Yoshi’s Big Swim: One Turtle’s Epic Journey Home

Copp and Kajfež’s child-friendly take on the famous loggerhead’s incredible story focuses mainly on Yoshi’s life before her nearly 23,000-mile swim back to her Australian breeding grounds. Colorful, cartoon-style illustrations depict her rescue, her rehabbing at a South African aquarium (becoming “Queen of the Ocean Exhibit” and growing to 400 pounds), and the endurance training there that readied her for a return to the sea (“She trained for a year and a half, swimming between divers who enticed her with sea squirts”). The narrative personifies the tenacious turtle, emphasizing through a refrain (“and she crept into their hearts”) Yoshi’s impact on her human caretakers and admirers. On the fifth anniversary of her ocean release, this animated account will also endear her to young readers. Human characters are portrayed as racially diverse. Back matter about Yoshi and loggerhead turtles concludes. Ages 8–10. (Jan.)