Big Turtle - David McLimans

Released October 2011

David McLimans
Bloomsbury Kids

Reviewed by Bob Walch

Caldecott Honor winner David McLimans puts a unique spin on this Huron creation story .When the book opens there are just two parts to the world – the animals in the lower Water World and the humans above in the Sky World.

Then one day Sky Girl takes a tumble into the Water World. Although she is saved by two swans, Sky Girl is unable to get back to her home. At this point Big Turtle comes up with an idea. Why not create a new home for Sky Girl on his great shell using earth from the bottom of the sea?

Thus, a new world comes into being between the sky and the sea and Sky Girl becomes “Earth’s” first inhabitant.

McLimans’ illustrations that capture the vibrancy of native art make this wonderful story come alive.  Big Turtle is a good way of introducing children four years of age and older to folklore and the colorful art that often accompanies it.