Module 10 - Turtle in Paradise

Bibliography

Holm, J. (2010). Turtle in Paradise.  New York: Random House

Summary

This story takes place in 1935 and follows a girl named Turtle who is sent to live with an aunt and cousins in Key West because her mother’s new employer does not like children.  Even though none of the kids own shoes and everybody has odd nicknames, Turtle finds adventure in Key West.  She tags along with her cousins, the “Diaper Gang,”  as they take neighborhood babies around in their wagon and change their diapers; she accompanies Slow Poke, a man from her mother’s past, on his boat to fish for sponges to sell; she learns she has a grandmother who is the meanest old lady in Key West, and manages, with her tenacity and stubbornness, to win her grandmother over; she finds a map of Black Caesar’s buried treasure and sets out to find it with her cousins.  Through all of her adventures, Turtle learns the importance of family.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book because it was filled with adventure and even though it is a historical fiction book, the story is told in a way that makes the characters easy to relate to.  The mix of fictional characters based on real people and events really brings the story to life.

Reviews

“Narrator Turtle’s voice is tart and world-weary, and she is under no illusions about her own kind, declaring, “Kids are rotten.”  It’s 1935, and when her housekeeper mother’s new job doesn’t allow children, she is sent to live with her aunt in Key West, where everyone goes without shoes and is called by a nickname like Pork Chop or Slow Poke.  With her stoic nature and her quick wits, Turtle is able to fit in with her boy cousins and their friends (though they won’t let her help with their Diaper Gang babysitting business), and she even manages to outmaneuver the elderly woman she is sent to feed who keeps knocking her food to the floor.  The episodic novel includes details, events, and figures from history (including those from Holm’s own family), and Turtle’s narrative is peppered with references from the time, as she compares herself to Little Orphan Annie and gladly avoids going to a Shirley Temple movie.  Modern-day readers will have no trouble relating to Turtle, though, and the fast-moving plot will keep them interested to the end.”

Lempke, S. D. (2010). [Review of the book Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm]. Horn Book Magazine, 86(3), p 81-32

Ideas for Use

This would be a good book for a discussion about how Turtle is really like a turtle: she was hard on the outside, but inside she had feelings and vulnerability.  Kids can come up with nicknames of their own that describes their character and something about them.