Publisher's synopsis
Chellie loves the beautiful green turtles on her tropical island home. So when they are threatened, she does everything she can to save them.
There in the shimmering green water lay four big oval shapes like a giant’s carving dishes. They were patterned in brownish green and had five handles. Suddenly the handles stirred and the giant’s carving dishes began to move!
Chellie was very small when she first saw the beautiful green turtles with the scientific name so close to her own. Every year she would watch them swim in the sea and make their long journeys up the beach to lay their eggs. But one day, Chellie makes a grim and horrible discovery, a discovery that turns her life upside down and forces her to act.
Christobel Mattingley was born in SA in 1931 and died in 2019, and is the author of more than 50 books, 47 of which were for children. After publishing her first book, The Picnic Dog, in 1970, Mattingley went on to win numerous awards for her work including the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Children’s Book of the Year Award in both the Younger Readers and Picture Book categories, and an Australian Human Rights Award commendation for No Gun for Asmir. Her work has been translated into other languages, won various awards in Australia and the USA, and has been made into films for ABC Television. In 1990 she received the Advance Australia Award for Service to Literature, and in 1996 she was made a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to literature, particularly children’s literature, and for community service through her commitment to social and cultural issues.
Photo courtesy of Allen & Unwin
