Memoirs of A Tortoise
Genre or Category
Bluebonnet Winner
Target Age Group
PreK – 3rd Grade
Summary
This book is told from the point of view of an 80-year-old tortoise named Oliver as he reflects on his daily life and friendship with Ike. Oliver must face the challenge of outliving Ike in this story that deals with love and loss.
Justification
I selected this book because of the meaningful story and serious subject matter. I was curious to see how the subject of loss was approached in a book for children. It felt poignant that this was told from the perspective of a tortoise since they will most likely outlive their human owners unlike other animals.
Evaluation
For this review, I will be evaluating illustrations, character, and theme.
The illustrations in this book establish the garden setting with trees, flowers, and sunshine surrounding Oliver, and help to define the characters and show emotions. When we first meet Oliver and Ike there is so much joy in their expressions. Their happiness and love radiate off the page. When Oliver realizes Ike is gone his expression becomes so sad. Even though the book deals with loss and heartbreak the pictures are bright and colorful which help to create a comforting and hopeful overall mood.
In this story we get to know Oliver and he is such a sweet character. He loves Ike so much and considers him his pet. Oliver tells the story about his day-to-day life with Ike through journal style entries each month, so we get to see the world from his perspective. You really become attached to Oliver on this journey. I felt so heartbroken when Ike stopped bringing Oliver food and he decided to eat the pumpkins in the garden. He seemed completely alone and isolated so I was relieved when Ike’s son showed up to take care of him.
The theme of this book is love and loss. It is a touching story about losing someone but holding on to the memories you have of them. Even though this is a heavy subject for children it is written in an easy-to-understand picture book. I found it to be comforting and hopeful. The book ends with Oliver starting a new friendship with Ike’s son which sends an encouraging message about moving on through grief.
References
Scillian, D. (2020). Memoirs of a tortoise. Sleeping Bear Press.