Wild Magic: Escape of the Sea Turtles: Volume 3

Escape of the Sea Turtles is the third title in the illustrated chapter book series Wild Magic about Misha and Ziggy, who travel the world with their nature documentary maker father. In each adventure, the children save wildlife using their secret magical abilities; Misha talks to animals and Ziggy shapeshifts into them.

On their trip to Mexico with their father, grandparents, and the film crew making their next documentary about sea turtles, the twins find that something strange is happening to the turtles; there is no sign of the hundreds expected on the beach to lay their eggs. Both their father's documentary and the future of the sea turtle population are in jeopardy. The twins find help from creatures such as turtles, dolphins, and barracudas in a race against time to succeed in a daring rescue attempt.

I enjoyed how each animal communicates easily with Misha whilst being surprised about the twins' abilities and how they had names like Isabella or Enrique. This is a fun to read fantasy ecoadventure, pacy and exciting, with lots of factual snippets inserted into the narrative in a way that doesn't jar with the story.

Bello's writing makes the reader empathise with the animals affected by the plastic polluting the seas and curious about the Pacific Garbage Patch. I was surprised that facts about sea turtles and Mexico were added at the end but not ways the reader can help to tackle such environmental issues. This felt a flaw in what is otherwise a gentle, fun, but powerful story.

192 pages / Reviewed by Natalie J McChrystal Plimmer

Suggested Reading Age 7+