This book is a rhyming, rhythmical tale about a young alligator, Gabby and a young turtle, Ted, who form an unexpected friendship. The story was inspired by a real life sighting of an alligator and turtle found resting together by a canal. Gabby and Ted are taught by their parents the dangers they should expect from each other fostering a sense of fear and suspicion. When Gabby mistakes Ted for a harmless rock, their lives become unexpectedly intertwined.  Instead of succumbing to the parent instilled fear, they explore what they have in common and become friends. They further explore courage when they must tell their parents that they are now friends with another animal species.  It is about finding courage and friendship in the most ordinary of places.

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Reading Don't Go Past the Big Palm Tree by Sidney Saeger is like stepping into a memory woven with warning, wisdom, and wonder. At first glance, the title seems simple—almost like a line spoken by a protective elder or a childhood rule remembered in retrospect—but within its pages lies a quiet intensity that resonates long after the final sentence.

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The characters are not presented in high drama; rather, they live in the gray areas of real life misunderstood, reflective, occasionally restless. I found myself connecting deeply with their silences, their half-revealed pasts, and the choices they didn’t make. There's an aching nostalgia in the way Saeger captures human hesitation, especially when it comes to crossing emotional lines—just as the characters are warned not to go past the big palm tree.

What moved me most, though, was the undercurrent of longing throughout the book: for clarity, for connection, for courage. Whether the story deals with childhood trauma, family secrets, or internal battles, there is a consistent emotional pulse that guides the reader gently but firmly.

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Don't Go Past the Big Palm Tree is a beautifully restrained work thoughtful, poetic, and emotionally intelligent. Sidney Saeger doesn't shout; instead, they whisper truths that echo. For anyone who has lived with a boundary, real or imagined, this book will feel like a mirror. And for that, I am grateful.