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Rodney Was a Tortoise

Author Nan Forler

Illustrated by Yong Ling Kang

Hardcover

$18.99 US

Tundra | Tundra Books

8.44"W x 10.31"H x 0.43"D | 15 oz | 24 per carton

On sale Feb 15, 2022 | 40 Pages | 9780735266629

Age 3-7 years

Reading Level: Lexile AD560L | Fountas & Pinnell M

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This comforting and gently humorous picture book about bereavement and the strength of friendship shows how a child overcomes the sadness of her beloved pet's death.

Bernadette and Rodney are the best of friends. Rodney's not so good at playing cards, but he's great at staring contests. His favorite food is lettuce, though he eats it VERRRRRRY SLOOOOOWLY. And he's such a joker! When Bernadette goes to sleep at night, Rodney is always there, watching over her from his tank.

As the seasons pass, Rodney moves slower and slower, until one day he stops moving at all. Without Rodney, Bernadette feels all alone. She can't stop thinking about him, but none of her friends seem to notice. Except for Amar.

Rodney Was a Tortoise is a moving story about friendship and loss. It shows the importance of expressing kindness and empathy, especially in life's most difficult moments.

NAN FORLER is a writer and a teacher who lives in a house overflowing with music and books. She likes to write stories at an old wooden table in her kitchen, and some of those stories are made into books, such as Winterberries and Apple Blossoms, Bird Child and Trampoline Boy. Nan shares her home with her husband, her two children and a yorkie-poo named Alice. She lives in Waterloo, Ontario. View titles by Nan Forler

Yong Ling Kang was born in Malaysia and grew up in Singapore. Her formal education is in animation where she developed her love of storytelling. When she was a child, she remembers being given a special piece of jewelry as part of a family tradition. The illustrator of numerous picture books, Yong Ling Kang now lives in Toronto. View titles by Yong Ling Kang

SHORTLIST | 2024
Shining Willow Award
NOMINEE | 2023
Blue Spruce Award
SELECTION | 2023
Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
SELECTION | 2023
Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices
HONOR | 2023
Charlotte Zolotow Award
SHORTLIST | 2023
IODE Jean Throop Book Award

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One of CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens (Fall 2022), Starred Selection
One of Evanston Public Library's 101 Great Books for Kids 2022

"Wry, observational writing and loose, frequently funny vignettes by Kang give this tale of loss its own distinctive, endearing resonance." —STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly

“Line breaks in Forler’s warm text slow the pace and focus on moments in time. Kang’s gentle watercolor and pencil illustrations touchingly depict this special relationship, making the inevitable all the more heartbreaking.” —STARRED REVIEW, The Horn Book

"Bernadette's happiness and grief both are conveyed through distinctive details in a narrative that adeptly balances a hard topic with moments of laugh-out-loud humor." —Cooperative Children's Book Center

". . . [T]his gentle book may resonate, bring comport, and help children work through their feelings." —CM: Canadian Review of Materials

"The firm directness here makes this more an authentic exploration of grief than an assured comfort, and the focus on Bernadette's ongoing sorrow, especially as it contrasts with the bustle of an ongoing world, will resonate with readers who have suffered a recent loss or are still mourning one long past." —Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books

"This is a heartwarming book about love, loss, friendship, and restoration. Children . . . who've lost a pet will be touched by this sweet tale." —Manhattan Book Review

"This is a touching story with sweet illustrations that will speak to kids of all ages." —Midwest Book Review

About

Creators

Awards

SHORTLIST | 2024
Shining Willow Award
NOMINEE | 2023
Blue Spruce Award
SELECTION | 2023
Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
SELECTION | 2023
Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices
HONOR | 2023
Charlotte Zolotow Award
SHORTLIST | 2023
IODE Jean Throop Book Award

Available for sale exclusive:

• Afghanistan

• Aland Islands

• Albania

• Algeria

• Andorra

• Angola

• Anguilla

• Antarctica

• Antigua/Barbuda

• Argentina

• Armenia

• Aruba

• Australia

• Austria

• Azerbaijan

• Bahamas

• Bahrain

• Bangladesh

• Barbados

• Belarus

• Belgium

• Belize

• Benin

• Bermuda

• Bhutan

• Bolivia

• Bonaire, Saba

• Bosnia Herzeg.

• Botswana

• Bouvet Island

• Brazil

• Brit.Ind.Oc.Ter

• Brit.Virgin Is.

• Brunei

• Bulgaria

• Burkina Faso

• Burundi

• Cambodia

• Cameroon

• Canada

• Cape Verde

• Cayman Islands

• Centr.Afr.Rep.

• Chad

• Chile

• China

• Christmas Islnd

• Cocos Islands

• Colombia

• Comoro Is.

• Congo

• Cook Islands

• Costa Rica

• Croatia

• Cuba

• Curacao

• Cyprus

• Czech Republic

• Dem. Rep. Congo

• Denmark

• Djibouti

• Dominica

• Dominican Rep.

• Ecuador

• Egypt

• El Salvador

• Equatorial Gui.

• Eritrea

• Estonia

• Ethiopia

• Falkland Islnds

• Faroe Islands

• Fiji

• Finland

• France

• Fren.Polynesia

• French Guinea

• Gabon

• Gambia

• Georgia

• Germany

• Ghana

• Gibraltar

• Greece

• Greenland

• Grenada

• Guadeloupe

• Guam

• Guatemala

• Guernsey

• Guinea Republic

• Guinea-Bissau

• Guyana

• Haiti

• Heard/McDon.Isl

• Honduras

• Hong Kong

• Hungary

• Iceland

• India

• Indonesia

• Iran

• Iraq

• Ireland

• Isle of Man

• Israel

• Italy

• Ivory Coast

• Jamaica

• Japan

• Jersey

• Jordan

• Kazakhstan

• Kenya

• Kiribati

• Kuwait

• Kyrgyzstan

• Laos

• Latvia

• Lebanon

• Lesotho

• Liberia

• Libya

• Liechtenstein

• Lithuania

• Luxembourg

• Macau

• Macedonia

• Madagascar

• Malawi

• Malaysia

• Maldives

• Mali

• Malta

• Marshall island

• Martinique

• Mauritania

• Mauritius

• Mayotte

• Mexico

• Micronesia

• Minor Outl.Ins.

• Moldavia

• Monaco

• Mongolia

• Montenegro

• Montserrat

• Morocco

• Mozambique

• Myanmar

• Namibia

• Nauru

• Nepal

• Netherlands

• New Caledonia

• New Zealand

• Nicaragua

• Niger

• Nigeria

• Niue

• Norfolk Island

• North Korea

• North Mariana

• Norway

• Oman

• Pakistan

• Palau

• Palestinian Ter

• Panama

• PapuaNewGuinea

• Paraguay

• Peru

• Philippines

• Pitcairn Islnds

• Poland

• Portugal

• Puerto Rico

• Qatar

• Reunion Island

• Romania

• Russian Fed.

• Rwanda

• S. Sandwich Ins

• Saint Martin

• Samoa,American

• San Marino

• SaoTome Princip

• Saudi Arabia

• Senegal

• Serbia

• Seychelles

• Sierra Leone

• Singapore

• Sint Maarten

• Slovakia

• Slovenia

• Solomon Islands

• Somalia

• South Africa

• South Korea

• South Sudan

• Spain

• Sri Lanka

• St Barthelemy

• St. Helena

• St. Lucia

• St. Vincent

• St.Chr.,Nevis

• St.Pier,Miquel.

• Sth Terr. Franc

• Sudan

• Suriname

• Svalbard

• Swaziland

• Sweden

• Switzerland

• Syria

• Tadschikistan

• Taiwan

• Tanzania

• Thailand

• Timor-Leste

• Togo

• Tokelau Islands

• Tonga

• Trinidad,Tobago

• Tunisia

• Turkey

• Turkmenistan

• Turks&Caicos Is

• Tuvalu

• US Virgin Is.

• USA

• Uganda

• Ukraine

• Unit.Arab Emir.

• United Kingdom

• Uruguay

• Uzbekistan

• Vanuatu

• Vatican City

• Venezuela

• Vietnam

• Wallis,Futuna

• West Saharan

• Western Samoa

• Yemen

• Zambia

• Zimbabwe

Rodney Was a Tortoise

About

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Awards

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Other Books by this Author

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