This week, I got to go on vacation to the Florida Keys! Well, only through my powers of imagination, but still, it was a great trip. I read Jennifer Holm's Turtle in Paradise, a heartwarming and insightful work of historical fiction about a young girl's escapades on the keys of southern Florida during the Great Depression.
Holm
weaves in the details of living in the Great Depression seamlessly,
keeping the emphasis on the storyline and the characters that
populate Key West. This kept me enthralled in the story and allowed
me to feel the sticky heat of a Floridian summer and taste the salt
of the ocean. It's clear why Turtle in Paradise was
a Newbery Honor Book: Holm creates an overarching feeling of
community, as every character seems to know everyone else in town,
demonstrating how families got through the overwhelming hardships of
the Depression by holding tight to each other and helping others.
Told
from the first-person point of view of the main character, the voice of
an eleven-year-old shines through so clearly: Turtle never worries
about adult concerns like where her next meal will come from or
whether they will be able to pay rent. Rather, she worries about the
things children are concerned with: ice cream money, her cat's
welfare, and fitting in with her relatives in Key West. Kirkus Review
concurs that “Holm’s voice for Turtle is winning and
authentic—that of a practical, clear-eyed observer—and her nimble
way with dialogue creates laugh-out-loud moments” and calls the
story “[s]weet, funny and superb” (Kirkus Review 2010). However,
the careful reader will notice that Turtle has also had to grow up
quickly as she and her mother move often, trying to find work.
Compounding matters is her mother Sadiebelle's tendency to flit from
boyfriend to boyfriend, getting her heart broken time and time again,
and leaving young Turtle to pick up the pieces. It's clear this has
had an impact on Turtle, making her more guarded in her interactions
and more sensible than the average eleven-year-old would otherwise
be.
Holm
clearly did a significant amount of research in order to ensure the
book's authenticity, as is evidenced by the author's note in the
backmatter. The author's note discusses both the real people and
events depicted in the book and includes some historic photographs
from 1930's Key West, Florida.
Horn
Book Magazine also found that
“...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 2010).
Turtle
in Paradise offers plenty of
opportunities to bring history to life. Teachingbooks.net offers
video and audio clips of interviews with the author and snippets from
the audiobook to share with children
(https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?a=1&tid=20495&s=n). To
give students more context, teachers can play portions of the “Good
Ship Lollipop” song mentioned throughout the book and the Little
Orphan Annie radio show Turtle enjoys, both of which can easily be
found online. Another useful tie-in would be to make “cut-up,” a
Depression-era fruit concoction the children made a few times
throughout the story, and discuss how the children would have
scrounged up ingredients rather than making a trip to the grocery
store.
I
found Turtle in Paradise to
be the perfect blend of sun and sand, lightness and poignancy, and
joy and adversity. Holm spins a mighty fine tale for her readers, and
I'd wholeheartedly give it two paws up!
Wags
and Woofs,
Charlie Brown
---------------------
References
Holm, Jennifer. 2010. Turtle in Paradise. New
York: Random House. ISBN: 978-0-375-83688-6
Kirkus Review. 2010. “Turtle in
Paradise.” Kirkus Review, posted
December 22, 2010.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jennifer-l-holm/turtle-in-paradise/.
Lempke, Susan Dove. 2010. “Turtle
in Paradise.” Horn Book Magazine 86, no.
3: 81-82.
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