Mystery of the Missing Turtles
By Deborah S Bower, Ricky-John Spencer, Michael B Thompson, James U Van Dyke and Elizabeth Hale
Illustrated by James O’Hanlon
Reviewed by Mia Macrossan
This is a great example of a child seeing a problem and taking the initiative to solve it, (with the help of a grown-up).
Mystery of the Missing Turtles describes how a young child who enjoys observing nature and even keeps a notebook to record her observations, notices how, when all of nature is reproducing – the platypuses have paired off, the water dragon is swollen with eggs, and the banjo frogs are calling loudly, there are no baby turtles appearing.
The culprit is a fat red fox who eats the eggs before the turtles can hatch and get to the water. Brooke and her Dad devise a scheme to safeguard the eggs and the story concludes with Brooke exploring the creek and counting as many young turtles as old turtles, swimming and basking happily together.
This straightforward story has lots of extra information embedded in the text complemented by O’Hanlon’s clear, colourful and appealing illustrations. There is a lovely relaxed feel as the reader shares Brooke’s enjoyment of her country.
Having ignited an enthusiasm for all things turtle the book provides a page of Turtle Power with information on Australian turtles, Turtle or Tortoise, Worrisome woes (over one third of Australia’s turtle species are threatened with extinction), Bum Breathers, Turtles as Pets and an invitation to become a Turtle Warrior, someone who helps research and save turtles. The glossary explains some additional relevant terms.
Recommended for every school library collection and any budding naturalist in the family.
CSIRO Publishing 2026
A note on the creators: Associate Professors Deborah S. Bower, James U. Van Dyke, and Professors Ricky-John Spencer and Michael B. Thompson are turtle biologists who created the 1 Million Turtles Citizen Science Project to encourage participation in turtle conservation in Australia. Associate Professor Elizabeth Hale researches and teaches children’s literature and writing at the University of New England. Dr James O’Hanlon is an award-winning science communicator, author and illustrator.
