Status
Available
Collection
Publication
August House (2005), Edition: First Edition, 32 pages
Description
After being caught by a hunter, a clever turtle uses her wits and her talent playing the flute to trick the hunter's children into helping her escape.
Local notes
School Library Journal, 04/30/1998
PreS-Gr 3 The main character of this Brazilian trickster tale is a chubby turtle with an engaging smile, who loves to play her flute and dance. A man captures her and takes her home for a turtle-soup feast the next day. That afternoon, when he leaves her in his son and daughter's care and goes out to work the fields, Turtle promises to dance for the children if they let her out of the cage. Once freed, Turtle pretends to fall asleep, and subsequently escapes. The father returns home and vows to recapture the cunning animal. An ambiguous conclusion allows readers to determine Turtle's fate. An introductory source note explains that although indigenous peoples of Brazil created this folktale, it is now also told as far away as Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
PreS-Gr 3 The main character of this Brazilian trickster tale is a chubby turtle with an engaging smile, who loves to play her flute and dance. A man captures her and takes her home for a turtle-soup feast the next day. That afternoon, when he leaves her in his son and daughter's care and goes out to work the fields, Turtle promises to dance for the children if they let her out of the cage. Once freed, Turtle pretends to fall asleep, and subsequently escapes. The father returns home and vows to recapture the cunning animal. An ambiguous conclusion allows readers to determine Turtle's fate. An introductory source note explains that although indigenous peoples of Brazil created this folktale, it is now also told as far away as Nicaragua and Costa Rica.