by Moe Zilla

Created on: October 02, 2010

"I am Emma's turtle. I live in a pen in her backyard…"
 
Eve Bunting was 79 years old when she finally tried writing from a turtle's perspective. ("Emma visits me often and brings me snacks," the turtle thinks to itself.) There's some simple watercolor illustrations by Marsha Winborn, but each one has a stark, white background. It suggests that the world is a bright mystery to the turtle - until the day that it escapes from its pen!

 
Eve Bunting is a talented author, and it's fun to watch her applying her talents to a simple animal story. Over her long writing career, she's tackled other topics which were sometimes much more serious. Bunting has written books for children about the Vietnam Memorial, and about the Los Angeles Riots. But this time, she's playfully describing the backyard adventures of a missing turtle!
 
The turtle had watched Emma, sitting in her swing, as she showed pictures of the wild jungle animals in Africa and Australia . "There are tigers in India and panda bears in China ," the turtle thinks to itself. The illustrator draws the turtle with a wide and curious smile, and in the background, there's imaginary animals. "My life is good," the turtle had thought to itself. "But I often dream of the world that is far, far away."
 
The tall grass in the back yard seem like a jungle to the wayward turtle. The trunk of a tree could be an elephant's leg, and the turtle wonders if a frog is a leaping kangaroo. The turtle hears bells, and thinks "they must be temple bells and this must be India ." And the striped tail of a neighborhood cat makes the turtle wonder if he's seeing a tiger!
 
The turtle is smart enough to realize that he's only seeing the sights in his backyard. It's still a fun story, and it respects the turtle's willingness to explore new things.  I felt like Eve Bunting took special care when she was creating her turtle character. He's proud of the journey he's taken, and thinks "I have come so far. Will I be able to find my way home?"

But of course, he's still just a turtle, and he eventually hears Emma's voice calling him. "I am here in India ," the turtle replies, thinking "I am using Turtle Talk and she doesn't understand." He's grateful when she lifts him off of his feet, and delighted when she's left a treat with his dinner - scattered strawberry slices.  The book's last page shows the distance that the turtle has travelled - across the back yard.

But the turtle is still very proud…

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