Nate the Great and the Tardy Tortoise by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Craig Sharmat illustrated by Marc Simont

My first grader read this book to himself.
This is his review-
"I liked it because when he was trying to solve the case, Claude had another case for him to solve.  Claude lost his sock.   This is a summary of the story:  Nate the Great went outside and saw nibbles on his flowers.  He looked around and found a tortoise nibbling the flowers.  Sludge gave a clue.  He was sniffing a lot.  Then Nate the Great knew he should follow the trail of the nibbled flowers."
PS He does find Claude's sock!! :-)
-Borrowed from the library.
*Highly recommend.
Guided Reading Level: K (end of 1st grade/beginning of 2nd grade)

We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen

This third book by Jon Klassen continues the hat theme.
Two turtles in a desert find a hat lying on the sand.  They both want it.  How can they solve this predicament? Although the text is simple (perfect for beginning readers), the text offers older readers the chance to infer and to think.
Strategies: fluency (two readers could read the two different parts); inferring
-Borrowed from the library.

The Lighthouse Family #4 The Turtle by Cynthia Rylant illustrated by Preston McDaniels*

In a dense fog, Seabold, Whistler and Lila hear a cry for help.  As they descend down the slippery rocks, a sea turtle.  A gale has blown him off course and he now cannot swim in the wintry sea.  With Pandora's problem-solving skills, the family figures out a way to return him to the warm seas.
*Highly recommend.
*Borrowed from the library.
Guided Reading Level: O-P (3rd grade)

The Dancing Turtle by Pleasant DeSpain illustrated by David Boston*

"A Folktale from Brazil"
The turtle plays lovely music on her flute and then goes into a dance.  After dancing so exuberantly,  she tucks herself into her shell and sleeps.  Unbeknownst to her, a man has been watching her and while she sleeps, he grabs her and takes her home so he can make turtle soup.  He warns his children to leave her in her cage as he goes to work in the fields the next day.
Can turtle use her cleverness and gifts to outsmart the children and the man?  Or will she meet her demise in  . . turtle soup?!
I liked how the illustrator included a large assortment of animals in the background of each page.  I would have liked if a small illustration of each animal with a brief description would have been included in the back.
*Highly recommend.
Someone recently gave this book to the boys.

Melvin and the Boy by Lauren Castillo*

I love these sweet illustrations!
A boy longs for a pet and his parents always has an excuse why he may not.  Then one day he finds a turtle in the park . . . .after he brings it home, he must decide what makes the turtle (Melvin) most happy.
Turtle facts at the back.
*Highly recommend.