Turtle in Paradise

A. Bibliography

Holm, Jennifer L. Turtle in Paradise. New York: Random House, 2010.
ISBN: 978-0375836909
 
B.  Plot Summary 

Turtle in Paradise provides readers a glimpse into the lives of those people living in 1935 during the Great Depression.  Jobs were hard to find and so was money.  Turtle, an 11 year old girl, is forced to live with family she has never met before in Key West, Florida.  Through Turtle's adventures in Key West she discovers a grandma she was told to be dead, builds relationships with her cumbersome boy cousins and discovers what the word family really means.  This sweet story is surrounded by adventure, laughs and even cries all the while giving tidbits of information about the historical events surrounding the story.

C. Critical Analysis 

     Turtle is a 12-year-old girl who lives with her mother and doesn’t know who her father is. When her mother begins working for a woman who hates children, Turtle is forced to live with her mother’s sister whom she has never met.  Turtle is a perfect name for this character because she is tough on the outside and sometimes sensitive when it comes to things of the heart such as meeting her grandmother she thought was dead. 

     The setting of the story is during the Great Depression in the Florida Keys where life is hard, but somehow the kids seem to have a wonderful time and seem to be unaffected by the struggles of the adults around them.  The kids in the story create a gang called the “Diaper Gang”.  “We watch the bad babies….The crying kind,”  says Pork Chop.  Nicknames are used heavily in the story and this goes hand-in-hand with the real life Key West traditions of the residents giving nicknames to everyone they meet. 

     The “Diaper Gang” offers a sense of relief for the women going through the struggles of the “Great Depression”.  Many were stressed because their husbands had left to find work and this left the women home alone to care for the house, kids and cook.  The story gives readers a real sense of family and how you don’t have to be related to someone to consider them family enough to help them. The “Diaper Gang” faithfully helped women with their children who were not well behaved and also helped clear-up diaper rashes with their secret formula. 

     It is evident that the author did extensive research to make this story as authentic as possible.  Young readers will love the adventure of treasure seeking and they will also be enticed by the mishaps the gang has throughout the story.  In the Author’s Notes, Holm provides pictures and background information to help the reader more fully understand the time period in which the book is written.  I loved seeing the photographs of the neighborhood and the “Real Kermit”.  Holm also offers Websites and Resources at the end of the book.  This book is a wonderful book depicting the struggles of the people in Key West during the Great Depression from the perspective a young girl who is living through it.

 


D. Review Excerpt

"Eleven-year-old Turtle is not one to suffer fools gladly. And she runs into a lot of fools, especially the no-goods her starry-eyed mother meets. So it's a tough little Turtle who arrives in Key West in June of 1935. She's been sent to Florida to stay with relatives because her mother's latest housekeeping job doesn't allow children. Unfortunately, Mama has neglected to tell Aunt Minnie she's coming, and Turtle gets the stink eye from cousins with monikers like Buddy and Beans. As Turtle soon learns, everything is different in Key West, from the fruit hanging on trees to the scorpions in nightgowns to the ways kids earn money. She can't be part of her cousins' Diaper Gang (no girls allowed), which takes care of fussy babies, but when she finds a treasure map, she hopes she'll be on Easy Street like Little Orphan Annie. Holm uses family stories as the basis for this tale, part romp, part steely-eyed look at the Depression era. Reminiscent of Addie in the movie Paper Moon, Turtle is just the right mixture of knowingness and hope; the plot is a hilarious blend of family dramas seasoned with a dollop of adventure. The many references to 1930s entertainments (Terry and the Pirates, Shirley Temple) will mostly go over kids' heads, but they'll get how much comics and movies meant to a population desperate for smiles. An author's note (with photos) shows Holm's family close-up. Grades 4-6." --Ilene Cooper
Review by booklist.com


E. Awards

2011 Newbery Honor Book

ALA Notable Book

Booklist Editor’s Choice

Texas Bluebonnet List

Kirkus Review Best Children’s Book of 2010

F. Connections 

Lesson Plan Connections:  Students could study the Great Depression as they read this book.  Students could also study the area Turtle is living.
Author's Website:  CLICK HERE


G. Other Books by Jennifer L. Holm

ISBN: 978-1442436633

ISBN: 978-0064408561

ISBN: 978-0375836893