[(And Still the Turtle Watched )] [Author: Sheila Macgill-Callahan] [Nov-1996]

by Sheila MacGill-Callahan

A turtle carved in rock on a bluff over the Hudson River by Indians long ago watches with sadness the changes man brings over the years

Genres: Picture Books, Native American, Childrens, Nature

Unknown Binding

First published September 2, 1991

Reviews

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long ago, a Delaware Indian carved a turtle out of a rock on the bank of a river. It was to watch over his people, but gradually fewer people came to worship and the turtle saw many changes occur...even vandalism. The rock was then found by a man hundreds of years later and he moved it to a botanical garden in the city, where it remains today for children to look at and talk to. The author's themes seem to be ecological pollution and recovery as well as the embodiment of faith in a gentler, more caring time. The illustrations by Barry Moser are lovely.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

rating: 3.5

This is described as being fiction, but it's really historical fiction. While reading, I kept wondering if this would be a book I'd use with kids. Then I read the note at the end of the story, which sent me on a google search. It sounds to me like the basic story matches what is known about the rock at the NY Botanical Gardens. If reading this with a child, I'd start by talking about a real rock in New York and how people used all kinds of clues to figure out a possible story about the rock's "life."

[Lafcadio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice watercolors... I want to go see it.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carved many hundred of years ago by a Lenape man, and visited down through the generations by Lenape children, a stone turtle watches the land and world around him transformed over time in this picture book from author Sheila MacGill-Callahan and illustrator Barry Moser. He sees newcomers arrive, the land cleared, and the people around him change. Eventually vandalized by some punks, the turtle draws into itself, blind and deaf, and betrayed by the world. Here he sits in darkness, until found by a researcher who understands who and what he is, and who has him cleaned up and moved to the New York Botanical Society, where he is once again surrounded by children playing...

Published in 1991, And Still the Turtle Watched was author Sheila MacGill-Callahan's debut, and the first of the six picture books she would eventually go on to see published. It pairs a somewhat melancholy, bittersweet narrative about the passage of time and the many changes it brings, with lovely watercolor artwork from illustrator Barry Moser. The theme here—the changes wrought by the march of history, as seen in one specific locale—reminded me strongly of subsequent picture books like Lynne Cherry's A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History (1992) and Debby Atwell's River (1999), which I happened to read before this one. While the focus in those books is on a river, and the world around it, here we have a turtle observer, one endowed with emotional awareness in the story. Of the three books, I think the one by Atwell is best, but I still found this one moving, and couldn't help sympathizing with the anthropomorphized turtle. I think all three of these books would work as an exploration of the theme of change, not just in the past, but potentially in the future as well. Rivers become polluted, and stone carvings are vandalized, but we can always do better, and try to set things right. Just as things worsen, so can they improve.

[Gatto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful story about the passage of time. It begins with a Native American perspective and shows how the land is used differently by different people. The book reminds a bit of the Giving Tree. It's not similar in story, but it has a similar wistful feeling. Students could use this as a jumping off point to imagine how a space around them is used differently by different people with their different cultures and motives.

The watercolor pictures are also quite beautiful.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a unique story imagining the history of a real-life Native American artifact that now can be seen at the New York Botanical Garden. Strong, if heavy-handed, message about protecting the environment and being respectful of the world around us.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a great book to read aloud for many different reasons. I could use it as a social studies lesson. Or I could use it to teach the students to respect property and other cultures.

[Kandrea Cheney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this one in lieu of Native American Heritage month. It was a short, kind of sad story. I wish we could have seen more of the turtle though.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

09/10: We enjoyed this one. First we saw on Reading Rainbow ages ago. Revisiting as we study turtles and have "Shelley" on loan from Anita Purves Nature Center.

Amazon: Grade 1-4
This story begins long ago when a Grandfather carves a turtle from a rock to be the eyes of Manitou. The turtle watches as his people, the Delaware, prosper and grow. He watches new people arrive, people who change the earth, eventually polluting the water, the air, even the stone upon which the turtle rests. The turtle becomes blinded and forgotten until an anthropologist recognizes him under the graffiti and places him in the New York Botanical Garden where children once again hear him.

The narrative voice is reserved and contemplative, which enhances the Native American flavor of the story, but underplays the drama of the events. Moser's watercolor illustrations provide much of the drama the text lacks. His portraits of the old man carving the stone or the teenagers spray-painting the rock convey an immediacy and provide a visual connection with the people and their time.

Unfortunately, the stone turtle's story, fabricated from fact, myth, and vision, is weighed down by its obvious message. And as wonderful as the message is, it's likely to appeal only to concerned adults who use it to teach children to respect the environment and the Native American people.
Karen K. Radtke, Milwaukee Public Library

[Terry]

It's a beautiful tale about faith, endurance, and culture. As a book recommended through Reading Rainbow, I had anticipated that it would be more basic and suitable for a toddler.

To read our full review, go to The Reading Tub®.

[Tasasha Battle]

This book is about a turtle that is shaped from a rock. The turtle watched over the land and its people. However, over time the world changed and the people no longer care about the land and its animals. This is told from the perspective of the Native American culture. Students can learn new vocabulary and practice using context clues to figure unknown words.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book to introduce children to the importance of taking care of our environment.

[Cws]

JERR-Mac Old Turtle carved into the rock by ancient Indian- all the turle saw in changes through the years-great read.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ham-fisted messaging based on selective, if not revisionist history in part. Sigh.