Children's Book

Stormy's Return. By Bob Palmatier . 2008. Mittentails Press (ISBN 9780615233871). 94 pages. Softcover. $$19.99. ““ We called him tortoise because he taught us .”” ——Lewis Carroll, 1865 The storyline is simple. A spotted turtle finds his way home after being relocated to another wetland by a well-intentioned naturalist. Stormy meets some interesting creatures in his travels and is reunited with his former pond mates. The end. OK, I gave away the plot. There is no romance, violence, celebrity news, unexpected twist, or even a villain. Why would anyone read this? Well, this is one reason we write and read book reviews. You will be taken by the illustrations. The 33 paintings in this children's book are simple and straightforward, eye-catching and compelling. I purchased several as prints to decorate my cluttered office. Far from precise, two-dimensional, and not particularly detailed, they are nevertheless rich and filled with life. Colorful, happy sketches, landscapes populated with familiar wetland plants and animals, species portraits that are surreal and stylized, yet easily recognizable; pink-bellied amphiumas and yellow-bellied bluegills, living in their natural settings with cattails, chickadees, mud turtles, red-admiral butterflies, tumble bugs, and sweetgums. Do you want to know more about these plants and animals? In the back of the book, a 12-page illustrated glossary provides a brief paragraph about each. And here is the best part: this is a true story based on an experience of the author. Oh, all right, real spotted turtles probably don't sit about in their wetland habitats yelling out to each other ““Who's got spots?”” ““We do, we do!”” …