Maya and the Turtle: A Korean Fairy Tale
Tuttle, 2012
Hardcover, 32 pages, $14.95

This is the second illustrated book coauthored by Soma Han (Fine Art 1978) and her husband, John C. Stickler. Han is a painter, sculptor, mosaic artist, and book illustrator whose work has been exhibited in galleries in the United States, Korea, and Hong Kong. The story is one she learned from her mother in Korea. Maya and the Turtle is about the rewards of kindness, patience, and courage. The protagonist, Maya, has been poor all her life, but she doesn't allow it to stop her from caring for her father, and others, as best she can. Kind and gentle, she is a lovely young girl who always puts others first. One day, she finds a little turtle and takes him home, raising and loving him, never knowing that he will play an instrumental part in her destiny.