How Turtle's Back Was Cracked: A Traditional Cherokee Tale

by Gayle Ross

Turtle's shell is cracked when the wolves plot to stop his boastful ways

Genres: Picture Books, Indigenous, Animals, Native American, Childrens, Cultural

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1995

Reviews

[Shannon M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good lessons to learn from this book.

[Tina Brown-Larkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous folktale, amazing illustrations.

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate the notes at the beginning, as well as having a tale told by someone who grew up with it.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun Cherokee tale.

[Kelly Timian · Rating 3 out of 5]

• This story is originally a traditional Cherokee tale and the book authored by a Cherokee man that had heard the story since early childhood. He writes about Possum and Turtle being best friends despite being such different creatures. They spent many hours eating persimmons together through a system of possum dropping them into Turtle’s mouth from a tree. One day a wolf steals the persimmons from them and Possum kills him. Turtle, however, thinks he killed him and brags about how he is such a strong warrior. This does not bode well for Turtle as the wolf pack seeks revenge by tossing him into the river onto a large rock that cracks his shell into many pieces. Turtle heals himself but you can still see the outlines on turtles today.

• This text is another great resource in grades 1-3 for learning about Native Americans in a social studies lesson. Because this story has been told through generations of Cherokee people, it provides a unique and important cultural perspective. I would use this book to either introduce or supplement a unit on the Cherokee or American history of the 1800s. While the Trail of Tears was a tragedy, it is also important to teach students that the Cherokee people were a prospering nation prior to their forced removal of 1838. They were skilled hunter-warriors, had adopted a written constitution, and Sequoya developed a syllabary system that enabled reading and writing in the language.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many Native American animal tales, personification is used to explain how animals got a certain trait. In this story, our protagonist is Turtle. He is best friends with Possum. When the two of them manage to out-wit Wolf, Turtle manages to convince himself that he is the sole slayer of the greedy foe. However, Turtle’s human-like boastfulness lands him in trouble with the other wolves. Eventually, his inflated ego lands him smack into river with a once “beautiful shiny shell […:] cracked into a dozen pieces.”

This story could be compared with fables and folktales from other cultures showing the use of personification of animals to teach a lesson. A chart could be made showing certain lessons or themes and the tales associated with these lessons or themes. Then a comparison/ contrast could be made showing what animals were associated with which lesson and tale.

[Abby Owens · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would be a good to use when talking about Indian folk tales. My favorite part of this tale that the illustrations. They were very unusual but I thought that they fit well with the story. This is a tale about a possum and a turtle who are best friends but they are very unusual friends. They are tricked by a wolf and so they tick the wolf back and by having him choke on a fruit. The turtle takes the wolfs ears and makes them into spoons and travels around to different villages so show off is power over the wolf. One of the towns try's to kill the turtle so they throw him into the river and of course the turtle is fine but he hits a rock and it cracks his shell. After this the turtle learns to not brag anymore.
This book could also be used to teach kids about bragging. I think it is a cool rendition of an old folk tale and it would be very useful for students to read.

[Morgan]

This book is a Cherokee Tale. It is about how the turtle got it's lined shell. The story goes that a Possum and Turtle were best friends. One day a wolf was playing tricks on them and the Possum killed the wolf. The Turtle took credit though and went around sharing of his tale. The Wlfery angry and plan revenge. The Turtle is clever though and tricks them into throwing him into the river. He didn't plan on landing on his shell though and it cracked. The lines in a turtle's shell are where it sticked itself up.

I thought this story was okay. It was an old story so I like that information I could share with students there but the tale itself I couldn't relate to. I probably won't read it in my class.

[Valerie Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book because it answered a question that a third grader will asked about a turtle's back. I like how it starts out talking about the friendship of two animals, but somehow as time went on, it left one of the animals out of the picture. It should had included the the other animal in the story, especially the other animal is strongly involved in the beginning of it. It is a Cherokee tale, that has been past on through the years, but it doesn't answer all the questions. For an example, what happen to the possum, and it should had more details about the turtle and the Cherokee tribe friendship.

[Trevor Bernsdorf · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the illustrations were very good and the story was nice, but the language used in the book was sometimes difficult. I would not recommend it as something to be used in the classroom unless the language was adapted.

[Jen]

An engaging folktale; a good lesson about learning not to brag, especially when it is not particularly true. (Choice)

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

possum, turtle and wolf characters combine in this traditional tale of how the turtle's shell ended up cracked. paintings are intricate and add much to the book.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Traditional Cherokee tale of how turtle cracked his back.

[Becky]

porquoi tale, cherokee origin

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good retelling of a Cherokee story. Historical notes in the back, one page. Some violence, be forewarned. This is in the juvenile nonfiction section of your library.

[Becky]

porquoi tale, cherokee origin

[Rani · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable Cherokee tale about how the turtle got a cracked shell.

[Mary Stovall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love creative retellings of Native American myths! This book is about the Cherokee legend of how the turtle got its cracked shell looking shell. This book would be perfect for a Native American unit on myths and legends. The book is beautifully illustrated and the story is compelling!

[Madison Stockbridge]

A turtle and a possum are the best of friends. The possum would get fruit down from the tree and throw it down to the turtle. One day a wolf comes along and starts to pick-on the turtle by eating all the fruit that the possum throws down. To get back at the wolf the possum threw the fruit extra hard and killed the wolf. The turtle cuts off the wolf's ear and takes it back to the village to eat soup with it. Other wolves find out whats going on and go out in search of the turtle. When they find the turtle the wolves tell the turtle they are going to put him in a fire and the turtle says he will stomp the fire out. Then the wolves say they will put the turtle in a pot and boil him and the turtle says he's too strong. Then the wolves say they will throw him into the river and the turtle says sarcastically that he will drown and die, so the wolves throw him in and the turtle cracked his shell on the rock. This book would be a nice read for 1st-5th. I think that because it is a little graphic but it is a good folklore book.

[Brittany Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you heard the Cherokee legend of how the turtles shell was cracked? It starts of with Turtle and his friend Possum. They play a game where Possum throws persimmons to Turtle. However, a wolf comes up and eats the persimmons instead, making Turtlw and Possum mad, so they kill him. What will happen when the other wolves find out?
I enjoyed this story! I am Cherokee myself, so it was fun to read a little Cherokee legend! This would be a great way to spread some culture in the classroom.