|
|
|
|
THANKSGIVING BOOKSHere are two books which focus on Pilgrim life that would be handy to have around during the Thanksgiving season. PILGRIM VOICES, edited by Connie and Peter Roop, is a special treasure your children will want to pass on to their own children someday. The clear, easy-to-read, double-spaced type tells the story of the Pilgrims’ first year in the New World as a series of dairy entries written in the first person. The primary sources the authors drew from were Mourt’s Relation and Of Plymouth Plantation, sources authored by Edward Winslow and William Bradford. The editors modernized the language and changed Bradford’s journal from the third to the first person for unity of voice. About half of the 45-pages in this God-honoring history are gorgeous color paintings by Shelley Prichett, making this volume a feast for the eyes. The book, suitable for all ages past preschool, also contains a forward full of historical background, the text of the Mayflower Compact, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index. It is published by Walker.
These books and other books about the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving can be ordered from Barb's People Builders. Copyright ©1998 Barbara Radisavljevic Home / Back to Book Reviews |
THREE YOUNG PILGRIMS, a paperback book for children 5-10, is also based on
Bradford’s writings. The author and illustrator, Cheryl Harness, has created a
panorama of paintings that captures the Pilgrim story from the time that three young
children, Mary, Remember, and Bartholomew, find themselves in the middle of the ocean on
the Mayflower, until Mary’s death in 1699. If your children are visual learners,
you’ve got to get this book. The first major painting is a map of the Atlantic Ocean
showing the sailing Mayflower with geographical notes tracing the adventures of the
Pilgrims from the time they fled England for Holland until they settled in Plymouth. The
next double-page spread is a cross-section of the Mayflower showing the people and
supplies crowded onto the various parts of the ship. The main story is illustrated by
spectacular paintings showing life on the Mayflower and in Plymouth. Then there is a
labeled picture-map of Plymouth Plantation with a time-line of earlier New World
explorations along the bottom and an illustrated chart on the far right showing what else
was going on in other parts of the world while the Pilgrims were having their adventures.
The last pages in the book contain labeled pictures of all the Mayflower passengers, with
one double-page spead alloted to the Saints, and another to the Strangers, and the
difference between them explained. The Indians get their own double-page spread which is
bordered with small drawings of native plants, animals, and sea-life. The last page is a
bibliography.