Turtle and Me by Robie H Harris

The turtle came first.  Mom and Dad bought the stuffed toy before their son was even born.  This is the story of the boy and the turtle growing up together.

Little Bee Books sent me a copy of this book for review (thank you).  It has been published, so check with your local bookstore for a copy.  

The boy loves his turtle.  For a while, it was bigger than he was.  Then he got bigger.  He took it everywhere with him.  Things happened to the turtle.  He spilled food on it.  The puppy chewed on it, it even got torn in a playmate fight and lost most of its stuffing.  He still loves it though.  Until one day he decides he's old enough to sleep without it.

I still have my panda bear.  It's pathetic looking but it was my comfort as a child and no one will convince me to part with it.  I already know the boy isn't going to be able to set aside his turtle as easy as that.

What happens is he can't sleep.  So his dad comes in, lays on the bed and picks up the turtle and acts like he's gone to sleep.  The boy grabs it and does the same, but he's soon really asleep.  There's no loss of honor if you want to sleep with your stuffed toy.  Take comfort where you can get it.

Tor Freeman did the illustrations and my favorite part is the puppy.  He's got the dog's expressions perfectly.  The dog really isn't even part of the story but I found myself checking for him on the pages to see how Mr. Freeman depicted in the illustration.

This is a sweet picture book that children would enjoy hearing before bed.  Just make sure their stuffed animal is close.