The Turtle and the Island: A Folk Tale From Papua New Guinea

by Barbara Ker Wilson (Narrator), Frané Lessac (Illustrations)

The Turtle and the Island tells the story of how the great sea turtle builds the island of Papua New Guinea. Wishing for a place to rest in the sun, he piles up the sand and rocks until they emerge from the sea into a beautiful, fertile island. In doing so, he finds a wife and a home for the lonely man in the dark cave, far beneath the waves. A beautifully-told creation myth with stunning illustrations. Retold by Barbara Ker Wilson and with glowing illustrations from Frané Lessac, this is a perfectly told folk story from Papua New Guinea.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Barbara Ker Wilson was born on 24 September 1929 in Sunderland, in the north of England. In 1964 she immigrated to Australia, living first in Adelaide, then Melbourne, then Sydney. She settled in Leura, in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.

As a child she used to accompany her father to a large publishing office in London, to deliver corrected proofs of his latest engineering textbook, and she knew then that she wanted to work in the world of writing and publishing.
Her first 'successful' work, written when she was eight, was a play based on the coronation of King George VI; it was performed at her primary school in England.

The Second World War influenced her greatly, particularly the experience of living through air raids in London. With the end of the war came her first experience of travelling abroad; afterwards, she traveled extensively in Europe and Asia.

Winner of the Dromkeen Medal (1999).

Reviews

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Turtle and the Island: A Folktale from Papua New Guinea by Barbara Ker Wilson (goodreads author), Illustrator Frane Lessac- The book narrates the story of a turtle who has teeth. He resides in the sea and sometimes in other shallow ponds. In the sea, the turtle finds that a man is residing in a cave inside shallow water. While swimming from place to place, the turtle finds that loads of sand has collected in one location. The turtle hits the sand dune and shifts the sand to shift it to another location. Slow and steady, shifted sand dunes convert into an island. The Turtle carries the man from the cave to the new island. Here the man finds a woman waiting to get married. They propose to each other and get married. The Folktale says that this island is New Guinea. Coloured illustrations and pictures help the reader to relate to the story. I have read the Hindi language translation of this book.

[Eleanor King · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a really nice way to introduce other cultures’ folktales to children and could be contrasted with traditional Western folktales that the children may be familiar with. There is a lot of text on the page, so perhaps more appropriate for KS2 children but the pictures tell the story as well as the text and could definitely leave children poring over the pages. The illustrations are bright and colourful, representative of traditional Papau New Guinean art, a potential starting point for an art lesson. Overall, a good book to have in the classroom to share other cultures.