San Francisco Mom is helping Turtle Moms save their babies — International bestseller donates to sea turtle charity: 2 million copies sold!

OVER 2 MILLION COPIES SOLD: Double-gold medalist begins simply in baby sea turtle's voice: "I'm coming Mama, I'll see you soon, I know just how, I'll follow the moon..." Celebrating the love between child and parent comes an achingly beautiful story that has captured hearts around the world. *Donates to charity: every book saves a turtle!

"One night in 2001, about a month after I brought baby Madeline home from the hospital, I noticed something quite strange on the beach in front of our south Florida home. It was late and Mom was tired, doing a last-one-of-the-day bottle feeding on the deck after a long day of new mom activities. As Maddie slurped down the final ounce of her formula with that familiar glup, glup, glup sound, I noticed dark, tiny shapes scurrying across the sand. What was this? I wondered and went down for a closer look. There they were! Baby turtles streaming out of hundreds of small nests, gentle rises in the sand were their markers. The babies made fanciful patterns in the sand as they dashed on little green legs in a remarkable race to the sea. I watched them hop, one by one, into welcoming waves that sparkled under the beautiful moonlight. "I'm coming Mama..." they seemed to be saying, and I realized that I was witnessing one of nature's sacred events, the love bond between mother and child.It is this precious feeling that inspired me to write I'll Follow the Moon, that came into being a few years later."

Love, Stephanie Lisa Tara

"[G]orgeous watercolors chronicle the journey of a baby sea turtle from its hatching to its first swim in the sea." --Kirkus Reviews

"[C]aptivates children with poetry..." --New York Times

"[A] tiny one-inch hatchling teaches the world about courage...utterly magnificent..." --San Francisco Chronicle

"[B]aby turtle wins hearts everywhere, expect your kids to hug you tight after the first read...expect to be asked to read again and again and again..." --USA Today

"[I]'m coming Mama, I'll see you soon, I know just how, I'll follow the moon...we can't get baby turtle's song out of our heads...you wont be able to either...achingly sweet little bedtime book for wee ones." --Huffington Post

"[N]o surprise at all that this book has a worldwide toddler-cult following...baby turtle serenades us all so sweetly with his song of home. Proceeds to turtle charities too!" --National Geographic

"[H]ats off to this turtle hatchling who has garnered millions of fans across the planet...a tiny activist who is saving his own kind...bravo." --World Wildlife Fund

"[S]tephanie Lisa Tara and Canadian illustrator Lee Edward Fodi have teamed up to create a lyrical rendition of a green sea turtle's first glimpse of life. Hatched on a moon-washed beach, the baby turtle finds its way by instinct across the expanse of sand to the sea and a rendezvous with its mother. Written in simple verse in the first person, the rhythmic text is full of action and sensory detail and loaded with alliteration and onomatopoeia for an enjoyable read-aloud. The refrain, "I'm coming, Mama.....," repeated on each double page spread, is soothing and reassuring of the joyful reunion to come. The atmosphere of a quiet but determined struggle to break free of the egg soon gives way to growing excitement as the turtle mingles with fellow hatchlings and catches his first tempting sensations: the smell of salt air, the sight of the moon's glow, the gentle touch and beckoning sounds of the waves rushing to shore. Once he's free of the land, new motions take over: gulp, spin, float, swim...The final happy refrain is new and satisfying: "I'm here, Mama - here with you. I know I'd find you, Moon did too. "[F]ramed by endpapers of soft, limitless,undersea green, Fodi's delightful illustrations feature an animated and engaging baby emerging from an egg buried in golden sand. With other tiny turtles, he is shown plowing through the damp sand, sampling the salty sea air and marching unerringly toward the moonlight glimmer, his guide to the ocean. Once afloat, he soon comes face to face with "eyes like mine" in his new watery home. The gold of sand, blue of sky and green of the sea repeated throughout the book bring a sense of harmony. The turtle is the focal point of all the pictures, with few background details added. The illustrator has carefully integrated the turtle's actions with Tara's verse which relies heavily on verbs: roll, slide,tumble......crawl, scoop, shove. Young children will be propelled through the story in the illustrations as well as the text. This attractive book is an enjoyable way to introduce young listeners to a fascinating cycle in nature." *Highly Recommended. Gillian Richardson, who lives in BC, is a former teacher-librarian and freelance writer. --Canadian Materials Magazine, Gillian Richardson

"[I]n this tranquil bedtime story, a baby sea turtle hatches on the beach and wants to find his mother. And he knows just how -- he'll follow the moon! From his gentle struggles to break free of his egg to his determination to dig his way out of the sand nest and his eager shuffles toward the ocean, we follow the baby sea turtle on each step of his instinctive journey back to his loving mother who awaits him in the sea. Stephanie Lisa Tara's gentle verse along with Lee Edward Fodi's soft, earth-toned illustrations capture the gentle natural beauty of this nocturnal beach migration." Very highly recommended. --Books of Wonder, New York City

"[B]aby sea turtle is avatar for his cause, we salute him and are honored by his courage...sea turtles are endangered, one species,leatherbacks, are critically endangered. Only world awareness and the tireless efforts of activists can change this...bravo baby sea turtle,we are all behind you!" --Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, CA

"[O]f the world's seven species of sea turtles, five are found along Georgia's coast: loggerhead, green, leatherback, Kemp's ridley andhawksbill...I'll Follow the Moon is our bible and we sell out regularly here at the aquarium...magnificent turtle tome for all." --Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta GA

"[A] sand-to-sea struggle that tugs at everyone's heart...all the world cheers for baby sea turtle..." --Miami Seaquarium, Miami FL

"[H]onu, or sea turtles, are considered holy in Hawaii...central to our culture and the old religion of Polynesia...that a baby Honu could have captured the world's heart as Ms.Tara's turtle has, just makes us so proud and happy...bravo!" --Waikiki Aquarium, Honolulu HI

"[M]yrtle, our green sea turtle, draws fans from all over the world...where do these fans go after visiting Myrtle? To our other turtle star, baby green sea turtle who lives in our bookshop. You can't take home Myrtle, but you can take home Ms. Tara's turtle." --New England Aquarium, Boston MA

"[C]onservation is a cornerstone of our mission here in North Carolina, we are dedicated to sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation and proudly involve our communities in releases...I'll Follow the Moon is a celebration of all we stand for, sea turtles have been on our planet for hundreds of millions of years, yet today they are listed as an endangered species,it is vital we all work together to change this..." --North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores