ALA Booklist (Sat Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Hatched simultaneously in the same zoo enclosure, Turtle and Tortoise happily anticipate being pals eople will call us the terrible turtle twins!" Turtle enthuses. Hearing that, however, Tortoise immediately takes umbrage: "A turtle is a horrid beast with rough skin and a hard shell, while I am a handsome creature with a hard shell and rough skin." Thus begins decades of distance (despite physical proximity) until a tussle over a ball results in each landing upside-down and face-to-face. But eventually, "quicker than you can read the entire Oxford English Dictionary, A to Z, twenty-three times," a friendship is born. Reiss' descriptive, droll prose also conveys some turtle and tortoise characteristics ngevity, slow-moving nature ich is further enlivened in Spire's delightful, detailed, colorful illustrations of the expressive pair. Scenes range from montages to close-ups, and subtle details reinforce the passing of time, from the increasingly dense cityscape background to the human characters' clothing and accessories. Putting differences aside may take time, but, here, discovering the meaning of having and being a friend is worth it.

Kirkus Reviews

Two eggs find themselves in the same pen in a London zoo, and when they hatch, a turtle and a tortoise emerge.The turtle and tortoise think of all the fun they'll have together. "We shall be best friends," they agree for a quick second, until the turtle dubs them "the Terrible Turtle Twins!" Suddenly, the tortoise is affronted. "I'm not a turtle," he says, and goes on to explain that "a turtle is a horrid beast with rough skin and a hard shell," whereas he, the tortoise, is "a handsome creature with a hard shell and rough skin." The turtle and tortoise decide it would not make sense for them to be friends given their differences, and they spend many years apart and resolutely do not talk to each other. When their lives are (literally) upturned one day, the question arises: Can the turtle and the tortoise overcome their differences to help themselves and each other? Reiss' subtle wit (which takes ample advantage of tortoise and turtle racing speeds) and Spires' nearly identical turtle and tortoise highlight the absurdity of what it means to be different. The passage of time is marked by the fashion of passers-by, who grow more diverse with the decades. Although some readers may take exception to the zookeeper's unexplained assertion that "all tortoises are turtles," the book's underlying message of tolerance and acceptance is worth sharing.Humorous and deep. (Picture book. 4-7)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

When Turtle and Tortoise hatch in the same city zoo habitat, they seem destined to be besties for a good long time-as the zookeeper points out, -they can live to be one hundred years old!- But Tortoise quickly and haughtily declares that they are too different to be friends (-It just wouldn-t make sense-). Turtle wimpishly cedes the point, and they hunker down on either side of a small pond as the years pile up. Reiss (How Murray Saved Christmas) dutifully notes the lengthy passages of time to comic effect (-Over the next fourteen years, the turtle and the tortoise had many interesting adventures. But each refused to tell the other about them-). The two are so stubborn and slow-moving that it takes an entire human generation, plus the time it takes to -read the entire Oxford English Dictionary, A to Z, twenty-three times,- to realize they can become friends. Digital vignettes by Spires (The Most Magnificent Thing) have a comedic pacing that matches the text-s mix of exaggeration and understatement. As the cityscape modernizes behind the zoo enclosure-s drama, it becomes clear that some things, from buildings to friendships, just take time. Ages 4-8. (July)