Beat the Turtle Drum is a 1968 coming-of-age middle grade fiction book by , following a summer in which two sisters save up the money to rent a horse, after which tragedy strikes in an unexpected accident. This story is semi-autobiographical in nature, inspired by Greene's own childhood experience with the death of a sister. An ALA Notable Book and the recipient of multiple awards, Beat the Turtle Drum was adapted into an ABC Afterschool Special in the 1970s, and has been printed in multiple editions. The book was illustrated by Donna Diamond.