Illustrated by Matt Gauldie
Based on the true story of one of the longest-living and quietest World War I survivors, this is an epic tale of soldiers, nurses, sacrifice and kindness, when siblings Matthew and Marama find themselves transported back in time to the shores of Gallipoli through an encounter with a tortoise.
The original tortoise who inspired the story was plucked by a wounded soldier from the battlefield and then gifted to a nurse, who brought him home to New Zealand. That nurse was the great-great-aunt of author Shona Riddell, and the tortoise remained in their family for the next 80 years!