Emma's Turtle

Book excerpt: Inspired by the stories Emma reads to him, Turtle digs out of his pen and sets off to see faraway places. The backyard grass is longer than his legs so he thinks he must be in the jungle. He spies a tree stump and believes it's an elephant's leg. Just when he begins to worry that he's lost, Emma rescues him—and he discovers that he never left home. Undeterred, Turtle is grateful to "have the whole world here in my backyard," and plans to escape again tomorrow, this time to China.