44 pages 1 hour read

Jennifer L. Holm

Turtle in Paradise

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2010

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Symbols & Motifs

Little Orphan Annie

Turtle references several of her favorite comics from the funny pages. By far, she refers most frequently to Little Orphan Annie, an orphaned girl who is adopted by the wealthy Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks. From time to time, especially when Daddy Warbucks was away on business, Annie would be thrown out of the house by the vindictive Mrs. Warbucks, leaving her and her pet dog, Sandy, to have adventures out in the world, from which they were inevitably rescued by the return of Daddy Warbucks.

Though the storytelling in Little Orphan Annie can be just as formulaic as a Shirley Temple movie, Turtle is drawn to and identifies with Annie, and she hopes for someone powerful and rich to take up her cause. After discovering the pirate treasure, Turtle thinks to herself, “This is how Little Orphan Annie must have felt after Daddy Warbucks took her in: she’s never going to have to worry about anything ever again! She’s the luckiest orphan in the entire world!” (139). As her elation fades, however, Turtle begins to wonder whether Annie ever missed the friends she left behind at the orphanage, and from that point on, the myth or dream of attaining riches like Little Orphan Annie appears less appealing to Turtle.

Related Titles

By Jennifer L. Holm

Study Guide

logo

Full of Beans

Jennifer L. Holm

Full of Beans

Jennifer L. Holm

Plot Summary

logo

Our Only May Amelia

Jennifer L. Holm

Our Only May Amelia

Jennifer L. Holm

Plot Summary

logo

Penny from Heaven

Jennifer L. Holm

Penny from Heaven

Jennifer L. Holm

Study Guide

logo

The Fourteenth Goldfish

Jennifer L. Holm

The Fourteenth Goldfish

Jennifer L. Holm

Study Guide

logo

The Lion of Mars

Jennifer L. Holm

The Lion of Mars

Jennifer L. Holm