Turtles

A female spotted turtle once dug her nest in a neighbor's petunia bed, and the Darlings "planted" four of the eggs in their own garden. After the turtles hatched, the authors kept one as a pet. The other hatchlings hurried away to a nearby pond, instinctively finding their way back to water.

Mr. and Mrs. Darling became extremely interested in turtles, and in this book they discuss with contagious enthusiasm their evolution, structure, the way different kinds live, and their care as pets. They point out that these unique armored reptiles are much the same as their ancestors that shared the earth with the dinosaur. Most of us know best the young red-eared turtles, found today in pet stores, but there are actually about 200 species—among them, the gentle box turtle, the huge Galapagos tortoise, and the diamondback terrapin, which was so tasty to man that it almost disappeared.

With their lively text and beautiful illustrations, the Darlings make the reader understand why they find the turtle such a fascinating animal.