Yoshi, Sea Turtle Genius

Starred review from January 16, 2023
Long-distance swimmer Cox presents this fictionalized story that follows Yoshi, the loggerhead turtle who spent 20 years in a South African aquarium before swimming nearly 23,000 miles back to her native Australia. A straightforward narrative couches playful, lyrical text that details Yoshi’s hatching, reports on physical changes over time (“She was just the size of a smile”), and lists myriad creatures she likely encountered on land and sea (“a whale shark as big as a school bus”). Lines that visualize the journey (“Her body glowed in a blanket of sparkling water”) complement Jones’s delicately textured, digitally edited paintings, which portray sea life in muted hues and envision Yoshi’s diminutive form against a wide-open ocean. Several light-infused night scenes bestow a calming ambiance upon a succinctly told story that’s satisfying in its full-circle itinerary and its appreciation of the sea turtle’s innate “genius.” Human characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author’s note, archival photo of Yoshi, and map conclude. Ages 4–8.

January 1, 2023
Preschool-Grade 2 A tiny loggerhead turtle emerges from her shell and immediately faces a daunting world. She manages to sneak past viligant foxes and hungry crabs and splashes into the sea, discovering a vast underwater scene teeming with incredible creatures. A tussle with a fishing net leaves her hopelessly tangled until a sympathetic fisherman plucks her from the ocean and nurses her back to health, ultimately landing her in a Cape Town aquarium to grow to adulthood. After many years, much debate, and lots of training, Yoshi is released back into the wild ocean and, to the astonishment of scientists tracking her, swims nearly 23,000 miles back to the Australian beach of her hatching, ready to lay eggs of her own and carry on the loggerhead legacy. Based on a true story (and penned by a renowned long-distance swimmer), this appealing oceanic adventure is equally educational and entertaining. The softly painted illustrations are rich and varied, sometimes sprawling gloriously across entire spreads and then zooming in to detailed vignettes. A brilliant tribute to a marvel of the natural world.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from March 1, 2023
When Yoshi, a real-life loggerhead turtle, hatches, she immediately crawls to the Indian Ocean and begins swimming out to sea. After five nomadic years, she becomes entangled in a fishing net (a sequence of events Jones depicts as a timeline of circles, each spotlighting her increasing distress). Unable to breathe, she begins an arduous journey to the surface, dramatically illustrated in a full-bleed, double-page watercolor spread showing Yoshi alone in the sea hauling a mass of fishing net behind her. A fisherman rescues her, eventually taking her to Cape Town's Two Oceans Aquarium, where she lives for twenty years. When Yoshi reaches sexual maturity, the aquarists initiate a program of reintroducing her into the wild; they finally do so, equipping her with a satellite tracker. To the scientists' surprise, she swims up the western coast of Africa, turns around, heads south, and returns to her heretofore unknown native beach in Australia, where she mates and deposits her eggs on the very shore where she originally hatched -- a 22,998-mile journey. There's much to discuss about the interplay of instinct, perseverance, and luck in this fine book. An author's note describes Cox's inspiration -- "I am intrigued by Yoshi's story because I too am a long-distance swimmer. I was the first person to swim around the rough waters surrounding the Cape of Good Hope, Africa" -- and separates fact from supposition; a suggested website documents Yoshi's release. Betty Carter

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from November 15, 2022
This true story of a loggerhead turtle that has swum farther than any animal known to scientists is told by an American who has herself shattered countless records for long-distance swimming. Cox follows the turtle from her birth on an Australian beach to the moment she was caught in a net, then rescued by a Japanese fisherman (who named her Yoshi, meaning "good luck"). The fisherman treated her wounds, fed her squid, and eventually took her to the Two Oceans Aquarium in South Africa. Yoshi stayed there for 20 years, but the curator, behaviorists, and veterinarian decided to return her to the ocean, training her for endurance then releasing her with a tracking device. That is how the world knows Yoshi traversed 22,998 miles to lay eggs on the Australian shore where her life began. Cox's language is lovely, her descriptions helpful for young listeners. Imagining Yoshi's early life, Cox writes that the hatchling is "just the size of a smile." As the turtle grows, her bulk is compared to a cat, then a lion. In addition to luminous double-page spreads and delicate spot art, Jones employs stacked horizontal panels that cross the gutter to emphasize the passage of time as the swimmer progresses. Six blue circular vignettes depict the animal's struggle to breathe when she is snagged in the net. Cox's author's note explains that though she speculated about some of Yoshi's life, everything after her rescue is documented. Humans depicted are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A mesmerizing glimpse at the miracles of the natural world. (photo, map) (Informational picture book. 6-8)

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2023
When Yoshi, a real-life loggerhead turtle, hatches, she immediately crawls to the Indian Ocean and begins swimming out to sea. After five nomadic years, she becomes entangled in a fishing net (a sequence of events Jones depicts as a timeline of circles, each spotlighting her increasing distress). Unable to breathe, she begins an arduous journey to the surface, dramatically illustrated in a full-bleed, double-page watercolor spread showing Yoshi alone in the sea hauling a mass of fishing net behind her. A fisherman rescues her, eventually taking her to Cape Town's Two Oceans Aquarium, where she lives for twenty years. When Yoshi reaches sexual maturity, the aquarists initiate a program of reintroducing her into the wild; they finally do so, equipping her with a satellite tracker. To the scientists' surprise, she swims up the western coast of Africa, turns around, heads south, and returns to her heretofore unknown native beach in Australia, where she mates and deposits her eggs on the very shore where she originally hatched -- a 22,998-mile journey. There's much to discuss about the interplay of instinct, perseverance, and luck in this fine book. An author's note describes Cox's inspiration -- "I am intrigued by Yoshi's story because I too am a long-distance swimmer. I was the first person to swim around the rough waters surrounding the Cape of Good Hope, Africa" -- and separates fact from supposition; a suggested website documents Yoshi's release.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)