Carey the Sea Turtle Written in collaboration with

Carey the Sea Turtle
Written in collaboration with the students of Fabretto’s programs in San Isidro, Nicaragua
Copyright © 2011 by Dot-to-Dot Children’s Books, Denver, Colorado
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical
means, including photocopying, recording, and information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher. For information regarding permission, please contact
Dot-to-Dot Children's Books at info@dot-to-dot-books.org.
Printed in the United States of America.
Illustrated by Bill McCaffrey
Library of Congress Control Number:
ISBN 13: 978-0-9842146-_-_
ISBN 10: 0-9842146-_-_
About this Book
Hello Friends!
This book was written by young the students from Nicaragua who
are pictured to the left. After learning about endangerd hawksbill sea
turtles, they wrote their own fun stories featuring turtles. Our Creative
Writing Team edited our favorite parts of their stories into the book you
are about to read, Carey the Sea Turtle.
At the end of this book you can explore the world of hawksbill sea turtles
and Nicaragua. You can also learn more about the authors of this story
and Patricia Aradones, the Executive Director of Fabretto - Spain, the
organization that is providing this book's authors with a great education.
Pictured Above, the Co-Authors of CAREY THE SEA TURTLE:
María Fernanda Rivas, María Amalia Orozco, Kevin Reyes Zamora,
Josseling Silva López, Rita Escorcia Gutiérrez, José Ariel Corea Zambrana, Jennifer
Aracely Velásquez, Oriana Velásquez Corea, Leticia Silva López, Eliécer Mauricio
Salgado Cabrera, Jennifer Silva López, Marlon Antonio Velásquez, Kennssy Isamar
Picado Leiva, Jader Javier Jarquín, Josseling María Velásquez López, Jennifer María
Alvarado Hernández, Ricardo José Bravo González, Henry Palacios, Ofilio Antonio
Solís Jirón, Francisco Enrique Montiel Mercado, Freddy Ezequiel Leiva Bustamante,
Israel Antonio Centeno Gutiérrez, Darwin Vallecillo Larios, Nancy del Socorro Maltez,
Eveling Vasquez, Jean Carlos Maltez Martinez, Juan Jose Maltez, Mario Silva Lopez,
Maria Isabel Perez, Vivian Ivonne Mora, Lene D'Trinidad, Abraham Murillo, Anielka
del Rosario Gutierrez Rivas, Katherin Lugo, Fabricio Antonio Ordonez Munoz, Maycol
Jose R.,Scarleth Paola, Jarvin, Ingris Palacio, Rosa Jenny Lanza, Jose Dolores, Helleng
Martinez, Gabriel Alejandro Bustamante
The team at Dot-to-Dot Children’s Books hopes you enjoy Carey the
Sea Turtle
Upcoming Changes:
General: Title of book to be changed and color illustrations to be added for
all pages by mid-February. Note that the details of the black-and-white
illustrations will be different in the final color illustrations.
Layout of text will be re-done for all of the illustrated pages..
Background color for all background materials will be changed.
Page 28-29: Turtle pictures to be replaced
Page 30: Profile of WCS conservationist to be added.
Page 31: Formatting re-done and improved.
Page 33: To be reviewed by Fabretto
Page 35: To be reviewed by BRAC and updatd w/ picture and info from Patricia
Page 38: Names of everyone who helped added.
Far to the south of the United States—past Mexico, past
Guatemala, even past Honduras—lies a green and beautiful
land called Nicaragua. This is the story of a sea turtle born on
Nicaragua’s sea coast, in the clear waters of the Pearl Keys.
Carey the Sea Turtle
Written in collaboration with the Fabretto students of
San Isidro de Bolas
Illustrated by Bill McCaffrey
One night, Carey was born on a
beautiful beach of the Pearl Keys.
He had not one or two, but 99
brothers and sisters. They were all
born as the moon shone bright in
the sky -- crack! crack! CRACK!
Carey and his brothers and sistsers shined their bald
turtle heads and brushed off their shells. They smiled,
hearing the calm water of the ocean nearby.
One by one, they climbed over the bumpy sand toward
the ocean. The turtles knew that this ocean was to be
their big new home.
The turtles blinked the sand from their eyes and
climbed out of their next into the moonlilght.
As Carey flopped across the sand, he suddenly heard the call
of a bird. In front of him, two huge seagulls sat on a rock,
watching the turtles. Near the shore, other seagulls swooped
and grabbed up little crabs in their sharp beaks.
Carey knew right away that these were very, very
dangerous birds. He waited, watching the birds
and thinking about what to do.
Carey had to reach the water somehow, but he was
very scared. As quickly as he could, he raced down
the beach along with his family.
Carey had to reach the water somehow, but he was
very scared. As quickly as he could, he raced down the
beach along with his family.
Finally, he squeezed out and felt himself falling. Carey landed
back on the beach with a thud, dizzy and confused. He moved
first in one direction, and then another, but could not tell if
he was going anywhere at all.
“Where am I?” he thought.
Lights shone on Carey’s face from far, far, far away.
“That must be the light of stars on the ocean!” thought Carey,
excited. With new energy, he moved as quickly as he could
toward the light.
With that, the boy dropped Carey into a dark bucket. He couldn’t
see a thing and began to cry salty tears. “I should never have tried
to follow the lights,” he cried. “If only I could find the ocean and
be home now.”
Hawksbill Sea Turtles
Turtle Facts
Endangered: Hawksbill Sea Turtle
The Hawksbill sea turtle is endangered because of two types of threats, human and non-human.
Life span: 30-50 years in the wild
Human threat:
Weight and size: 3 feet long and weighs about 150 pounds
Man is the biggest threat to a sea turtle.
Diet: omnivore - sea sponges, fish, mollusks, sea plants
Sea turtles’ beautiful shells are used for
Habitat: areas surrounding coral reefs
jewelry and their eggs are considered
a delicacy to be eaten. Humans also
threaten the turtles by destroying reefs
where the sponges they eat grow and
The Hawksbill sea turtle has many adaptations
building on the beaches turtles use as
that make it an excellent swimmer and hunter.
nesting sites. The sea turtles are also
Its wide flippers help it dive quickly down to
Non-human threat:
affected by commercial fishermen who
coral reefs and then back up to the surface to
Turtle eggs are hunted by many
use nets that turtles get caught in drown.
get a breath of air. They also have a narrow
predators, including dogs, cats, pigs,
beak that they use to probe cracks in coral reefs
chickens and rats. Crabs and birds also
for their favorite food—sea sponges.
grab the babies as they make their dash
Female turtles go back to the exact beach where
over the sand to the sea. In the water,
they were born to lay their eggs. In their nests,
turtles have to watch out for hungry fish
or “clutches” they can lay up to 150 eggs. They
and diving birds that want to eat them.
use their back flippers to dig the holes for their
The biggest threat to the hawksbill when
nests. After being buried, the eggs will take two months to hatch. Sea turtle babies are
they grow up is sharks. Sharks attack the
about as long as your thumb. When they are born, they walk straight to the open ocean
turtle’s flippers, hurting them so badly
and swim away. After a few years, they return to the coast to live in coral reefs.
that they can not swim away.
On the Frontlines of Conservation
Where in the world is NICARAGUA?
COUNTRY FACTS
Continent: South America
Capital City: Managua
Official languages: Spanish
Neighboring countries: Costa Rica, Honduras
PROFILE OF WCS CONSERVATIONIST TO BE INSERTED
HERE ONCE RECEIVED
Did you know?
• Nicaragua has many volcanoes and there are about 19 that are still active.
• Nicaragua is a country full of amazing wildlife, with animals like sloths, monkeys,
and sea turtles. Nicaragua is one of the most important breeding places for turtles.
• One of the most popular food dishes in Nicaragua is rice and beans. In Spanish it’s
called gallo pinto.
Get to Know the Authors!
40 third and fourth graders from San Isidro de Bolas, Nicaragua
helped write CAREY THE SEA TURTLE. Half of the children attend
an elementary school named after their small community and the
other half attend a school named after the famous Nicaraguan poet
and diplomat, Felix Ruben. During our writing workshop, the students
worked very hard to write stories about sea turtles. They also drew
colorful pictures for their stories.
To celebrate the end of the writing workshop, the students from the
Felix Ruben School traveled to San Isidro de Bolas in small taxis called
tuk-tuks. At the Turtle Party, the students wore turtle hats and played
games.
Each of the students who helped write CAREY THE SEA TURTLE
receives a great education because of the work of the Fabretto Children’s
Foundation. In the pages that follow, you will learn more about how
Fabretto has worked to help more than 7,000 children in Nicaragua.
To find out what you can do to help promote education in Nicaragua
and protect Hawksbill Sea Turtles, visit our website.
About Fabretto:
The Power behind the School
A Strong Female Leader
Meet Patricia Aragones, Executive of the Fabretto Children’s Foundation - Spain
The schools of San Isidro de Bolas, Nicaragua, where students
wrote their sea turtle stories, are very lucky schools. They are
supported by the Fabretto organization, a group of people
in Nicaragua and the United States who feel a deep need for
stronger education in Nicaragua.
Through this organization, students have the opportunity to
get a good education and achieve their full potential. At school,
students receive books, pencils, food, and most importantly,
a place to learn.
Read on to learn about the leader of this group!
Patricia with some of the students at one of Fabretto’s schools in Nicaragua.
Organizations need strong leaders, and in the case of Fabretto, Patricia Aragones is exactly
that.
Details from interview w/ Patricia...
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Go to www.dot-to-dot-books.org to learn about ways that
you can get involved and help make a difference too!
For Parents and Teachers
Here are some activities to help you unlock a world of learning for your
student or child:
• Search through fun and engaging activities for your classroom or
home created by our education partner, Facing the Future. Facing the
Future develops educational materials to help kids find inspiration and
develop a global perspective as they learn critical thinking skills through
lessons about global issues and sustainability. Explore these materials
by using the pass code on the back cover of this book to access them on
our website.
• Explore the Wildlife Conservation Society website to learn more
about their development and conservation work. See how you can work
together to help to prevent the extinction of sea turtles.
• Discuss some of the topics from this story with your kids. Ask them
to compare their lives to what they imagine life is like in Nicaragua.
Take them to a zoo to see endangered species in person. Help them
identify endangered wildlife in your country and brainstorm ideas
about how to reduce threats to them.
For more activities, information about Nicaragua, and suggestions
to build global awareness with your kids, please visit our website:
www.dot-to-dot-books.org.
About the Endangered Species,
Empowered Communities Project
Carey the Sea Turtle is part of an eight-book project called Endangered Species,
Empowered Communities produced by Dot-to-Dot Children’s Books. As a nonprofit
organization, we are dedicated to developing children’s literature that raises cultural
awareness and generates funding for the communities that produce the content for the
books we publish. Our team conducted workshops with young women and children in eight
countries around the world to write narratives involving a local endangered species. We
then amassed the core elements of those narratives and wove them into a unified story that
was then reviewed by children’s literature and conservation experts.
At Dot-to-Dot Children’s Books, we believe that it’s never too early for children to learn
about the world and its cultures, countries, and ecosystems. We hope that the Endangered
Species, Empowered Communities Project will help children jump-start their curiosity
about life beyond their own community and build an awareness about what they can do
to make the world a better place. Our goal is to use stories to inspire a new generation of
leaders as we help to empower the communities that wrote the stories.
Don’t miss the seven other stories in this series. Each book features an endangered
species in the country where it was written and includes information about the work that
is being done to protect that animal. To find out what you can do and for fun activities
related to the Endangered Species, Empowered Communities collection, please visit:
www.dot-to-dot-books.org.
Thank You!
Many thanks to all of the people around the world who helped to bring
Carey the Sea Turtle to life.