Published: 9th July 2019
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Illustrator: Lucy Ruth Cummins
Pages: 40
Format: Picture Book
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars
Truman the tortoise lives with his Sarah, high above the taxis and the trash trucks and the number eleven bus, which travels south. He never worries about the world below…until one day, when Sarah straps on a big backpack and does something Truman has never seen before. She boards the bus!
Truman waits for her to return.
He waits.
And waits.
And waits.
And when he can wait no longer, he knows what he must do.
Even if it seems…impossible!
I picked up this book because the front cover was absolutely too cute to ignore and I was not disappointed by the story inside. This is the story of a little turtle named Truman who decided to go on an adventure to find his owner.
The perspective focuses on Truman and his life with Sarah and when that changes suddenly Truman isn’t sure what to do. I loved seeing Truman’s deliberations about what it all means when Sarah left that day. The extra beans, her bow, the backpack. I loved so much of this but one of my favourite lines was “She strapped on a backpack so big thirty-two small tortoises could ride alone in it – but zero tortoises did.”
The illustrations are adorable, Cummins has done a brilliant job depicting Truman to bring his little turtle self to life. I instantly became invested with him and his relationship with Sarah. There is a great synchronicity between the words and what is shown on the page. The illustrations are realistic but rough, with a sparseness to them but still with detail that reflects the words of the story. The world is seen through Truman’s eyes and Cummins brings to life Truman’s worldly view as things loom around him and seem vast and expansive. The use of perspective is fantastic and I loved how the world looked to Truman versus the reality.
The story is incredibly sweet and I loved seeing a bond between owner and pet that was unconventional and loving. It was a genuine love and devotion between Sarah and Truman and getting to have a little adventure and mystery thrown in the mix was fabulous. I loved this story from start to finish and it is an absolute delight to read. You will love Truman and his bravery and devotion.
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