I have mixed feelings about the story. On the one hand it's a heartfelt story about the journey of a cute turtle, but at the same time she's been in captivity for twenty years. I get that people cared for her and tried to find the best solution for her release back into the wild, but if the turtle didn't have such a long life, this would have been a very sad story. I liked how it was inspired by reality and the effects this case had on other turtles that were rescued later through the program.

The illustration doesn't always match the text in the best way, which is not ideal, in my opinion. The illustration style is nice, but perhaps not my favorite. The sentence "And she crept into their hearts" is too repetitive.

All in all, I think it's very good to have stories about animals, especially when they are inspired by real life events and children can learn about them!

I even loved learning about this! I have never heard of Yoshi before, but I loved reading about her journey with my kids! The illustrations were beautiful and I loved all the facts at the end about Yoshi and Loggerhead turtles!

Yoshi wants to be out of the ocean after spending years in an aquarium. This book shows how far loggerheads can swim and that they can remember places they have visited in the past. It is a good story for kids learning about the ocean, sea life, aquariums or loggerheads. The story is interesting and the children will be captivated. The illustrations are wonderful.


I received an ARC from Capstone, Capstone Editions through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

This amazing true story has been transformed into a beautiful children’s book. The story of Yoshi is so well written in a way that works for children but still keeps all the important details. I loved the use of the repeated line, "and she crept into their hearts". It shows just how loved and cared for she was and add a new level of emotion to the story. This book is a great way to start or continue talking about how important the ocean and ocean life are.
The illustrations are beautiful, they bring the story to life on the pages. You and your children will be fascinated by the details of each page and the beautiful colours.

Absolutely beautiful artwork, though I feel like the story could be a bit more somehow. A great book to introduce children to aspects of marine biology as a career choice.

Are you kidding me? Why is this children's book so perfect?! I am so impressed!

Thank you, Capstone, for the advance reading copy.

I feel like I am familiar with fhe artist's work by now and I am so glad to see these illustrations being so dang perfect! They are cute and pretty and neat and unique.

Based on a true story of Yoshi the Turtle who was rescued by fishermen and have been cared for by experts in an aquarium. But years later, she lets them know that it was time for her to leave and explore the world. And this is the part the book talks about. It's sweet. It's bitter. It's hopeful.

The book will teach thw youngst6how to take care of animals, where they can be taken care of and how to let them live in their natural environment.

Although I have read other books and materials about Yoshi, this book is specifically for younger children. Readers will learn how Yoshi, an injured loggerhead turtle, was rescued and cared for by fisherman sailing in the Indian Ocean, then rehabilitated by the staff at Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa. After twenty years at the aquarium, she was trained for her release back into the ocean and tracked by scientists. This is an interesting, true story, well-told and illustrated, with interesting back matter that adds to the book's content. Animal lovers and science fans--a large audience--should check out this book.

I loved everything about this. Any animal loving child should have this added to their home library. It a sweet story about a real animal that was rehabilitated and their journey. I feel that this is a good book to get kids started on their interest in animals and the ocean.

A short, but information-packed biography of Yoshitaro, the loggerhead turtle, who is rescued after being injured in the Indian Ocean. After two decades in captivity, will she be able to survive in the wild? Gorgeous artwork and simple language make this story easily accessible to readers of all ages. It would make a great read-aloud as well with fun, detail-filled pictures to explore.

Yoshi's Big Swim is my new favorite! As someone who spent years teaching students about sea turtles, I am always on the lookout for a perfect teaching resource about these majestic ocean animals. While this story starts like so many.. with an injured turtle being taken to a marine rehabilitation center, it actually has an ending we all have been hoping for. The ending doesn't take place at the aquarium. The new, better ending takes place at the point where we put faith in animals and remember that they are strong and smart enough to survive in the wild after being taken care of by people.

An apparently true story that had passed me by, this looks at a loggerhead turtle found injured by some Pacific sailors, who eventually hand the juvenile over to an aquarium in South Africa – one who had hardly touched a loggerhead before. Luckily they have the nous to create a rehab programme, and hundreds pass through it, until they realise Yoshi, as she came to be called, deserved a way out, too. This will raise issues about animal sanctuaries, and whether they should be the “forever home” for the critter or not, rather nicely with the young audience. And of course it will raise interest in turtles and their plight, which is no bad thing. The artwork, which carefully ignores a notch Yoshi had when found injured, and which she has to this day, is perfectly reasonable too.

Such a heartwarming story. I loved learning about Yoshi's adventures. The full illustrations were gorgeous. It's one of those feel-good stories we all need these days. I loved how the fishermen cared for her, as well as the aquarium staff eventually training her to go back into the wild. I got a bit teary-eyed; she has indeed crept into my heart.

Yoshi Big Swim is a fascinating story for children about loggerhead turtles. I found the little fact sheet about turtles at the end of the story very informative. It made me want to look up more information about turtles.

Yoshi also crept into my heart.
This is the beautiful story of a loggerhead sea turtled being rehabilitated and let back into the wild

A picture book about a real life turtle who crept into people's heart and swam across the ocean. This was simply adorable and I enjoyed the pictures and the way the story was told. It was a simple story but not overly simplified, offering opportunity to teach children about real story Yoshi but also some new words and concepts. Would highly reccomend this to parents to read for their young children.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

In this book, we follow Yoshi (based on a true story), who is a loggerhead turtle (endangered species). Her shell was damaged by something unknown, and some fishermen decided to bring her to the Two Oceans Aquarium in South Africa. There, she was taken care of for twenty years and was the main attraction. However, the aquarium workers noticed that Yoshi was exhibiting some mating signs and decided to release her back into the wild. They don't know what exactly Yoshi is doing now, but they hope that she made it back to her birth place safely.

What's not to love about this book? The pictures are colorful and beautiful. The story itself is moving and emotional. I'm also very glad that Yoshi was the inspiration for the aquarium to start its own turtle program!

Overall, very fun book for little ones.

Would I recommend this book? Yes.

This picture book nicely combines the qualities of story and documentary. It recounts the journey of a loggerhead turtle, captured injured and rehabilitated in a South African aquarium where it lived for 20 years before being released into the ocean. It has the right level of details for a fairly young child listener/reader while touching on fascinating details, especially the extraordinary distance that the turtle eventually travelled to return to its original home.

Personally, I found a certain repeated line used too often, weakening its emotional impact. The illustrations are pretty well done and Yoshi is well portrayed but I thought the shark was given an unrealistic nasty frown and the humans were not drawn quite as well as the animals. There is a useful afterword. Overall, a rewarding book.

Super cute book (and extra cool that it's based on a real turtle!) with super cute drawings. I really liked that they put a picture of the actual turtle in at the end and included a bunch of extra information.