Turtle Tears by Megan Albany illustrated by Paul Seden

"The turtles there cry like we do ... Except when they cry butterflies flutter around 
and drink their tears."
"Turtles live a long time ... because they share their tears."

Grief is a complex emotion and we often struggle to know how to respond. In this book Nan is deeply grieving the loss Pop. She cries a lot and her little granddaughter Ruby is not sure how to help. Then Nan talks about a holiday she went on years ago where she heard that when turtles cry, butterflies drink their tears - such a lovely image to ponder.

I love the way this book openly explores grief and tears and the way Nan is still allowed to cry - the grief has not gone away it has just eased a little. 

Gently ignoring stereotypes, the story ends on a beautifully hopeful note. It also reminds the reader that, even if you or someone you love is very sad, that doesn't mean you can't also have moments of joy and chase butterflies. Reading Melbourne

Blurb from Magabala Books: This heart-warming picture book gently reassures children that it is both natural and healthy for adults and children to cry when they are sad. Narrated from the voice of a child, Ruby, it centres on her no-nonsense Nan who is grieving for her late husband. She tells the child about the turtles she and Pop saw, while on holiday in South America. They cry tears as humans do, and butterflies drink their tears (factual). 

Thanks to Magabala for sending a review copy of Turtle Tears.

I found this information about butterflies and turtles:  Butterflies in the Amazon engage in a behavior known as lachryphagy, where they sip tears from turtles to obtain vital sodium and minerals necessary for their survival. This unique interaction sees butterflies flocking to freshwater turtles, taking turns to land on their heads and drink their tears. The sodium in turtle tears is crucial ... As butterflies drink the tears, they quickly absorb the salt and dispose of the leftover liquid through their rear end. This process allows butterflies to acquire a crucial nutrient that is otherwise difficult to find in their usual diet of plants and other sources. The butterflies’ need for sodium drives them to seek out the tears of turtles, forming a symbiotic relationship where both the turtles and butterflies benefit. While the turtles produce plenty of tears, the butterflies only consume a small quantity, making this interaction sustainable for both parties. Besides butterflies, other insects such as bees and moths also partake in tear-drinking behavior. This fascinating natural occurrence highlights the interconnectedness of different species in their pursuit of survival ...  Butterflies rely on the turtles to provide enough sodium through their tears, ensuring their continued survival, while turtles remain largely unaffected by the butterflies’ feeding habits.  

Read more here. Here is a video of lachryphagy in action (2 minute video suitable for older primary students or background information for teachers).

This phenomena of butterflies drinking tears is probably mentioned in some non fiction books about butterflies - I need to dig deeper in a library to check.

Paul Seden is an author and illustrator of picture books for young readers and he is descended from the Wuthathi and Muralag people of North Queensland. Kick with My Left Foot was a Notable Book in the 2015 CBCA Book of the Year Awards and short-listed for the Speech Pathology Book of the Year Awards – Indigenous Children category. Crabbing with Dad was short-listed in the 2019 KOALA Children’s Choices Award and also for the ABIA Children’s Book of the Year in 2017. Paul loves illustrated text and lives in the Top End of the Northern Territory.

The Shop Train

Megan Albany is a proud Kalkadoon woman. Megan lives in the Northern Rivers of NSW. Her debut black comedy novel, The Very Last List of Vivan Walker (Hachette 2022), was one of four works shortlisted for The Banjo Prize.

Escape to the River Sea by Emma Carroll

Bookseller blurb: In 1946, Rosa Sweetman, a young Kindertransport girl, is longing for her family to claim her. The war in Europe is over and she is the only child left at Westwood, a rambling country estate in the north of England, where she'd taken refuge seven years earlier. The arrival of a friend of the family, Yara Fielding, starts an adventure that will take Rosa deep into the lush beauty of the Amazon rainforest in search of jaguars, ancient giant sloths and somewhere to belong. What she finds is Yara's lively, welcoming family on the banks of the river and, together, they face a danger greater than she could ever have imagined. Featuring places and characters known and loved by fans of Journey to the River Sea (including, among others, Maia, Finn, Miss Minton and Clovis) this spectacular new chapter in the story tells of the next generation and the growing threats to the Amazon rainforest that continue to this day.

In order to really enjoy this book (2022) which continues the famous story Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson you do need to read the original and if possible read the two books close together. I first read Journey to the River Sea in 2001 when it was first published. Then I re-read it in 2012.

There has a been a trend over recent years for 'famous' modern authors to continue classic stories. I have talked about this previously.

I have had Escape to the River Sea on my 'to read' list for several years so I was delighted to find a mint condition copy in a charity bookshop for just AUS$4. I did hold my interest and there were some good twists and turns especially towards the end but I do need to say it didn't quite give me the delight of the original story. Having said that there is a strong sense of place - the Amazon River and I did enjoy the team work of the young characters who are determined to discover the elusive giant sloth along with the truth about the shady men who seem to be also on this hunt. 

I do agree with these review comments:

Plants, animals, intense heat, rushing rivers, risks and true danger are around every corner, giving readers a vivid picture of this very special part of the world. Scope for Imagination

A shoutout must also be made to the stunning cover artwork by Katie Hickey which in my opinion will make the hardback version of this book a hugely desirable addition to bookshelves everywhere. V's View from the Bookshelves

I would highly recommend returning to Eva Ibbotson’ s book (and her others) and also encourage classes to read other titles that have had sequels (or indeed prequels) published by different authors to see how they compare and contrast to the original. Just Imagine

Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson

15th Anniversary edition

This will just be a brief post because I have already talked about Journey to the River Sea back in January, 2012. I first read this book in about 2001 so reading it today means I have read this book three times - that is very unusual for me but in this case I do have a purpose.

Eva Ibbotson died in 2010. In June 2022, Emma Carroll published Escape to the River Sea - a book inspired by Journey to the River Sea. I am really keen to read this new book because I enjoyed many other books by Emma Carroll but it also seemed important to reacquaint myself with the original Amazon adventure first. Very luckily I spied Journey to the River Sea at a charity book sale for just $2. 

Blurb: In 1946, Rosa Sweetman, a young Kindertransport girl, is longing for her family to claim her. The war in Europe is over and she is the only child left at Westwood, a rambling country estate in the north of England, where she'd taken refuge seven years earlier. The arrival of a friend of the family, Yara Fielding, starts an adventure that will take Rosa deep into the lush beauty of the Amazon rainforest in search of jaguars, ancient giant sloths and somewhere to belong. What she finds is Yara’s lively, welcoming family on the banks of the river and, together, they face a danger greater than she could ever have imagined. Featuring places and characters known and loved by fans of Journey to the River Sea (including, among others, Maia, Finn, Miss Minton and Clovis) this spectacular story tells of the next generation and the growing threats to the Amazon rainforest that continue to this day.

Other Emma Carroll books I have read;

Letters from the Lighthouse

The week at World's End

In Darkling Wood

The Girl who Walked on Air

The Little Match Girl Strikes Back

Sky Chasers

The Ghost Garden

The idea of continuing or building on a classic book is an interesting one. Emma Carroll did her version of The Little Match girl.  Here are some other books that do this:

The Princess and the Suffragette

Return to the Secret Garden

The Magic Faraway Tree a new adventure

I am a huge fan of Eva Ibbotson. I loved One Dog and his Boy.

The Explorer by Katherine Rundell illustrated by Hannah Horn

"They had become a pack.  Or, an expedition, 
he corrected himself. That was what you call a group of explorers."

"Every human on this earth is an explorer. Exploring is 
nothing more than paying attention, writ large. Attention."

Why did I pick up this book?  The author is a favourite of mine.  The cover looked very appealing.  The Amazon setting sounded intriguing especially since Journey to the River Sea is a book I totally adored, and it is set in the same location.

Four children (two girls and two boys) are travelling in a small plane across the Amazon jungle.  For different reasons the children are going to Manaus in Northern Brazil. They don't know each other.  Fred is excited to be flying but he notices the pilot is struggling:

"The pilot grasped Fred's wrist hard for a single moment, then his head slumped against the dashboard. And the sky, which had second before seemed so reliable, gave way."

With the pilot now dead, and the plane a burnt out wreck, the four children must now find a way to survive in a jungle that seems to be filled with so many dangers.  Fred, Constantia (Con), Lila and her five-year-old brother Max really have no idea about how to find food, shelter and water.  Fred has done a little reading about explorers, and he is a resourceful boy but really it is just good luck that they stumble on an old unused shelter.  Over the coming days they experiment with things to eat and because it is the jungle they do eventually find bananas and pineapples. In the shelter they find some flint stones and using Fred's broken watch they manage to make a fire.

It is little Max who seems to observe the world in a different way.  He sees some monkey's gathering honey from a beehive.

"The monkey's washed their hands in the ants and then they fought the bees."  The children watch the monkeys and then gather the ants and rub them all over their skin. The smell is like ammonia. Fred and Con climb the tree and, even though it is utterly terrifying, they gather some honey and, in the process, find a pouch containing a map.  It is at this point their adventure takes a sharp turn.  Clearly someone has been there. Fred has already made a raft so now the group know they need to move on, follow the river and the map and find the city of Manaus and perhaps even find the map maker.

I like the way Katherine Rundell gives small but very meaningful insights into the back story and personality of each child.

Fred - "Inside Fred was hunger, hope and wire... Fred's mind was quick with sharp edges. He wanted more from the world than it had yet given."

Con - "She moved stiffly, as if unaccustomed to using her own body. Her clothes seemed to sit on her like a bear trap."

Lila - "She was small and moved on the edge of her muscles, like an animal - a deer or a lemur - as if she heard things other people did not."

Teachers could make good use of the descriptions in The Explorer such as this one:

"His shoes were made from what looked like alligator skin, with very thin vines for shoelaces. A jacket sewn nearly from black furs, hung over his shoulders. The buttons were caiman teeth."

It is easy to see Katherine Rundell did a lot of research for this book. Apart from an actual trip to the Amazon she includes interesting, and at times, gruesome details about eating tarantulas, catching fish even piranhas, stripping vines to make rope and the dangers of bullet ants.

There is a link between the title - The Explorer - and finding of the map because the children do find a man.  He won't give his name. He is an explorer, or at least he seems to be, he is living in the jungle and has the knowledge the children need to survive their journey back to civilization but the man demands a promise from the children. He needs them to understand why this environment is precious and why it needs protection from the outside world.

The Explorer would link well with Journey to the River Sea, Hatchet and The Island trilogy by Gordon Korman beginning with Shipwreck. In this video Katherine Rundell explains the thinking behind her novel and in this one Katherine reads the first chapters of her book.  It is interesting to read this interview with Katherine by Kirkus.

I did enjoy The Explorer but I would like to know a little more about why these four children were travelling alone across Brazil. Also, in the final scenes (can't tell you too much) when Fred becomes the hero, I wanted Con and Lila to shine a little more.  My favourite character is Max - he is funny, honest and very grubby.

Rundell’s rich, descriptive prose will transport her young readers to a mesmerising world where they can swim with river dolphins, eat a tarantula and discover a ruined city. The mystery deepens when the discovery of a map suggests they are not the first humans to find this place.  The Guardian

Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson

I am having a great time re-reading titles I have recommended for years. Today I read Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson first published in 2001. I find it interesting the way the human brain works. My memory of this book mostly related to the journey along with Amazon River on the Arabella but that happens right near the end of the story. I had completely forgotten about Maia’s time with the awful Carter family.

Maia has lost both her parents which is really a sad beginning, but she is not a penniless orphan. Her guardian is managing her money, there is plenty, and she is attending a prestigious and comfortable boarding school, so all is well but as the story opens all this is about to change. Mr Murray, her guardian, has found some distant relatives. Adding to this shock Maia is told this family live in Brazil on the Amazon River near the town of Manaus. The family, the Carters, consist of a mother, father and twin girls called Beatrice and Gwendolyn. Maia imagines exotic adventures, wild animals and fun with two friendly girls. For the reader, though, Eva Ibbotson has put in some subtle warning signs, and we know her imaginings are about to be shattered.

The twins are diabolical; the father is reclusive with a repugnant hobby collecting false eyeballs and the mother is obsessive about insects and disease. Eva Ibbotson is such a powerful writer I felt at times I could even smell this house in the Amazon with all the insect sprays and perfumes. “All the windows were covered in layers of mosquito netting and the shutters were kept partly closed so that the rooms were not only hot but dark. ... There were no pictures, no flowers. The smell of Lysol was overpowering.”

Maia is a friendly girl and her ability to make loyal friends is an important key to her survival and ultimate success. Her companion is a mysterious lady called Miss Minton but once again Eva Ibbotson gives the reader just enough little hints that we know Miss Minton is kind and very wise and if she is keeping secrets from Maia it is for a very good reason. Maia also makes friends with a young boy called Jimmy or Clovis who has been kidnapped in England and forced to join a troupe of travelling show people. Her other important friend is Finn Taverner. His father has recently died. Finn’s mother was from an Indian tribe called the Xanti. All these characters and others are connected and that is the part of this story I enjoyed the most.

Reading this splendid book again I am very happy I have been recommending it for over ten years. If you love adventure, you love stories where all the little pieces neatly fit together at the end but in ways you simply would not have guessed then this is a book you must read. I do not rate books but I would give Journey to the River Sea ten out of ten. I was interested to read President Obama gave this book as a gift to his daughters (it is a book boys can read too). I now need to read Little Lord Fauntleroy to make even more connections.

I have put several covers on this post because I really like the butterfly one, but our library copy is the blue one. If you want to see a really sweet video click here. I alsonfound some discussion questions for teachers. If you need to see more of the plot or read some reviews click here.