The Voyage of Turtle Rex

In this companion to Tadpole Rex, a prehistoric turtle hatches on a "primeval beach" and slips beneath the waves. Cyrus's illustrations incorporate dramatic scale, movement, and majesty: the spreads are a marvel of lighting and texture, as swirling ocean and sky symbolize the passage of time ("The hatchling who hid in the seaweed was gone.../ grown to a two-ton archelon"). As the turtle treads the starlit sea after laying her eggs, Cyrus comments on species loss: "Gone is that sea and the creatures it knew./ Archelon. Mosasaur. Pterosaur, too./ Gone is the plesiosaur's clam-cracking smile.../ but full-body helmets are still in style." A moving and truly epic journey. Ages 4%E2%80%938. (Apr.)