"Have you ever wondered about turtles?" For readers who have wondered, this is an outstanding introduction. Arnosky provides a brief, informative text and beautiful, detailed full-color paintings with enormous appeal. He describes freshwater, salt water, and land-dwelling turtles, showing the differences in shell structure, patterns, anatomy, habitat, eggs, and diet. Only common names are given for the species illustrated, but many will be familiar. For example, freshwater turtles include the cooter, spotted, and painted turtles, while sea turtles depicted are the loggerhead, leatherback, and softshell. The author does not include size or range information. When specialized scientific language is used, the carefully placed drawings make clear what the author refers to. For example, drawings show the upper and lower turtle shell and are labeled "carapace" and "plastron". There are also side views to help the reader tell a female turtle with convex plastron and the male turtle with concave plastron. Part of the "All About" series, this is an unusually appealing title by a fine science artist and author. Recommended with enthusiasm.
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