Nine-year-old Emiliana Fuger knows a thing or two about turtles. When the elementary school student couldn’t find kid-friendly books about internal sea turtle anatomy for science fair project, she took matters into her own hands and wrote one herself: Anatomy Under the Sea: The Adventures of Luna the Loggerhead. The book will debut during a launch party at Loggerhead Marinelife Center March 7.
Read on to learn more about Emiliana, her book, and her “Turtle Talks.”
JM: Tell us about the science fair project that started your love of sea turtles. What were you researching?
EF: When I was 7, I wanted to learn about the what the insides of a sea turtle looked like and build a paper-mâché model as my project. But then I quickly discovered there were no books that showed the internal anatomy of a sea turtle to even start the project. My mom found a college textbook with the anatomy to help me build the model. After I finished, that’s when I decided to write a book to fix the problem for other kids that wanted to learn.
What were some of the lessons you wanted to teach kids and their caregivers about sea turtles and ocean conservation?
That it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can still make a difference for the ocean. All it takes is one change.
What is your favorite fact about sea turtles?
That the temperature of the sand surrounding the nest is what makes the eggs girls or boys. You can remember it with the saying “hot chicks, cool dudes.” Higher temperature sand produces female hatchlings while cooler temps produces males.
What was writing Anatomy Under the Sea: The Adventures of Luna the Loggerhead like? Did you have favorite parts of the process?
I started by picking the characters for the book. Then I interviewed scientists that studied those animals I wanted to use as characters. After that, I voice-to-texted the book onto my mom’s phone. Once the big idea was written, I went back through to make the book rhyme because kids books rhyme. My favorite part was working with the illustrator Jess Burbank. We figured out the exact species for each character, what Luna would look like on each page, and even what details to add to the background. It was so fun!
Tell us about your Turtle Talks. What kinds of classes are you talking to and what are you teaching them?
I love giving Turtle Talks! It starts with me reading my book, then showing my Luna model, and ends with me answering questions from audience about turtles and the book writing process. My favorite is talking to little kids (like 4-6) and showing them that turtle have insides just like us! They have a heart, lungs, and even fingers but they are wrapped inside their flippers.
Do you have favorite memories from your Turtle Talks?
My turtle talks have earned me a spot in the Wavemakers competition for the past few years where I got to meet Dr. Sylvia Earle! She is amazing and I’m so lucky to have met her….twice!
What are you most excited for at your book launch party on March 7?
I’m excited to share my book and meet the kids who are going to read it. I love getting to talk to kids.
Are there new projects on the horizon? What do you the next few years look like for you?
I would love to add more reading events to my calendar and share Luna with the world. It would be fun to create another model and book about the insides of one of the other animals in my book, but I don’t which one yet. Maybe the shark! I’m only in fourth grade, so I’ve got a lot of ideas.
Is ocean conservation something you want to do for a long time? As a job?
I would love to be a marine biologist when I grow up and work to protect the ocean. But even if I change my mind, taking care of the ocean will always be something important to me!
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