Book Review: The Plymouth Thanksgiving
Rating: 
The Plymouth Thanksgiving is a readable, straightforward retelling of the events leading up to the American Thanksgiving, targeted for readers ages 4-8. Based on William Bradford’s diary, it tells the story of the Plymouth settlers in their difficult journey, first to Holland and then to the New World, and of their struggle to survive their first year in Massachusetts.
It is written and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard, who won the Caldecott Medal in 1947 for his illustrations of The Little Island and, like most children’s books of this era, its well-drawn pictures are printed in few colors. This lends the story a certain charming simplicity, and the illustrations serve to supplement rather than carry the story.
Its only flaw is that in the description of the feast the Indian participants are three times referred to as “braves, squ*ws and children.” This is probably be a reflection of the terms used in historical documents, but the terms “brave” and “squ*w” in recent decades have taken on strong racist overtones, and the word “squ*w” now carries a sexual connotation. If you own the book, it would be very simple to correct the phrase to “men, women and children” with some white-out.
This charming story is unfortunately out of print, but is still available on the used-book market. It’s a fine addition to the holiday reading basket.
Categories: 4 Stars, Age 04-08, Books That Build Character
Tags: Christianity, Colonial America, Colonization, Compassion, Courage, Death, Disease, Forgiveness, Generosity, Grief, History, Holidays, Kindness, Leadership, Massachusetts, Native Americans, Pilgrims, Puritans, Squanto, Thanksgiving
Posted on November 25, 2009
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Worldviews are not taught through five-point outlines; they are passed on from one generation to the next in stories and the ceremonies, celebrations, and customs that are based upon those stories.
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