Sandy Toes

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This is an advance, uncorrected proof.

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This is an advance, uncorrected proof.

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Words by Shauntay Gra n t Pic tures by Candice Bradley

Appleseed

BEACH BOARD

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FORT FUN

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CALM

COOL

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KITE

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This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.

This is an advance, uncorrected proof.

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This is an advance, uncorrected proof.

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FLOAT

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LONG LEGS LEAP

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SUN

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SAND

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SLEEP

To Judah, my little girl —C.B.

The artwork for this book was created digitally. Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-1-4197-6307-6 Text © 2023 Shauntay Grant Illustrations © 2023 Candice Bradley Book design by Natalie Padberg Bartoo Published in 2023 by Abrams Appleseed, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. Abrams Appleseed ® is a registered trademark of Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Printed and bound in China 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Author’s Note

Often under a full moon, female sea turtles swim onto beaches, lay as many as 200 white eggs, cover them with sand, and then return to the ocean. Their babies grow inside protective leathery eggshells for 40 to 70 days until they are ready to hatch. Working together, the hatchlings—newborn turtles—dig their way out of the sand. Most will wait until dark to move toward the ocean so they won’t be seen by daytime predators like birds and crabs. It’s a long, exhausting crawl to the sea. As they move, the hatchlings memorize the beach—a process called “imprinting”— so they will remember where they were born. Once in the water, they swim as fast as they can to get away from the dangers of the shore. They find food and grow strong. Female sea turtles will journey back to the exact beach where they were born to lay their own eggs, starting the cycle all over again.

If you see a baby sea turtle on the beach, it’s OK to look, but please don’t touch— hatchlings are very fragile. Make sure to knock down sandcastles and smooth the sand after playing. This makes it easier for hatchlings to crawl to the ocean.

 Did you know sea turtles are some of the oldest creatures on Earth? They have been around more than 100 million years!



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Though they breathe air and lay their eggs on land, sea turtles spend most of their lives underwater, which is why they have flippers instead of legs.



The largest sea turtle is the leatherback. It can grow to be 6 feet long and weigh up to 2,000 pounds!

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