Bibliographic data
Ross, Gayle. How Turtle's Back Was Cracked: A Traditional Cherokee Tale. New York: Dial, 1995.
Brief plot summary
This is traditional Cherokee tale is about Turtle and Possum. Turtle and Possum are friends that help each other and share persimmons. Wolf comes up and starts eating all their persimmons. The wolf dies at the hand of the possum but the turtle takes all the credit and flaunts his triumph. A pack of wolves try to even the score with Turtle but Turtle is pretty quick-witted and begs for them not to throw him in the river. The wolves do so and the turtle’s shell is broke from hitting a rock. The turtle mends himself and that is why turtles always have cracked looking shells.
Critical analysis
Gayle Ross is a professional storyteller and a direct descendant of John Ross who is the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation during the Trail of Tears. She states inside the book that she inherited her love of storytelling from her grandmother. In the author’s note she writes that she has known this story since she was a small girl. The end of the book brings readers into a short synopsis about the Cherokee nation.
This story began as an oral tale as most of the Native American stories began. The animals are able to talk and understand each other. This is a prominent theme in Native American stories. When Turtle takes the wolf’s ears and turns them into spoons, it signifies the Native American culture as well because they believed if you did that you would be taking a piece of animal spirit.
The turtle seems like an important symbol in Native American culture. Turtles are ancient animals, being around for many, many years. Turtles also live around water and land, which the Indians tried to also do because of the convenience. The turtle is considered sacred to most Native American cultures.
The paintings in the book are by Murv Jacob and has Cherokee heritage. His illustrations draw from traditional Southeastern Indian cultures. His paintings are nothing like Paul Goble’s simple drawings and colors. Jacob’s paintings are full of detail and rich in color. It almost seems that it looks too busy. The Native Americans depicted in the book are very cartoon-ish.
Review excerpt
School Library Journal
Jacob's naive paintings depict animals in Cherokee dress. Stylized sun and moon faces look out of a pointillist sky, and there is an autumnal hue to the landscape. Details like Turtle's wolf-ear spoons and the male body ornaments and fringed belts add authenticity. Patterned borders also use traditional design motifs.
Publishers Weekly
Jacob's tapestry-like acrylics, dense with pattern and detail, bring memorable theater to this story-they suggest a world in which everything, even the breezes in the sky, has tangible presence and import. The prose reflects Ross's expertise as a professional storyteller as well as her intimacy with Cherokee culture (a note on the jacket explains that she is a direct descendant of the chief who led the Cherokee Nation on the Trail of Tears). An endnote briefly summarizes Cherokee history.
Connections
Read more about the Cherokee nation
Read Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back by Joseph Bruchac
How Chipmunk Got His Stripes (Picture Puffins) by Joseph Bruchac
The First Strawberries (Picture Puffin) by Joseph Bruchac How Rabbit Tricked Otter: And Other Cherokee Tricks... by Gayle Ross
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