Turtles and Tortoises – revised
Try a storytime on snakes, or on turtles and tortoises. If possible, see if you can borrow a snake or turtle from a local pet store, or from a group that rescues animals such as the Lindsay Wildlife Museum, Walnut Creek, CA or Sulphur Creek Nature Center, Hayward, CA.
For a craft project, make turtle Frisbee-like tossers out of paper plates, as seen here.
Aesop. TORTOISE AND THE HARE. There are several versions of this fable, including a nearly wordless tale with paintings by Jerry Pinkney.
Buckley, Richard. THE FOOLISH TORTOISE. With distinctive illustrations by Eric Carle, a tortoise learns he needs his shell to survive.
Castillo, Lauren. MELVIN AND THE BOY. A boy finds a turtle at the park, and takes him home.
Falwell, Cathryn. SCOOT! “Six silent turtles sit still as stones on a log” in this alliterative tale.
Falwell, Cathryn. TURTLE SPLASH! COUNTDOWN AT THE POND. Pond ecology is told simply in this rhyming story patterned after the song “Over in the Meadow.”
Gorbachev, Valeri. TURTLE’S PENGUIN DAY. A turtle dresses like a penguin, which inspires his Kindergarten class to do penguin-like activities.
Javernick, Ellen. THE BIRTHDAY PET. Danny gets a pet turtle for his birthday.
Michalak, Jamie. JOE & SPARKY GO TO SCHOOL. A giraffe and turtle escape from the zoo on a yellow school bus.
Also see the previous Turtlesand Tortoises storytime ideas page from December 2005.