Old Turtle and the Broken Truth

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
Sage Old Turtle gives his wisdom about Broken Truth and mending suffering in this stunning, deep, and thought-provoking picture book by Douglas Wood, illustrated by Jon J. Muth. Drenched in Muth's pale watercolors that glow with ancient knowledge and Asian inspiration, this gentle tale tells the story of a Broken Truth that falls to earth and eventually creates trouble for humanity. After a man finds the Broken Truth laying on the ground, he takes it to his people, who start "to feel fear or even anger toward those who were not like themselves and did not share their truth." They begin waging battles with others who want the truth as well, and soon, a confused girl decides to ask Old Turtle how to solve the problem. The old fellow gives her a mysterious stone, along with advice about "seeking out those small and simple truths" and "listening once more to the language of breezes, by learning lessons from stones and animals and trees and stars." When she returns to her people, the girl passes along these words and combines the stone with the Broken Truth, creating a heartfelt message that puts humanity back at ease. Both sophisticated and magnificently rendered, this touch-of-Buddhism book will have children and adults realizing that beauty lies in the simple things around us and in our hearts. Matt Warner

From the Publisher

School Library Journal
(December 1, 2003; 0-439-32109School Library Journal
(December 1, 2003; 0-439-32109-3)

Gr 4 Up-A truth falls from the sky and breaks in half. "One of the pieces blazed off through the night sky,/and the other fell to earth in the beautiful land." Several animals discard the broken piece because they feel that "there is something missing." When a human finds it, he is delighted, for it says, "You are loved." He reveals this truth to others "whose faces look like his." They begin to ignore the earth's beauty, to fear those who do not "share their truth," and to fight continually with those "others" who wish to possess it. Finally, a girl who embarks on a difficult journey to seek the advice of Old Turtle helps the people see that there is not just one truth, but "truths all around us, and within us" and that the second half of the broken truth is "And so are they." Muth's watercolor-and-ink illustrations powerfully reflect the moods evoked by the lyrical text. The humans are depicted as black, Giacometti-like silhouettes surrounded by darkness above and below. These same people form a rainbow-hued chain as they begin to see themselves in one another. The beautiful text and illustrations printed on wonderfully thick paper make a lovely package, and while the message, similar to Mem Fox's Feathers and Fools (Harcourt, 1996), is a difficult one for young children to grasp, it is sure to spark discussion among older students.-Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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Booklist
(November 15, 2003; 0-439-32109-3)

K-Gr. 2. Old Turtle was a phenomenon, and many found its message inspirational. This sequel features the same gorgeous, shimmering watercolors as the earlier book, and, unfortunately, the same pretentious pieties. In a land where every stone was a teacher . . and every tree a ladder to the stars, a truth falls, and breaks into parts. Various creatures find the broken truth, and one, a man, takes its message, You Are Loved, to heart. So do other people, who fear and fight those who are not like themselves and do not share their truth. A little girl comes to Old Turtle to ask how to stop the suffering in the world, and he tells her how to make the truth whole. Next to the broken half, You Are Loved, the child places the rest of the shining truth, which reads And So Are They. Turtle has many fans, so expect an audience for this easy lesson in solving the world's problems. --GraceAnne DeCandido Copyright 2003 Booklist

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Publishers Weekly
(October 27, 2003; 0-439-32109-3)

In this handsome but overwrought sequel to Wood's Old Turtle (illus. by Cheng-Khee Chee), "a truth" falls from the sky and breaks in two. One half vanishes; the other (bearing the words "You Are Loved") is rejected by the animal kingdom because a part of it is missing." A human snaps it up and shares it with those "who spoke as he spoke and dressed as he dressed and whose faces looked like his." Eventually, the humans' faulty "Truth" inspires "anger toward those who were not like themselves," and war breaks out. Finally, a girl asks Old Turtle for help and returns to her people both with wisdom ("Every person, every being, is important, and... the world was made for each of us") and a special stone-the missing half of the broken truth. Repaired, the whole truth forms a golden heart, which reads, "You Are Loved and So Are They." Wood's fulsome prose ("She had... crossed the Mountains of Imagining and the River of Wondering Why, had found her way through the Forest of Finding Out") and heavy-handed message stand out in sharp contrast to the simplicity and subtle lyricism of Muth's (The Three Questions) semi-abstract watercolors. From his exquisite animal portraits to the saturated colors, striking

Publishers Weekly

In this handsome but overwrought sequel to Wood's Old Turtle (illus. by Cheng-Khee Chee), "a truth" falls from the sky and breaks in two. One half vanishes; the other (bearing the words "You Are Loved") is rejected by the animal kingdom because a part of it is missing." A human snaps it up and shares it with those "who spoke as he spoke and dressed as he dressed and whose faces looked like his." Eventually, the humans' faulty "Truth" inspires "anger toward those who were not like themselves," and war breaks out. Finally, a girl asks Old Turtle for help and returns to her people both with wisdom ("Every person, every being, is important, and... the world was made for each of us") and a special stone-the missing half of the broken truth. Repaired, the whole truth forms a golden heart, which reads, "You Are Loved and So Are They." Wood's fulsome prose ("She had... crossed the Mountains of Imagining and the River of Wondering Why, had found her way through the Forest of Finding Out") and heavy-handed message stand out in sharp contrast to the simplicity and subtle lyricism of Muth's (The Three Questions) semi-abstract watercolors. From his exquisite animal portraits to the saturated colors, striking interplay of light and shadow and dreamy, memorable images, the artist's work reflects a depth of emotion absent from the text. Ages 5-up. (Oct.) FYI: For each copy sold through the U.S. trade market, the publisher will donate $1 to First Book, a national organization that provides books to needy children. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

In this pretentious but well-meaning sequel of sorts to Wood's Old Turtle (Scholastic, 2001), a truth splits as it falls to the beautiful earth, in a time when "every stone was a teacher and every breeze a language/where every lake was a mirror and every tree a ladder to the stars." The half truth is picked up by a succession of animals. But each finds the broken or partial truth unpalatable, difficult to carry, and unsparkling, until a human picks it up and reads, "You Are Loved." The man cherishes this thought and gradually his descendents cease to hear the language of the breezes and stones, but only pay attention to their partial truth as The Truth. Battles ensue as humans struggle to possess this Truth. Elsewhere, a little girl, who has traveled far crossing the Mountains of Imagining and the River of Wondering Why into the Forest of Finding Out, asks Old Turtle to explain it all and through her (page after page of) explanations, the little girl comes to see that what has been missing is the Truth's other half: "And So Are They." It's unlikely that elementary age children will have the patience to sit through all of this. Yet, if they do, the extended metaphor of "Do onto others..." or "Love thy neighbor as thyself" is not beyond their grasp. While several of Muth's watercolors are breathtaking, others seem hastily or unevenly executed at best, and their narrative quality is slight. Readers who enjoy extended metaphor and message embedded in fable and those who found Wood's first book compellingly spiritual will respond favorably to this empurpled prose, but those who expect a crisp story will be disappointed. A portion of the proceeds from this book will benefit First Book, anational nonprofit organization dedicated to providing books to children in need. 2003, Scholastic, Ages 7 to 10.
—Susan Hepler, Ph.D.

School Library Journal

Gr 4 Up-A truth falls from the sky and breaks in half. "One of the pieces blazed off through the night sky,/and the other fell to earth in the beautiful land." Several animals discard the broken piece because they feel that "there is something missing." When a human finds it, he is delighted, for it says, "You are loved." He reveals this truth to others "whose faces look like his." They begin to ignore the earth's beauty, to fear those who do not "share their truth," and to fight continually with those "others" who wish to possess it. Finally, a girl who embarks on a difficult journey to seek the advice of Old Turtle helps the people see that there is not just one truth, but "truths all around us, and within us" and that the second half of the broken truth is "And so are they." Muth's watercolor-and-ink illustrations powerfully reflect the moods evoked by the lyrical text. The humans are depicted as black, Giacometti-like silhouettes surrounded by darkness above and below. These same people form a rainbow-hued chain as they begin to see themselves in one another. The beautiful text and illustrations printed on wonderfully thick paper make a lovely package, and while the message, similar to Mem Fox's Feathers and Fools (Harcourt, 1996), is a difficult one for young children to grasp, it is sure to spark discussion among older students.-Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.