Sea turtle swimming above hatchlings, ocean waves, bubbles, and a sandy nest of eggs

Mother Sea Turtle Over Hatchlings and Nest

A large sea turtle glides through curving waves while tiny hatchlings paddle from the beach past a round nest of eggs.

🎨 How to color it

Color the big sea turtle olive green with a warm brown shell, the five hatchlings seafoam green, the rolling water turquoise, and the egg nest creamy white. Use sharp colored pencils for the small shell plates and flipper spots, then switch to smooth side-strokes for the wide bands of water. Try making the water darker near the big turtle and lighter around the eggs, as if morning is sliding across the cove.

The story behind this coloring page

Juno’s Nest of Giggles — Before the sun warmed Pebble-Swish Cove, Juno paddled in tiny circles, making a wake shaped like a ribbon. Read the full story →

Before the sun warmed Pebble-Swish Cove, Juno paddled in tiny circles, making a wake shaped like a ribbon. She wanted every new hatchling to join her first silly ocean game: follow the wiggliest wave and shout “Whoop!” when a bubble popped. The water tasted salty and bright, and her flippers brushed soft sand that puffed up like flour.

One by one, her cousins slid down the beach and into the shallows. Plip, plip, plip went the bubbles. Juno called, “Whoop with me!” A big turtle drifted above them, calm as a floating island, while the cove filled with squeaks, splashes, and snorty little laughs. Still, one sound kept coming from behind them: thump-a-tickle, thump-a-tickle, right where everyone thought only quiet eggs were waiting.

Juno turned back. The last eggs had not cracked yet, but the sand between them was dancing. Out popped not a turtle nose, but a tiny crab wearing a half-shell like a hat, tapping each egg with a seaweed drumstick. He had been keeping the beat for their game all along. Juno laughed so hard she had to share it with the whole cove, and soon turtles and crab were whooping together through the wiggliest wave.