Turtle in Paradise: Summary, Impression, Peer Review, & Library Use

Title: Turtle in Paradise

Author: Jennifer L. Holm

Book Summary: Turtle is an 11-year-old girl growing up during the Great Depression. Her mother works as a live-in housekeeper, and her new employer does not want children in the house, so Turtle is going to live in Key West, Florida with her Aunt Minerva. Aunt Minerva, or Minnie, has three boys of her own: Beans, Kermit, and Buddy. Turtle’s mother, who is from the area, told her Key West would be like living in paradise, but from what Turtle has seen it is far from it. The buildings looked run-down and the kids are running around barefoot. Turtle soon learns that the boys and a friend named Pork Chop have a business called the Diaper Gang. In exchange for candy, they baby-sit babies and have a secret diaper rash formula they use that the mothers love. The only problem is no girls are allowed in the club, but the antics of the boys keep her entertained and sometimes annoyed. One day when she is hanging-out with them while they are making their Diaper Gang rounds, she meets a man named Slow Poke who has just returned from harvesting sponges. Turtle is hoping to get a job, so she can contribute to her mother’s fund to buy a mail order house; she is happy when Slow Poke offers to let her work for him on his boat, Lost Love, collecting sponges. There is one problem though, Turtle cannot swim, therefor the job ended almost as soon as it started.

Sometime later, she and Pork Chop take Nana Philly her lunch. Nana Philly is not too friendly too friendly towards Turtle. Afterwards, Turtle learns Nana Philly is her grandmother. This was a surprise to her, because her mom had told her that her Grandmother had passed away. Turtle starts to wonder about why her mother would not tell her the truth, but this is pushed to the back of her mind when Uncle Vernon, Aunt Minnie’s husband, returns home. Turtle notices the family’s reaction when they see Uncle Vernon; it tugs at her heart a little. She is starting to see how everyone in Key West seems to know each other and has a bond. This is something she has not had. It has always been just her and her mom. In her visit with Uncle Vernon, he asks how she feels about her mom, Sadiebelle, marrying her boyfriend Archie. Archie travels selling encyclopedias, and he always brings Turtle and her mom a gift whenever he is back town. Sadiebelle has told Turtle that when her and Archie are married they will be able to buy the mail-order home and they will be a real family. This is something Turtle would like, especially now after seeing her Aunt’s family.

Turtle continues to deliver lunch each day to Nana Philly. She is determined to make it work and thinks she may be able to find out what happened when her mother, Nana Philly’s daughter, had lived in Key West. Over time their relationship started to improve due to Turtle’s persistence. One day, when Turtle was at the house, the cat fell onto the old piano and the wood gave way. It was then she noticed a cigar box inside. Inside the cigar box was a treasure map. At first she places it back, but then after a couple of days she changes her mind. She takes the map to show Slow Poke since he had told her the old myths about the pirate Black Caesar and a treasure he had supposedly buried somewhere in the Key West islands. Slow Poke has work to do that weekend so she takes her idea to the Diaper Gang. All the kids ended up sneaking out together and ‘borrowing’ a boat to find the treasure. After a few issue the kids make it out to the island and just when they are about to give up, Turtle trips over a stone with the letter ‘C’ carved on it for the pirate Black Caesar. The children start digging and discover treasure! But, when they return to the shore to load the boat, the boat is gone. Meanwhile, a storm is brewing and the kids decide to take shelter in a shack on the island. The next morning the storm has passed and Slow Poke and two friends rescue them.

The treasure ended up being worth $20,000 dollars and the kids split it between the four of them plus Nana Philly. After hearing the news of the kids disappearing, Sadiebelle and Archie, now married, are already on their way to Key West. Sadiebelle tells Turtle her and Archie saw the perfect piece of land on their way there. They are going to be moving to Georgia and purchasing the Bellewood model home from the mail-order catalogue. Everyone is relieved the kids are okay and happy to be together. Nana Philly and Sadiebelle even reconcile their relationship. The following day Sadiebelle and Turtle are telling everyone goodbye when Archie slips off on a boat to Cuba with Turtle’s share of the treasure. The family gathers around to console Sadiebelle and Turtle and it is then Turtle realizes Key West is where they belong, with family.

APA Reference:

Holm, J. L. (2010). Turtle in paradise. New York, NY: Random House.

Impressions: Jennifer Holms does a wonderful job of presenting the moods and feelings of the time period through the dialogue she created between memorable characters. She told a story that would not be found in a history book. She told the story of the people who lived then and weaved a story with characters, setting, & plot which many readers could find a connection with today. For me the theme is universal - through family there is strength. It is a theme readers can identify with and appreciate that even when things are looking down there is nowhere to go but up. The historical anecdotes were scattered throughout the dialogue in manner that did not overpower the story, but instead accents it. References to the depression, Orphan Annie, Shirley Temple, and the Stock Market Crash will be appreciated by adults and a terrific prompt to encourage investigation by the students. The reading level of the novel makes it perfect for the reluctant readers, but the content makes the story grab the attention of any reader in grades 4 through 8.

Professional Review: Ten-year-old Turtle and her mother aren’t the only ones facing financial difficulties in 1935, but at least Mom has a job as housekeeper to a wealthy, if unusually persnickety, woman. Since Mrs. Budnick can’t abide children, Turtle is packed off to Aunt Minnie in Key West, where she meets up with more relatives than she knew she had in that tight-knit, eccentric community. Aunt Minnie takes in laundry to supplement the income of Uncle Vernon, who is generally away on construction jobs. The cousins—all boys—gad about largely unsupervised, running a babysitting service known as the Diaper Gang and getting paid in candy. Then there’s the acerbic, reclusive grandmother Turtle had thought was dead, a sponge fisherman whom she discovers to be her father, and even recurrent cameo appearances by Papa Hemingway, whom Turtle advises to turn to writing comic books. Turtle is an engaging narrator with the philosophical outlook of a resilient child who is battered but not broken by hard times and harried adults. This is a breezy, episodic romp that builds to a major climax involving pirate treasure and a hurricane, followed by a secondary climax involving Mom’s cad of a boyfriend, followed at last by a very happy ending in a large, happy family on a small, happy island.

Bush, E. (2010, May). [Review of the book Turtle in paradise by J. L. Holm]. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 63(9), 380-381. Retrieved from http://bccb.ischool.illinois.edu/

Library Use: Put the names of the kids (Beans, Kermit, Buddy, Pork Chop, and Turtle) in a cup that students working with a partner can draw from. Students will work together to create a Missing Poster for the character whose name they have drawn. The poster should picture the character, drawn or digital, and tell the viewer how they will know when they have found the right person. To achieve this, they will need to write a paragraph that describes all components of a character: traits, personality, thoughts, feelings, words, and actions. These make a great display whether they are created by hand or completely digital.