which better allows the observer to keep the guide open in one hand, while holding a pair of binoculars (or a beverage!) in the other

 a gannet which provides scale for the photographs and illustrations

 a detailed guide to whale-watching that includes a key to describing sea conditions

 an introduction to cetacean families

 larger, clearer maps

 more photographs

This book highly recommended for anyone interested in marine mammals or European natural history. It is THE guide to identifying cetaceans - for amateurs and experts alike!

Check out WILDGuides other titles, all of which share the enhanced photography approach.

Chris Sharpe, 15 September 2008. ISBN: 1903657317
1444062
This interesting book explains to children the basic life cycle of a loggerhead sea turtle. The book opens with a brief introduction explaining that a sea turtle is related to tortoises and terrapins, but they are different types of animals. After the one-page introduction, the actual story begins. We follow the life cycle of a sea turtle called Loggerhead from the time she is a small turtle living and hiding in sea weeds and drift wood to the time Loggerhead swims to the mating beaches to mate and lay her eggs. The last pages of the book include a brief index that can help teach children what an index is and how to use it. ONE TINY TURTLE is a great reading science book for young children. It's very factual and realistic in displaying and describing what we know of the life of a sea turtle (for instance, after the eggs are hatched, it makes it clear that only a few baby turtles ever make it to the ocean and the rest are eaten by crabs and birds). Highly recommended, especially for anyone who likes turtles.
2549127
This is a cute book for children with a story that encompasses the life of sea turtles and the endurance and fortitude of the littlest one.  It offers a glimpse into nature while examining encouragement and perseverance.  The illustrations are great too!
4290226
Great pictures and interesting facts about sea turtles. I am fifty seven years young and I really enjoyed this book. I will stop and move a box turtle or an old gopher turtle out of the road to keep them from being hit by cars. Thank you and enjoy your day and help us save the turtles today.
2637125
I have wanted this book for a long time, and it was worth waiting for-so much helpful information! Every keeper of tortoises and turtles needs this on their shelf!
4296864
With clever paper-cut illustrations Caroline Arnold illustrates the life of a penguin from inhabitant of a rock nest to blind and helpless chick to fully grown prey for leopard seals and killer whales, with fact boxes along the way to give the reader additional factual information. Resources for additional study include a link to FactHound and gives the reader additional print sources to explore. The large format of this kid-friendly text make the book invaluable as both a read-aloud for an entire group or for a budding researcher's independent learning.
3683843
About the Book:

Acclaimed author/illustrator Jessie Hartland presents the fascinating 145-million-year journey of a dinsoaur: a Diplodocus longus, from its discovery in 1923 in Utah to its arrival in the hallowed halls of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Juvenile Nonfiction / Animals

Ages 6 to 9, Grades 1 to 4

My Review:

I will start off by saying that this book does not take a young earth creation point of view, so depending upon what you are teaching your children, you may want to tread lightly. That being said, the book is a wonderful source for some basic knowledge is archeology, archaeological tools,and many other fields of interest.  There are alot of great vocabulary words that can be discussed at length with your kids as well such as excavator, paleontologist, preparators, curator and more. My son personally loved exploring the Smithsonian online and using our globe to locate the places mentioned in the book.

For the most part the illustrations were good, there were a few pages that the colors were off and the people faded into the background as apposed to standing out. I really liked how the author worked in all the different aspects involved  to "move bones". You saw the use of math, science, teamwork, patience, history preservation, geography etc. Just a great all around book to use as an opening to delve into so many different areas of interest your kids may have.

About the Author:

Jessie Hartland is an illustrator, cartoonist, artist, packaging designer, and window display designer with a worldwide clientele. She is the author and illustrator of Clementine in the City and the illustrator of Messing Around on the Monkey Bars, The Perfect Puppy for Me and Drawing with Scissors. She lives with her family in New York City and Bellport, Long Island. The author lives in New York, NY.

Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge from Blue Apple Books in return for an honest review. The opions expressed are my own.
3369052
Accessible to all readers, this popular format book is a survey of animal behaviour and a fascinating source of information about the amazing phenomena of nature. It is based on zoological fact, including the latest discoveries and theories. The book includes human interest stories, folklore and legends in the form of features scattered throughout the main text.

The book is divided into 11 chapters; Super Senses deals with infrared vision, ultraviolet vision, ultrasonic haring, infrasonic smell, exotic and multiple senses. Electromagnetic Forces deals with enhanced vision, electromagnetic generation and sensitivity, magnetoperception and earthquake prediction.

Fantastic Journeys looks at bird, insect, fish and mammal migrations, whilst Time Cycles explores circadian, tidal and annual rhythms plus lunar cycles. Other chapters include those on sleep and survival, animal communication, thought power, animal emotions, attack and defence and living together.

The final chapter: Animals As Healers, is particularly interesting in its discussion of animals as herbalists (for example macaws eating soil to obtain kaolin and chimpanzees using aloe leaves), plus animal intoxication, dolphin healing and the benefits of dogs and cats as pets.

Lavish full color illustrations, photographs and maps enhance the text, making The Hidden Powers Of Animals an enjoyable read and a valuable reference work.
1006483
This is a great book on reptiles around the world. This book tells where the reptiles are from and how large they grow. It also tells about what colors the reptiles are and if they can change colors or not. It also tells where the reptiles come from. Me and my kids loved that it had real life photos in the book and not drawings. The coloring of the photos were beautiful. I received this book free for my honest review.
2349187
Richly illustrated with top-notched photos, comprehensive and informative, and practical, this is a the ideal reference resource for outdoorspersons interested in our cold-blooded buddies. I have only seen a lizard (skink) in Minnesota one time, and have never seen a mudpuppy here, but I have been fortunate enough to see a timber rattlesnake, western hognose, and most of the frogs, toads, and few of the salamanders in the book. But I had no real good idea what I was observing! With this book, I have learned so much more about range, habitat and threat of extinction than I ever knew before.

One of the book's coolest features is a sort of disc-Venn diagram graphic that can be used, working from the inside out and comparing various morphological features, to determine what kind of reptile or amphibian one has seen. Now I will be better able to tell the painted and map turtles apart,along with a bunch of other critters.

This book is a great value, but I will still grouse about the price just a little, but for a good reason: it should find its way into more hands than the price barrier may allow. I realize smallish academic presses cannot realize the savings available to large publishers with economies of scale on their side, but it's a shame this attractive and useful book is not more affordable, especially for enthusiastic young students. Perhaps someday a cheaper abridged version could be printed as such a resource.
1251117
Disclaimer, I received this kindle book for free. I ordered this because my niece is very interested in marine life. She loves to learn about new species and turtles happen to be my favorites. She is almost 3 years old and the writing was simple and concise enough for me to read and not have to simplify very much for her. The list style is great because it is easy to pick up where you left off and allows my niece to take in the information in little chunks. It is really nice that there is the scientific classification for each turtle as well as pictures.