The Talking Earth (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Billie Wind could see the orange tree through the open walls of the council house..." (more)
Key Phrases: deerskin pouch, little otter, big kitten, Billie Wind, Charlie Wind, Mamau Whispering Wind (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A young woman of the Seminole tribe begins to question the validity of old customs over the more pressing problems of nuclear war and pollution, in a tale by the Newbery Medalist. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The conservation message grows naturally out of the excitement and concrete detail of the survival adventure story." -- -- The New York Times

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (October 23, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064402126
• ISBN-13: 978-0064402125
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #356,934 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #33 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( G ) > George, Jean Craighead
  #51 in	Books > Teens > Science & Technology > Ecology

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Talking Earth: Speaks Out Loud!, February 28, 2003

By	R Lin (Cerritos, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Talking Earth (School & Library Binding)

The Talking Earth
by Jean Craighead George

The Talking Earth is about a Seminole girl named Billy Wind who is very curious. When her tribal elder spoke of spirits everywhere there is, Billie said she did not believe in that. The religious leaders got very angry and asked what punishment she should give herself. In sarcasm, she said that she should go to the pay-hay-okee (the Everglades)and stay until she heard the spirits of the animals talk, see the magical serpent, and find the little people who lived under the ground. The people agreed while she wondered in shock because it was just a joke. She was still forced to enter the pay-hay-okee and hear the spirits herself. Therefore, she stayed there and lived with an otter, a panther, and a turtle. At the end, she endured a hurricane in a cavern and lived to tell the tale.
The reason I liked this book is because it had a lot to do with the flow of nature. It told about why the Seminoles said there were animal gods and magical things. It also said how nature has its own special type of flow and to disrupt it can result in disaster. It also had a lot of feeling into what happenned around her and why it happenned.
I also liked the book because it was very interesting. I couldn't stop reading it until I had no other choice. It grabbed me in the ears and pulled me into the book with all my senses so that I could feel everything around me. In the tense parts, I was scared for Billy Wind and I was also relieved when that part was over. It was like real life!
My favorite part was when Billy wind had just entered the pa-hay-okee. There was a great fire that burned down the whole forest that she was in. She found a strange pit that seemed to be inhabitted before. She found a baby otter inside a small tunnel and named him Petang. She also noticed there were small artifacts in the walls that were related to the Seminole's. She stayed and tried to reach home and get an archeologist to the site.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars J.R.'s review, April 25, 2003

By	J.R. (Nebraska USA) - See all my reviews

I thought the book was very good. It had a lot of details and it was easy to picture what was happening in the book. Anyone who critisizes Jean Craighead George's "The Talking Earth," needs to get a taste in good books. I chose it to read in school as an Accelerated Reader Book and it was great. My teacher didn't choose it for me I chose to read it and if I had a chance to read it, I did. If you like reading about indians and stuff like that, than I suggest that you read this book. If you don't like it, than read one that you do like. Thankyou for reading my review.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Talking Earth Review, December 4, 2001

By	Simon (LA) - See all my reviews

Talking Earth is a very exciting book to read. The main character, Billie Wind, is a doubter of her tribe's beliefs and has to be punished. For her punishment, she chose to go to the Everglades to learn about her tribe's beliefs. There, Billie makes friends like Petang, the otter, Coootchobee, a panther, and Burden, a turtle. How will Billie Wind survive in the dangerous Everglades? Will she survive? Read the book to find out.

Billie Wind developed from the beginning of the book to the end. In the beginning of the book Billie Wind didn't care about her tribe's traditions. As time went by, though, she started to use the traditions to survive. At the end of the book, Billie tried to make Oats Tiger (now known as Hurricane Tiger) believe in the traditions. Billie Wind has learned much from her punishment and is using it to teach others.

Kerra S.
Grade 5
Mr. Sizemore's class
Pleasant Plains Elementary