Beat the Turtle Drum [Hardcover]

Constance C. Greene (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1979

The heartwrenching story of how a young girl comes to terms with her sister's death. "Here is a book to read and remember".--Publishers Weekly. "A touching, poignant story".--Booklist. An ALA Notable Book and an IRA-CBC Children's Choice.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Greene brings her trademark blend of quirky humor and acute perception to this bittersweet tale of two sisters' summer together. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 119 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (March 15, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044040875X
• ISBN-13: 978-0440408758
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,725,741 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So beautiful, and so sad, November 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Beat the Turtle Drum (Paperback)

I first read this book when I was eleven years old. For some reason, although it saddened me, it didn't seem real: I'd never known anybody my own age who had died, and I couldn't comprehend the grief of the older sister, Kate, when her little sister Joss died suddenly. Last year, however, my 7-year-old son died unexpectedly. The pain of such loss is incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't suffered such a terrible thing. Everything Kate describes in this book is so true: the rage at God, the anger that somebody else who 'deserved' to die didn't die instead, and most of all, the stillness, the emptiness where that little person used to be. When I read Kate's poem about her sister's empty bed, I wept and wept. I'm crying as I write this. Constance Greene has written a small masterpiece about the worst possible thing that life could throw at a person; it is a thing of rare beauty. And it will make you hug your children a little more often.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful - One of my favorites, June 27, 2003

By 

MooonChild (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beat the Turtle Drum (Paperback)

I can't remember whether I saw the TV movie before I read this book, or vice versa. It matters not, because they're both excellent.

I always remembered this book and recently decided to order it from Amazon so I could re-read it. (I found my old childhood copy in my father's basement a month later, so now I have two).

The story is a magificent portrayal of a relationship between two loving, but very different sisters, Kate and Joss. Joss is somewhat of a "free spirit" and Kate clearly envies her that.

It is sweet, soft, gentle and heartbreaking at times, but I highly recommend that this book be in any young girl's (or 36-year-old girl's) book collection.

And, if you ever have the unlikely opportunity to see the TV version starting Melissa Sue Anderson ("Little House on the Prairie" and beautiful Katy Kurtzman (2-time guest-star on "Little House"), you must!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars "It's the Now that hurts!", March 14, 2002

By 

Plume45 "kitka12345" (Westchester, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beat the Turtle Drum (Hardcover)

The title may be somewhat misleading, as this somber story is not about endangered species or a native tribe. Rather, it is the poignant portrait of a family--especially the relationship between two sisters--shattered by sudden, senseless devastation. Almost 11, Joss has longed to have her own horse--a dream about to come true on her birthday. But no one could foresee the disaster as family dynamics are irrevocably severed.

Narrated by 13-year-old Kate, this book reveals sisterly intimacies and suppressed rivalries, while praising the role of devoted friends and kindly adults. Far from saccharine, this book will lead young readers into serious reflection on the fragility of human life; the "personal myth" of teenagers precludes acceptance that tragedy could occur in their own family, or to their close friends or even themselves. Each person must cope with grief in his or her own way, for death is always hardest for those who remain behind.