Sea Turtle Scientist (Scientists in the Field Series) by Stephen R. Swinburne

Scientists in the Field

by Stephen R. Swinburne

Dr. Kimberly Stetwart, also known as the Turtle Lady of St. Kitts, is already waiting at midnight when an 800-pound leatherback sea turtle crawls out of the Caribbean surf and onto the sandy beach. The mother turtle has a vital job to dig a nest in which she will lay eggs that will hatch into part of the next generation of leatherbacks. With only one in a thousand of the eggs for this critically endangered species resulting in an adult sea turtle, the odds are stacked against her and her offspring. Join the renowned author and photographer Steve Swinburne on a journey through history to learn how sea turtles came to be endangered, and what scientists like Kimberly are doing to save them. For the complete selection of books in this critically acclaimed, award-winning series, visit www.sciencemeetsadventure.com.  

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Animals, Picture Books, Middle Grade, Childrens, Survival

Paperback

Published January 1, 1825

About the author

Steve was born in London, England. He holds a BA degree in Biology and English from Castleton State College in Vermont. He has worked as a ranger in a number of national parks and is the author of over 30 children's books. His extensive travels to faraway lands such as Africa and treks through Yellowstone have all influenced his book projects. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt published Steve’s book Sea Turtle Scientist in 2014. His most recent title is from Scholastic and entitled Safe in a Storm, a comforting read-aloud story, where all the animals find cozy places to keep them safe and warm. Steve visits nearly a hundred schools a year across the United States as well as many international schools. He lives in Vermont with his wife Heather, two dogs named Scout and Jem, and a cat named Skittles.

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent entry in the Scientist in the Field series. Swinburne describes the research being carried out on leatherback sea turtles that live in the waters off the island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean. I learned so much about sea turtles here! All species are endangered, especially the bigger ones like the leatherback (it can grow to over 6 feet!) due to habitat depletion, garbage (plastics) in the ocean, two types of fishing that accidentally capture the turtles, people eating them (though this has been outlawed in many places), and artificial lighting along the beaches where they lay their eggs, causing the hatchlings to turn away from the ocean horizon and be killed by cars or predators. On St. Kitts they sometimes lay their eggs too close to the water, where they could be washed away, so the scientists working there have to move the nests after the mothers leave. It's all fascinating, and Swinburne makes you feel like you're there with Dr. Kimberly Stewart and her team, including a native fisherman turned helper, Theophilus. In addition to monitoring the turtles, Kimberly and Theophilus visit schools to teach the children about turtles, and work with the islanders to find alternative ways to make money rather then fishing for the turtles. She has an amazing amount of energy! I wish I could say more about this book, but you've got to read it. An outstanding read!

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful tale about Dr. Kimberly Stewart, the Turtle Lady of St. Kitts, and her work saving sea turtles. It's another fantastic book in the Scientists in the Field series.

The narrative shows how one person can make a difference, especially if she is able to educate others and recruit them to help in the effort. The narrative focuses on the conservation and rehabilitation work being done on the island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean.

The narrative is a bit long, so it took us a couple of weeks to finish the whole book. We usually just read one chapter on any given night, but sometimes even less than that. The information is detailed, and it is likely too much for younger children, but we really enjoyed it and learned a lot (and we've read a lot about turtles!)

Our girls were excited to learn that we could adopt a sea turtle. The website listed at the end of the book seems to be down, but the Facebook page for the organization can be found here. (The information is provided along with the glossary and additional resources.)

Our youngest said that she knows of other, more local sites where you can adopt a sea turtle. I think we may look into it. It may be worth spending $50 to help the cause, especially if we get updates about their efforts.

interesting quote:

"Theo knows that this one small deed on this one small beach can be a part of something greater. Like a stone thrown into a quiet bay, one action will ripple far and wide, broadcasting a message of hope for the survival of these ancient creatures." (p. 59)

[Michele Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saint Kitts and Nevis. 🇰🇳 These islands form a country in the Caribbean Sea near Puerto Rico. Endangered Giant Leatherback and Green Sea Turtles nest there. This book discusses the efforts to increase their numbers by educating the native populations. In the time of Columbus several hundred million sea turtles lived in the Caribbean. Currently there are two hundred thousand females worldwide. (The males never come ashore after hatching so it is impossible to count them.)

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled with lively, engaging text and close-ups of the sea turtles that scientists are trying desperately to save, this book provides readers with a front-row seat to the laborious process the mother turtles endure in order to deposit their eggs. Heaving their cumbersome bodies across the sand in search of a safe place, the turtles use their flippers to dig a body cavity for the eggs, and then cover them with sand before heading back to the ocean where they can move more fluidly. While the turtles are the reason for the book, the text focuses on the work of Dr. Kimberly Stewart who studies the turtles who nest on the beaches of St. Kitts. She counts the number of eggs laid by the mother turtles and even does outreach work so that the community will become involved in the work of protecting turtles. Readers can't help being swept up by the enthusiasm of those who care about turtles and their hatchlings' perilous journey to the sea. This is another fine addition to the stellar series describing the field work of scientists.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Scientists in the Field book takes readers to a Caribbean island called St. Kitts, where you get to meet Dr. Kimberly Stewart who is working to study and protect sea turtles. You get to learn all about sea turtles, their current and past numbers, why those numbers have dropped in recent years, and what people are doing to try and bring those numbers back up.

I think what I liked most about this book, apart from the information on sea turtles, was the way it showed Dr. Stewart's understanding of people who live off of sea turtle meat and sea turtle fishing. She doesn't rush to condemn them, but tries to educate them and others in the community about sea turtles, listens to their needs, and tries to find solutions that will help everyone. It's a great example for kids in finding solutions in the midst of disagreements. Of course, there's great science in here too, and a nice peek at how dirty and tiring the work of a scientist can be.

[Christina Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This incredibly information-packed book documents Dr. Kimberly Stewart ("The Turtle Lady")'s work in St. Kitts, with endangered Loggerhead Turtles. The amount of information provided and the lengthy chapters used to include many details and aspects of Stewart's work with these turtles, could be overwhelming for younger students and should be reserved for third through eighth graders. The book includes real photographs of Loggerheads, Dr. Stewart, and the area in which she is doing her work, which really helps the information come alive to readers. The many information boxes and text boxes alone provide readers with a great deal of information about sea turtle rescue efforts - something they may have heard of but don't know the specifics about. This book is fantastic for teaching about ecosystems in fourth grade or biomes in fifth.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit long for my kids’ attention span, and I’d be interested to know some updates on the turtle populations, knowing this is a decade-old book now. My oldest was happy to know that this was “real” (aka nonfiction), and see the photos of the scientists being interviewed. I do wish the formatting had been slightly different, namely that the mini articles about things like the turtle science kit and the beach glass jewelry had been placed between chapters, rather than shoved in mid-sentence between page turns.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Scientists in the Field volume. Thorough, informative and fun.

[Megan Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was extra interesting!

[Ruthie Carlyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: In this book we learn many things about sea turtles and their life span, how they live, how many have a chance of survival into adult hood, and also what scientists do for them and their survival. There are breath taking pictures in the book as well as amazing text and facts for students to bury themselves in. This is a good book again for students to read if they want to see what kind of things that humans can do for animals, and also what is being done for these animals now by scientists. Very informative story and following the life of a sea turtle and what they go through.

Evaluation: I really enjoyed this book because the facts were extremely interesting and also because the pictures were amazing. I love books about animals especially ones that show how people are helping them. Even if I myself am not a scientist I like being able to read about how we can help the turtles and how they are being helped currently. I also liked the length of the book because It had a lot of valuable information and it was extremely interesting. I would recommend this to any students because they could just look at the pictures or if they are older they could read the text and learn lots of different things.

Teaching Idea: I taught a lesson on sea turtles in my 4th grade class a few months ago and for the Explain portion of the lesson I used a book on a video read aloud. If I could have gone back and found this book, it would have fit absolutely perfectly in that portion of the lesson. This book has lots of information and facts as well as absolutely breathe taking photographs. This book would have captured the students attention and also gotten the point across that sea turtles have a low rate of survival and that they have more predators than help out there. I would use this book for the next time I teach that standard about impacts on a life or habitat and its effects.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary:

Sea Turtle Scientist is a nonfiction book about the endagered species, sea turtles. A scientist, Dr. Kimberly Stewart is an expert on sea turtles and helping this endagered species survive. The book starts off by talking about a mother sea turtle who is havig to dig her hole where she will lay her eggs. The chances of even just a few of her eggs making it to adulthood is slim to none. The book then goes over different ways that ordinary people like us can help save the sea turtles, one of them being not throwing trash in the ocean.

Evaluation:

I gave this book five stars. Before reading this book, I did not know much about sea turtles, only that they were endangered and you could get into a lot of trouble for messing with their eggs. The book had beautiful illistrations and went nicely with the words on the pages. I feel like the information was also very accurate. It is also in kid language, which is a plus if i wanted to have the book in my classroom.

Teaching Idea:

This would be a great book for teaching students about asking and answering questions in a nonfiction text, which is a standard for almost every grade level. The teacher could teach the reading comprehension strategy, questioning, and thin questions vs. thick questions, and the teacher could write the students questions down on the anchor chart, and while reading the book, the teacher could stop frequently and ask the students if any of the questions have been answered.

[Justin A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sea Turtle Scientist was a great dive into the world or sea turtles and the efforts of a particular scientist, Dr. Kimberly Stewart to help these endangered animals. Throughout the book, Kimberly’s story and work are interwoven with plenty of great information about the history of these turtles, the challenges they face, and the work that is being done to protect their populations.

This book does a great job of telling a narrative as it informs us about both Kimberly and the turtles she’s dedicated her work to. You definitely get a sense for her passion for her work and sea turtles throughout the book, and there is no shortage of information about the turtles either. For example, I learned that around 30% of the eggs that sea turtles lay do not have yolks, and there’s a few theories about why that might be the case. What I really appreciated the most about this book was how much you learned about the actual work of a scientist. We see Kimberly study and interact with these animals constantly, and really get a feel for what a career as a biologist would look like.

One little critique I have of the book is just a few of the choices about the layout of the book. At times, there are awkward page breaks in the middle of a sentence, or the pictures and information laid out on a page wouldn’t be the most intuitive or aesthetically pleasing. Overall though this was a highly informative and enjoyable read.

[Grace Cantrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Summary: Sea Turtle Scientist is a nonfiction book about the endangered species, sea turtles. This book tells you the history of a type of sea turtle, Leatherbacks and introduces them at the beginning of the book. The book also introduces Dr. Kimberly Stewart, “the turtle lady,” and describes her work on St. Kitts with loggerhead sea turtles. The book provides a grande amount of information on sea turtles and Dr. Stewart’s research, as well as ways we can help save the sea turtle. At the back of the book, there are lists of more books readers could read in regards to the same topic. The lists are separted for younger and older readers.

Evaluation: I think what would make this book better is having a bigger font and fewer words on each page. However, the book did a fantastic job incorporating photos and diagrams. It also was well organized with its use of chapters.

Teaching: This book is perfect to teach a lesson on this standard ELAGSE2RI9: Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic. The students would be allowed the choice of choosing from books I would check out using the younger readers list on the back of the book. I would then have them compare and contrast the texts using a graphic organizer. I wouldn't require them to read the whole text but instead, just one or two chapters they thought were related to their other book choice. I would also read the prologue for them to get them interested.

[AS · Rating 4 out of 5]

- Takes place in St Kitts and Nevis 🇰🇳 (West Indies) -
Another great read from the Scientists in the Field series 🙂 I especially liked the parts about how Kimberly, the sea turtle specialist highlighted in this book, built so many connections and so much support among the people of the island. She even has a sea turtle 🐢 camp for kids, where they learn about the turtles and can participate in turtle conservation projects with their families when they finish. One family mentioned in the book even got to be right nearby when a sea turtle was laying her eggs!
I also liked the way the book mentioned how the information people have about sea turtles is spotty in parts, and how people like Kimberly are adding to it all the time. I think it would be inspiring to a young reader to think about possibly discovering new information about an animal one day themselves.

[Marlee Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Sea Turtle Scientist is a book about the scientist, some within Georgia, which study the lives of sea turtles and even the different types of sea turtles. It also gives adequate information about the life cycles, the different types of people which are involved and how we can better the lives for sea turtles.
Evaluation: Sea Turtle Scientist provides so much information and detail about the lives of sea turtles, but also about the different types and how different things can better the lives of Sea Turtles.
Teaching Idea: I would use Sea Turtle Scientist as an introductory lesson to animal life cycles and the different types of animal life we see within different regions of Georgia.

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Age Level: I think that this book is 3-8th level because the pictures are really cool so if a 3rd grader can't understand everything they can relate the pictures to the words they do understand in it.

Summary: This book is all information about leather back turtles with research from a scientist named Kimberly.

Review: I think that this would be a great book to have in your classroom especially if you are teaching anything about turtles that year.

[Francesca Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great way to introduce young children to science, and some marine life. Also it can hep children see that they can take action and help turtles as well. Back matter includes other books on this topic, along with websites and other way children and any else can help.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures and a easy read for middle school students.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and fascinating information combined with beautiful photos.

[Betty-Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and informative.

[Epic Book Society · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my fav books about sea turtles!

[Hannah Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the story of Dr. Kimberly Stewart who works with leatherback sea turtles. It goes into detail starting from the beginning of life with the hatchlings, how the species became endangered, and how people in the community can help to save sea turtles.

Sea turtles have a special place in my heart because when I was young, I remember people actively advocating for them on the beach. This is why I enjoyed reading this book because I learned more about a topic I was interested in. There were so many real life images, my favorite being when the sea turtles were hatching, that grabbed my attention.

This is a great nonfiction addition to a classroom. It would be great to use for a research project when students have to summarize information. It could also be used when talking about endangered species.

[Lorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sea turtles are endangered animals that scientists are working tirelessly to save. They study and observe the animals, doctor and protect them, work with local people to find ways to help their population increase, and educate us all on how to save them from extinction.

This title from the Scientists in the Field series takes us to the island nation of St. Kitts to explore the issues facing sea turtles. The well done narrative places the reader in the field with the actual scientists and full color photographs allow us to see the action up close. The thoroughness of the research done by Stephen Swinburne about his subject shows in the gripping text and how we as a human race can make a difference for these animals.

Reference aids include a table of contents, glossary and index. There is also information on how to help adopt sea turtles as well as links to websites and other books on the subject. As a public librarian, I especially like how recommended books on the subject are pulled out into two lists, one for younger readers and the other for older readers.

I would highly recommend this book for purchase to any public or school library for kids ages 8-12.

This book was provided by the publishe for review by SWON Libraries.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The photos in here were quite disappointing. They made more sense when I realized a number of people had taken these photos. Some are superb, others are so poor, they are a waste of space. The text wasn't as consistently good as others in this high quality nonfiction series. I hope that this one is an aberration and that the quality goes back up for the next title in the series. Having said that, this is normally such a high quality series, I don't feel right in giving this one less than 3 stars because it disappoints in relation to others in the series, but probably is still pretty good compared to much nonfiction out there for kids.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swinburne, Stephen R. Sea Turtle Scientist, 63 p. NON-FICTION. Content: G.

Dr. Kimberly Stewart spends her days and her nights running up and down the beaches of St. Kitts. Instead of enjoying the sun and the surf, however, she and her assistants spend their time helping and studying sea turtles, an ancient species whose numbers are in vast decline. Natural and human dangers are swiftly leading to their demise. I know I always praise this series, but it is only because it is rightly deserved. Excellent authors, meticulous research and modern scientific subjects make this a no-brainer when it comes to purchasing the entire series.

EL, MS – ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library Teacher

[The Styling Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sea Turtle Scientist by Stephen R. Swinburne – I love that although there is a wonderful scientist, Dr. Kimberly Stewart stationed on St. Kitts, featured in this book, there is an international coalition that connects Kimberly’s project to more than forty countries. That’s inspiring. As you read this book you learn about the history of the sea turtle, the importance of the sea turtle to our ecosystem worldwide, and the hope that action and research has on the future of sea turtles. Fascinating book.

[Claire Talbot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner in the Scientist in the Field series. Beautiful photographs, and lots of information. Fun facts like "one egg out of a thousand will produce an adult sea turtle" and the largest leatherback turtle was a male weighing 2,015 pounds! The book also includes conservation efforts, and suggestions for simple ways we can help, including "adopting" a turtle! A great book for middle school on up to adults.

[Annie Oosterwyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great addition to the Scientists in the Field series. I learned much about the life cycle and behavioural habits of sea turtles, and the deleterious effects of humans on their habitats (plastic litter, global warming, light pollution, drift nets, etc).
The vet/scientist, Kimberly Stewart, works with local people to find alternatives to hunting turtles for meat and enlisting them in conservation efforts. Educating children and fishermen is a priority.

[Yapha · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in-depth look at the work of Dr. Kimberly Stewart, on the island of St. Kitts, and research and preservation of sea turtles. Contains a great deal of information about a variety of sea turtle species, focussing primarily on their egg laying and hatching. There are large, gorgeous pictures on every page. Includes information on what people can do to help protect sea turtles. Recommended for grades 3 & up.

[Michele Knott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating account of a sea turtle scientist working in St. Kitts. I've learned bits about sea turtles, but this was a very informative read giving facts about sea turtles, specifically their nesting habits, how they lay eggs and protect them and sea turtle conservation. What was interesting to learn is how little scientists know about a sea turtle's life once they leave land.