Turtle loves to dance and play the flute. Her exuberance puts her at risk when her music attracts the attention of a hunter who catches her and brings her home for turtle stew. After she is caught, her only hope for escape is the hunter's children . . . and her own wit.

This folktale, first told by the indigenous people of Brazil, is now told throughout Latin America. The versions are as different as the cultures that contain them, but all of them celebrate Turtle, who carries the world and its wisdom on her back. Like the people of Latin America, Turtle always seems to survive through courage and wit.

In watercolors radiant with foliage and wildlife, David Boston guides the reader through the dense and fertile Amazon rainforest.

From the dust jacket