Toby the Tortoise

Gerald, a boy growing up on the Greek island of Corfu, rescues a land tortoise from the sea and introduces it into the company of the frogs, toads, snakes, crabs, octopuses, and other animal friends he has cultivated

PreSchool-Grade 2-- The combination of realistic illustrations and the heavy use of anthropomorphism in the text results in an implausible, ridiculous story. Starting out as a reminiscence of a young boy's life on the island of Corfu with his menagerie of animals, the plot soon disintegrates as a talking land tortoise that has fallen into the sea is rescued by the boy and his dog. At the dog's birthday party, the tortoise notices that all the boy's animal friends have come in pairs, so he is taken on a search for a wife. West's true-to-life illustrations featuring charmingly rendered animals amid the backdrop of the Greek isles are the highlight of the book. The obvious purpose of the story is to teach a few lessons of nature, but the humanization of the animals does little to promote learning or enjoyment. --Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
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