Who Wants A Tortoise?

Reviewed by: Ann Marie Townsend - South Berwick Public Library, South Berwick, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 7, 2016

Review

A little girl asks for only one thing for her birthday - a puppy, "but the present with the holes in the top..." is a tortoise. The beginning of the book shows a young girl clearly obsessed with puppies reading about them, practicing training a puppy, laying on a bone shaped carpet, wearing a shirt with a paw print, making list of dog names, dreaming about her puppy, so her disappointment in her new pet is clear. Written with a lot a humor, comparing a puppy with a tortoise, and gradually beginning to know and like her tortoise as her expectations change and she learns what a tortoise can do. A very sweet story where the illustrations compliment the text and expand the story are created using watercolor and colored pencil on watercolor paper. Well done.

Overall Book Score: very good