Turkey Girl

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Pollock, Penny (author) and Young, Ed (illustrator). THE TURKEY GIRL: A ZUNI CINDERELLA STORY. 1996. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN: 978-0316713146


2. PLOT SUMMARY

A Native American orphaned girl lives in a small hut on the fringes of a pueblo village. Her clothes are tattered and her only companions are the turkeys she tends. When an upcoming celebration dance is announced in the village, Turkey Girl instead tearfully leads her flock to the plains. As if by magic, the turkeys speak to the girl and repay her kindness to them with beautiful clothes and jewelry so that she may also attend the festivities. The turkeys explain that she must agree not to forget them and must return before the “Sun-Father returns to his sacred place.” Unfortunately, Turkey Girl breaks her promise and ultimately loses her only friends forever.


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Pollock thoughtfully retells the haunting Zuni version of Cinderella. The turkeys in the tale have human-like traits and are essentially the symbolic "godmothers", since they can talk and understand the feelings and desires of the poor turkey girl. Once the turkey girl is given her fancy garments and leaves for the dance, the reader feels the urgency of the clock ticking as the next day draws near and the turkey girl loses track of time. THE TURKEY GIRL emphasizes the theme of keeping promises and the consequences of breaking them. Unlike the happy endings of traditional European Cinderella stories, this version ends with the main character losing her turkey friends.

The pueblo village setting is presented at the very beginning of the tale and helps the reader imagine the life in which Turkey Girl lives. Vivid descriptions of the Native American culture are prevalent throughout the story, as when Pollock writes: “Each dawn, as Sun-Father began his long journey across the sky, the Turkey Girl, clad in her tattered dress, threadbare shawl, and yucca-cactus sandals, led the turkeys from Matsaki.” In addition, the turkeys speak with a wisdom and manner that reflects the Native American culture, such as when they first reveal their ability to speak: "We belong to an ancient race, Maiden Mother, and have many secrets our tall brothers do not know."

While the illustrations use deep colors to reflect the time of day, as well as tones of the American Southwest, they do not demonstrate the emotions and details that are revealed in the text. The colors used are often very dark and the pictures themselves are muted, with few features of the Turkey Girl and depictions of her traditional dress and jewelry. The text was often hard to read, since black and white typeface was inconsistently used throughout the text, particularly on the darker colored pages.


4. AWARDS WON AND REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

• Booklist (April 15, 1996): “Pollock's retelling is steady and solid, and her source is clearly indicated in an author's note that gives some background on the tale.”

• Horn Book starred (September, 1996): “This unusual version with its rather abrupt ending provides an interesting contrast to European variations of the Cinderella story…Moody, textured pastel and oil-crayon illustrations evoke the southwestern desert.”

• Kirkus Review (1996): “Pollock tells the tale in formal, flowing style, with long sentences and polite dialogue; Young's large, impressionistic scenes only hint of place, dress, or culture, but fully capture the story's changing moods with floating, indistinct figures and strongly colored light. A graceful, dreamy episode.”

• School Library Journal (1996): “While his [the artist’s] palette jumps wildly from pale shades to the most vibrant pinks, blues, and golds of a vivid desert sunset, the illustrations do not detract from Pollock's thoughtful retelling, which itself gracefully captures the Zuni landscape. Unfortunately, many pages are difficult to read due to a lack of contrast between the illustrations and the words placed on top of them.”

5. CONNECTIONS

• Introduce children to other Zuni legends and traditional stories by visiting:
  - http://www.native-languages.org/zuni-legends.htm
  - http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/Legends-VZ.html#Zun
  - http://www.legendsofamerica.com/NA-ZuniLegends.html
  

• Other Native American Cinderella stories include:
  -Algonquin Indians: Martin, Rafe. ROUGH-FACE GIRL. 1998. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN: 978-0698116269.
  -Ojibwa Indians: San Souci, Robert (author) and San Souci, Daniel (illustrator). SOOTFACE: AN OJIBWA CINDERELLA STORY. 1997. New York: Random House Childrens Books. ISBN: 9780440413639.
  

• Children may be interested in seeing examples of Zuni costumes, jewelry, and pottery. Examples can be found at:
  -The Kennedy Museum of Art Web site: http://www.ohio.edu/museum/zuni/
  -Steve Elmore Indian Art Web site:
  http://elmoreindianart.com/Collections/Pueblo_Pottery/Zuni_Pottery/
  -Manataka American Indian Council Web site: http://www.manataka.org/page1206.html
  

• Children may be interested in hearing a traditional Zuni song, similar to the type of music Turkey Girl may have danced to during the celebration. An example may be found at: http://www.amazon.com/Talking-Spirits-Native-American-Pueblos/dp/B000003ISK)

• Read children a couple of European versions of Cinderella. Discuss how THE TURKEY GIRL story differs from these stories.

• Children may be interested in Cinderella stories from other cultures (e.g., Asian, European, African, South American, etc.). Use a map or globe to illustrate how so many versions of this story exist and represent many different cultures/locations around the world.