With a spotted shell, scaly skin and a bright yellow neck, one of Maine’s endangered species is brought to life in “A Blanding’s Turtle Story,” a children’s written by Melissa Kim and illustrated by Jada Fitch. Published in May, the board book is based loosely on a true story about a family that finds a Blanding’s turtle on the side of the road.
“I think the story is really great,” said Fitch, a Portland artist who has developed a reputation for her realistic yet charismatic wildlife illustrations. “It was based on a true story that happened to Linda Woodard, who works at the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center. She’s actually a character in the book.”
“A Blanding’s Turtle Story” is the third book in the “Wildlife on the Move” series, published by Islandport Press of Yarmouth in partnership with the Maine Audubon. Geared toward children in pre-K through second grade, the series focuses on different Maine animals and addresses the topics of wildlife migration, conservation and respectful human interaction with nature.
“Kids are never too young to hear stories like this,” said Kim, who has traveled to a number of Audubon centers throughout Maine this summer to read the book to children. “Kids are interested in animals and their life cycles, where they go and what they do.”
The first book in the series, “ A Snowy Owl Story,” was released in February 2015, and the second book, “ A Little Brown Bat Story,” was released in November 2015.
Kim and Fitch have worked together on all three books, collaborating with Audubon naturalists to select species to highlight in each book and to ensure the smallest details of the stories are scientifically accurate.
“A Blanding’s Turtle Story” is about a species of turtle called a Blanding’s turtle, which is listed as endangered in the Maine and only lives in the southern reaches of the state. In recent years, state biologists have been tracking and studying these rare turtles to develop an effective management plan to protect them, and the Maine Audubon has been collecting data about the movements of these turtles through its Wildlife Road Watch.
At first, Kim — who has published eight children’s books and is the children’s book editor at Islandport Press — was worried Blanding’s turtles were too uncommon to be of interest to readers, but she soon discovered that many children have personal connections with turtles that help them relate to the story.
“So many kids have told me their own personal turtle stories,” Kim said. “So I think I was skeptical at first, but in the end it was a really good choice.”
Blanding’s turtles are semi-aquatic, preferring small, shallow wetlands in southern Maine, including pocket swamps and vernal pools. However, they also use undeveloped fields and upland forests surrounding these wetlands. These dry habitats are ideal for nesting, aestivating (a period of summer inactivity) and act as corridors so the turtles can move between wetlands.
With human development steadily increasing in southern Maine, these habitats are being broken up by buildings and busy roads. Today, one of the greatest dangers in a turtle’s life is the tire of a vehicle. In recent years, in an effort to decrease turtle road mortality, Maine biologists and Audubon volunteers have erected seasonal “turtle crossing” road signs in areas known to be used by Maine’s two endangered turtles: the Blanding’s turtle and box turtle.
These turtle-crossing signs are just one of the many details included in “A Blanding’s Turtle Story.”
The book follows one Blanding’s turtle from spring to fall, as it travels through wetlands and across busy roads in search for food, a mate and a suitable place to bury its eggs.
“We wanted to show that turtles actually cover a lot of ground in the course of the season — especially Blanding’s turtles,” Kim said.
According to the “fast facts” section at the back of the book, Blanding’s turtles move at a slow pace, yet they can travel more than 10 miles in a single season.
Kim tells the story, with its many lessons, in just over 200 words. And Fitch tells the same story in vibrant and accurate illustrations, with details the encourage dialogue about the turtle and its journey. Fitch created each scene in the book with watercolor paint on 12-by-12 sheets of paper. She then touched up each illustration using Photoshop.
The Maine Audubon is using this book, along with the other two “Wildlife on the Move” books, as a cornerstone of its education efforts for its preschool outreach and school collaborations in Maine.
The fourth and final book in the series, which will feature monarch butterflies, is scheduled for release in spring 2017.
Each book in the series retails at $10.95. The books are sold at several Maine bookstores, Maine Audubon nature stores and through online booksellers, such as Amazon.com. Ten percent of earnings from book sales will be used to support Maine Audubon educational outreach programs that benefit underserved preschools statewide.
“A Blanding’s Turtle Story” is set up as a story walk, with the pages on display in chronological order on an outdoor trail — at the Gilsland Farm Audubon Center at 20 Gilsland Farm Road in Falmouth. The book will be available at two upcoming book-signing events:
— A book signing and presentation by Melissa Kim from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, July 30, at The Kids Corner at Mount Agamenticus Learning Lodge on Mount Agamenticus Road in York. The family-friendly program, “Mt. Aggie’s Treasured Turtles,” will include reading, activities, crafts and live turtles from the Center for Wildlife in Cape Neddick. The book will be available for purchase at the event. There is a suggested donation of $7. For information, call 207-361-1102.
— A book signing with Melissa Kim from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26, during Enchanted Forests Day at Maine Wildlife Park at 56 Game Farm Road in Gray. The book will be available for purchase at the event. For information, call 207-657-4977.