Turtles can live for a long time, but tortoises can live for even longer! These slow-moving animals can live for hundreds of years in many places on Earth, from Galapagos tortoises outliving the explorers who discovered them to Seychelles giant tortoises that may be nearly 200 years old! With the help of full-color photographs, readers learn about the many different tortoises that have life-spans longer than most humans’ and how their bodies are built to live long, leisurely lives. They also explore how zoos take care of these special animals to ensure their lives are not cut short in captivity.

A Sheltered Life offers a fascinating look at one of the world's strangest and most wondrous animals--whose significance in modern science and culture cannot be underestimated. In an engaging blend of cultural and natural history, the book ranges from the earliest mention of the tortoises many millennia ago, to the wholesale plunder of their populations starting in the sixteenth century, to modern attempts to protect the tortoise and track down members of what were once believed to be extinct populations.

Harriet the tortoise likes to do things slowly. She explores her home on the Galápagos Islands—slowly. She eats—slowly. And when the sun goes down, she slumbers deeply all night long. When Harriet’s friends tell her to pick up the pace, Harriet decides to journey to a neighboring island to see what there is to see. She parades with penguins and rides with dolphins, encountering adventure at every turn. But is life in the fast lane right for a tortoise who loves to take her time?

A beautifully illustrated and deeply personal chronicle of De Roy's lifelong connection with these spectacular islands Tui De Roy was a year old in 1955 when her family left Europe, boarding a banana boat bound for the Pacific to lead a different sort of life in Galápagos, one of self-sufficiency and living close to nature. She grew up on the islands and returned to them often over the next five decades. Discovering photography at a young age, she has dedicated her life to recording the islands' natural history in infinite detail. A Lifetime in Galápagos is De Roy's intimate portrait of one of the most spectacular places on Earth, presenting the wildlife and natural wonders of Galápagos as you have never seen them before. Featuring hundreds of breathtaking color photos, this stunning book guides you into labyrinthine mangroves to observe nesting herons, to misty cloud forests to glimpse flycatchers and orchids, high onto erupting volcanoes, and into the ocean to swim with hammerhead sharks. De Roy's lens provides up-close encounters with orca and sperm whales, colonies of iguanas, and the giant tortoises of Alcedo Volcano. She paints unforgettable portraits of her childhood in Galápagos—the islands at night under the stars of the Milky Way, sea lions at play and on the hunt, the diverse birdlife of Galápagos, and much more. Blending striking images with vivid prose, A Lifetime in Galápagos also discusses the threats that global warming and other environmental challenges pose to the archipelago's unique wildlife and fragile habitats.

Turtles can live for a long time, but tortoises can live for even longer! These slow-moving animals can live for hundreds of years in many places on Earth, from Galapagos tortoises outliving the explorers who discovered them to Seychelles giant tortoises that may be nearly 200 years old! With the help of full-color photographs, readers learn about the many different tortoises that have life-spans longer than most humans’ and how their bodies are built to live long, leisurely lives. They also explore how zoos take care of these special animals to ensure their lives are not cut short in captivity.

Tuataras are special animals because they’re old in many ways. They’re part of an order of reptiles that first appeared more than 200 million years ago! They can also live more than 100 years! Readers fascinated by these odd animals will love learning why they’re only found in New Zealand and how they adapted characteristics of many different kinds of animals, including amphibians, reptiles, and even fish! With full-color photographs showing off these features in great detail, this book is sure to impress young readers.

From the author of I Don’t Want to Be a Frog comes a hilarious new picture book that asks readers to solve one very important mystery It’s Mr. Tortoise’s birthday, and he can’t wait to eat cake with his friends. But there’s a hitch! Mr. Tortoise can’t remember how old he is, so his friends don’t know how many candles to put on the cake. And they won’t stop (or slice) until they figure out the mystery. Could Mr. Tortoise be as many years old as there are sections on his shell? He’s twice as big as the smaller tortoise . . . so is he twice as old? After the partygoers work through a variety of possibilities, they find their way to the answer with a simple bit of addition. With text from I Don’t Want to Be a Frog author Dev Petty and hilarious graphic novel–style illustrations from Ruth Chan, How Old Is Mr. Tortoise? will have readers guessing the answer from beginning to end.

Timothy made his first appearance in the nation's history when he was a ship's mascot in the Crimean War in 1854. After a long naval career, he retired for a quieter life on land and was given to the Earl of Devon in 1892. From then until his untimely death in April 2004, he lived in Powderham Castle where he was much loved by family and visitors alike. Lady Gabrielle Courtenay, now 91, looked after him for the second half of his life, and she recalls the great stories and escapades involving Timothy: how he got drunk on azalea blossom, and how the family had to buy a special tortoise train ticket for him when they went on their holidays in the 1920s. Timothy's story is not just the tale of a remarkable tortoise, it is a social history of the last century and a half. Rory Knight Bruce has spoken to all those who knew him best, from the Devons to the aged retainers at the castle who looked after him. He was a symbol of continuity, and this is a warm and nostalgic account of the life he lived.