University of Queensland Press 2001

unpaged, hbk

0702231533

This is a very good book. It tells you all about turtles. It tells about the life of a turtle and all the dangers. The turtle grows very old. Then at the end of the book is information about many different kinds of turtles.

It is a very colourful book. The colours are like jewels. It is good to look at.

I would not buy this book for myself, because I read longer books, but I would probably buy it for my little cousin.

 Natalee and Whitney, Year 4, Birdwood , South Australia

This story is about a turtle that doesnt live with anyone.  She has no body to look after her.  She started out life in an egg buried in the warm sand. When she hatched she had to wait for moonlight so she could go out to sea safely, so she wouldnt get eaten up by sea gulls and crabs.  She finally got to the waters edge and she jumped in.  There were sharks, big fish, octopi and other big and scary creatures in the sea.  She had to dodge them.  And after that she started to glide gracefully through the water.  She started to grow big and strong like her mother and father.  She met a boy turtle and they decided to mate.  She had to search for land so she could lay her eggs.  She had to wait for moonlight again so she could get to the waters safely.  

This book is a story about a Green Turtles life cycle.  I like this book because I like Green Turtles very much because they are now an endangered species.

The pictures are very colourful too.  The pictures are special because the illustrator has painted on a special fabric called silk.  To outline the pictures she has used a special paint called gutta, and filled the middle pieces with dye.  She has put salt underneath the fabric to make the water look real.

This book is one of my favourites.

By Nicholas  7, Mooroolbark, V

Turtle Song is about a turtles life. At the beginning I wasnt very hooked because I normally dont read poetry, but at the end I loved it. When I was reading it, it was hard to put the book down because I thought that I was actually there, watching the whole thing happening.

At the end of the book it has different types of turtles and information about them.

The pictures and words produced by Kim Michelle Toft and Alan Brown blend fabulously together. The illustrations stand out nicely and they are very affective because are out lined in gold. I love the brilliant blues and greens. They are produced through a silk painting technique with the artist hand drawing, then painting the pictures on to silk.  My favourite page is the one with the dolphin and whale.  The pictures look that they have been done in watery paint .The illustrations look so real!

I believe the purpose of this book is to show people that turtles are endangered, and Alan Brown is trying to tell us to try and protect turtles.

I believe it is a read- aloud and read- alone book. I am glad I read it!

I would recommend this book be read to children aged 8 and under, but that better readers from 7 years up could enjoy Turtle Song.

I give this book an 8/10.

Sarah, 10, Ballarat  

The book made me feel tired - all that swimming!  It taught me that we humans do some very stupid things to turtles and I learned why many of the species are endangered. The pictures are brilliant with all their colours and matched the content well.
Jessie S

The story was like a poem and I liked the way it was put together. It helped me learn about the turtle's life cycle.  The mother turtles must be really clever to find the place they were born after so many years.  I think if I were a turtle my legs would get tired with all that swimming!
Lauren

I like the pictures because of the technique and style. The gold outline made them stand out.  The words were powerful.
Alexandra S

The language was rich and the pictures were vibrant. I see why Ms B likes this illustrator.
Johnathan

The language was really rich and the gold pen made the pictures stand out. It's amazing how it made the ink stay in the right place. I think I will try that! The sea looked it was transparent. I wonder how she did that.
Kevin

I think the book was very touching.  I loved the pictures because she used her imagination.  The writer used lots of verbs to describe the action.
Natasha

I loved the beautiful pictures and I'm totally amazed by that magnificent book.  I feel I could spend a day just looking at the pictures, looking at every detail and reading it word for word.  I feel as if I want to send the artist a letter to ask if I could have a piece of her silk with a good picture on it.

I learned that turtles are an endangered species and that some people do stupid things to harm them.  They are wonderful creatures!
Alice

Reviewers: Yr 4, Canberra

I read the book THE TURTLES SONG. It was illustrated by Kim Toft.

I liked it when the eggs hatched and I liked the lovely colours of the pictures.

It is a good story. Here is my picture of the eggs hatching with the mother turtle
Michael, 6, Qld

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I read the story the Turtles Song. I liked the story.

I liked it because it has lovely bright colours.

Here is my picture of the mother turtle laying her eggs on the sand.
Alana, 6, Qld

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The book called the Turtles Song was very calm and had a lot of information about turtles .It had lots of colours in it too with a good background.

Here is my picture of the turtle laying her eggs.

Matthew, 6, Qld

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