Module 4 - HOW TURTLE'S BACK WAS CRACKED: A TRADITIONAL CHEROKEE TALE retold by Gayle Ross

Bibliography
Ross, Gayle. 1995. HOW TURTLE'S BACK WAS CRACKED: A TRADITIONAL CHEROKEE TALE. Ill. Murv Jacob. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN 10-0803717288

Plot Summary
The reasons for the segments on a turtle's back are given in this cute retelling of a traditional Cherokee tale.  Back in a time when animals and people spoke the same language, Turtle's shell was smooth and shiny.  When he and his friend Possum run across a bit of trouble with a wolf, Turtle takes credit for Possum's quick thinking and creates more trouble for himself with the wolves.  As he is trying to get himself out his second problem, he ends up changed forever.

Critical Analysis
This is a well-written, retelling of a traditional Cherokee tale Gayle Ross has known since she was young.  She tells the reader about her research of the story and how the retelling shown here has grown out of her multiple retellings to audiences throughout the years.  Ross also includes information she learned from her family about The Cherokee Nation at the end of the story which helps to bolster the authenticity of the tale. 

The story, like many traditional tales, carries themes which express the values and beliefs of a certain culture.  This tale conveys themes of wit and strategy winning over brute strength, as well as honesty and humility when Turtle takes undue credit and brags about his lies.  The story not all teaches morals, but also cultural traits and details of the Cherokee Nation.  The foods Ross chooses to include give clues to the setting, the people and their customs.  The story begins at a persimmon tree with Turtle and Possum gobbling persimmons and a wolf trying to steal them.  We also learn that "in the old days it was a custom to offer a visitor food to eat the very first thing," which is why they would keep a "thick corn soup" cooking at all times.  The custom of taking a "tribute" from an animal that has been killed is also shown when Turtle takes the dead wolf's ears and turns them into "wolf-ear spoons."  One last customs of the Cherokee that is learned from this tale, is the belief in healing plants and "conjuring secrets."  Turtle mends his back and sews his shell together so that it will grow strong again.  The violent content in this story may be off-putting for some, however there are great lessons to be learned from this story.

Murv Jacob's acrylics on watercolor paper illustrations are heavily patterned using traditional designs of the Cherokee Nation.  Patterns are used as borders around words, in the sky and the nature all around.  Jacob's uses color to evoke feelings and emotions, warm oranges, yellows and browns to express friendship and happiness, cool greens, blues, and blacks for a scene rife with fear and danger.
The details Jacob's add to his paintings help give the story a sense of authenticity.   The sun and the moon have faces, the Cherokee shown seem to be wearing authentic dress and are surrounded by traditional homes and a fire outside for cooking.  The animals are shown walking on two feet, they wear clothing and jewelry, use walking sticks, eat with utensils, cook and socialize with human beings. 

 Review Excerpts
Pubishers 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' expertise as a professional storyteller as well as her intimacy with Cherokee culture..."

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."

Connections
Ross, Gayle. 1994. HOW RABBIT TRICKED OTTER AND OTHER CHEROKEE TRICKSTER STORIES. Ill. Murv Jacob. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 10-0930407601
Bruchac, Joseph. 1993. THE FIRST STRAWBERRIES. Ill. Anna Vojtech. New York, NY: Penguin Group. ISBN 10-9780140564099
Bruchac, Joseph. 1996. BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY: LEGENDS OF NATIVE AMERICAN SACRED PLACES. Ill. Thomas Locker. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Inc. ISBN 10-0152020624
Bruchac, Joseph & Ross, Gayle. 2001. THE STORY OF THE MILKY WAY: A CHEROKEE TALE. Ill. Virginia A. Stroud. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Inc. ISBN 10-0803717377