Old Turtle: Questions of the Heart

Written by Douglas Wood
Illustrated by Greg Ruth

Twenty-five years after the first, and well- loved, Old Turtle, book comes this stunningly beautiful fable enriched by glorious watercolors. Words are few but dynamic as a group like a multi-generational family seeks answers to age old questions by first finding, Old Turtle.

Lyrical, rhythmic language draws the reader along the journey and into the expressive illustrations. Text is present without ever interrupting the fluid action of the drawings. Both words and pictures will be visited over and over answering the call to, “read it again, read it again.”

The entire book is a celebration of life and all it offers. Life’s meaning, its struggles and joys, its purpose and conclusion are each dealt with simply and directly.  Parents and teachers will appreciate using this book to answer hard questions and librarians will have trouble keeping it on the shelves, better order two.

However, the amazing conclusion contains both the challenge and hope of the future in an attainable goal. The most important question of all is the question asked of each dawn. “Who are you, and how will you live this day?”

Even the grown-ups will want to read it again and again.

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  • Old TurtleTitle:  Old Turtle: Questions of the Heart
  • Author:  Douglas Wood
  • Illustrator:  Greg Ruth
  • Publisher:  Scholastic Press, 2017
  • Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
  • Format:  Hardcover, 56 pages
  • ISBN:  978-0-439-32111-2
  • Genre: Picture Book
  • Grade level: PreK to 3

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