Turtle Tale

by Frank Asch

A young turtle learns how to be a wise old turtle, with a few hard knocks along the way.

Genres: Childrens, Animals, Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Frank Asch is an American children's writer, best known for his Moonbear picture books.

Asch published his first picture book, George's Store, in 1968. The following year he graduated from Cooper Union with a BFA. Since then he has taught at a public school in India, as well as at a Montessori school in the United States, conducted numerous creative workshops for children. He has written over 60 books, including Turtle Tale, Mooncake, I Can Blink and Happy Birthday Moon. In 1989 he wrote Here Comes the Cat! in collaboration with Vladimir Vagin. The book was awarded the Russian National Book Award and was considered the first Russian-American collaboration on a children's book.

Asch lived in Somerville, New Jersey where he and his wife home-schooled their son Devin.

He currently lives in Vermont with his wife, Jan.

Reviews

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple tale—perhaps a bit too simple—of wisdom and adaptation to circumstances. Feels like a fable. Good for younger children.

[Keziah Jensen-Cannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book often growing up. We even used the phrase "what a wise turtle would do" in our family regularly. Feeling nostalgic, I found a used copy of this book and promptly bought it. This was an excellent decision. It was as good as I remember it (although a bit shorter than I thought). I completely recommend this to children of all ages!

[Heather Lei · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story about a turtle who learns that different circumstances call for different solutions. That is a difficult concept for certain children of mine who tend to think in absolutes and unbendable rules. It's been hard to explain to them that doing something can be correct in one situation but incorrect in another. This is geared toward preschoolers but I'm having my older kids read it to my preschooler so maybe they'll catch on.

The art is cute and simple. Simple enough that I might be tempted to think I could do it. That would be false. I stink at art.

[Adrianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Turtle gets bonked on the head with an apple and decides to stay inside his shell. But it starts to get very lonely so he must learn to come out of his shell again. A beloved book from my childhood. Beautiful simple illustrations and a sweet story I look forward to sharing with my children.

[amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful story about making wise choices.

[Little Champs]

3086

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

My two year old kept asking for this one.

[Jason Beyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome!!!