Maggie finds turtle eggs in her sandbox and decides to become a "turtle sitter" to help the baby diamondback terrapins. She watches them hatch and then raises them until they are big enough to fend for themselves. Includes "For Creative Minds" section with terrapin fun facts and turtle habitat crafts.

In two stories bound together back to back, a tortoise realizes the need for a shell after several scary encounters and a greedy python eats to excess, finally eating himself.

"A departing tortoise has his bags packed and is almost ready to set out on an adventure, but he can't leave until he says good-bye to each of his animal friends. The tortoise stops for every last timid mouse and bumblebee, shouting his rhyming good-byes, making you wonder if, perhaps, he's stalling the start of his trip. His animal friends appear startled as he suddenly pops up on each page to say adieu-especially the perplexed rhinoceros the tortoise...