- Zonk is a little Sonoran desert tortoise who decides to find the ocean and become a sea turtle. Hiking with his friends, Bunny, Snake and Coyote, he sees a rock with the picture of a sea turtle swimming. Coyote explains, It s a sea turtle. They live in the ocean and there is water everywhere. Everyone laughed. Water everywhere! But to Zonk, locked in his heavy shell, floating on a cool quiet ocean sounds divine.
- A dreamer and explorer at heart, Zonk tries to enlist the help of his friends and family. But they don t understand his obsession and tell him it s a silly notion. Even his mother and father think the idea of water everywhere is just a myth, a waste of time. But Zonk has faith. With the help of the Ancient Spirit of the Saguaro and a flash flood, Zonk makes his way to the ocean and becomes a sea tortoise.
- It s a very humorous and entertaining story that also introduces children to the flora, fauna, and climate extremes of the Sonoran Desert. The book includes a variety of animals that children will love, monsoon rain storms, Ancient Desert Spirits, blue moons, and lots of fascinating nature. It is a story of dreams and persistence, of overcoming doubts, and of transformation. This very popular children s book series is great fun, educational, and wonderfully entertaining.
- All the Zonk books include some value-added features. In the front of the book is a simple map of where that story takes place. In the second and third book are additional maps that further illuminate that particular story. The science, that is biology and geography, are correct and current within the fantasy of a swimming tortoise and talking animals in each of the books.
- On the end pages of these books are small glossaries of terms, explanations of some of the geographic areas the stories take place in, additional information about some of the animals in the stories, and explanations of some of the ecosystem relationships between the creatures.
- The books are ecologically sensitive and on the end pages present, in a gentle way that will not frighten, tiny windows into some of success stories and the problem areas of environmental issues faced by the characters and ecosystems in the books. These materials are designed to be a jumping off place for teachers and parents to begin to talk to their children about how to value and take care of our environment and creatures.
Beautiful artwork, humorous and entertaining stories, fascinating cast of characters and animals, and educational, be sure to purchase your copy today and start your Zonk Adventure.
David Hoobler is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and presently resides in Hayward, California. He holds a BA in Art Studio from Sonoma State University.
After working a number of years in film and stage as actor, director and stage manager he began focusing on screenwriting. Apprenticing to a well known screenwriter in Tucson, Arizona, he was given the exercise of writing a funny little story about a funny little character with a funny name. He wrote Zonk the Dreaming Tortoise. While living in Arizona, Mr. Hoobler became enchanted with, the Sonoran Desert, its fantastic variety of animal and plant life, gorgeous landscapes, and monsoon storms. This beautiful desert and the little Sonoran desert tortoise and his travels through out Baja and the Gulf of California are the inspiration for this series of books. Not a painter by training Mr. Hoobler decided to illustrate the books himself. Using a set of dried up watercolour paints, a brush pen and a tablet lying about he started painting. The art is now highly regarded; both children and adults seem to just love the pictures.
