Customer Reviews

1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving

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This is a beautifully written and exquisitely photographed book about the first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621 (according to the Western calendar). The photos were taken during re-enactments at Plimoth Plantation, and are historically accurate as well as lovely to look at. The text gives the Wampanoag perspective on the event with sensitivity and vibrancy. All in a book that is clearly successful in engaging young readers, no matter how much or how little they already know--or think they know--about the history of Thanksgiving.

As a Tlingit father, i am constantly having to show up at my childrens' schools every year to educate principals and teachers and tear down stereotypes and outdated bulliten board charicatures.

And while the season from Columbus Day to Thankgiving (November is Native American History month) is frought with mis-information and stereotypes about Indians that I, and my children, seemingly have to protest and endure, this book is a welcome relief to the revisionist history that is usually taught in schools.

What did they really eat at the first Thanksgiving?

Venison, roast duck, roast goose, clams and other shellfish, succulent eels, white bread, corn bread, leeks and watercress, wild plums and dried berries, wild grape wine.

How did the pilgrims come to find an Indian that spoke English when they arrived in the New World?

Tisquantum, also known as Squanto, had been kidnapped by earlier explorers, but had managed to return to his home in what is now called New England.

Was the first Thanksgiving really in 1621?

In the fall of 1621 the Pilgrims spent 3 days celebrating their first harvest in the New World with at least 90 Native American guests, but the pilgrims never referred to this as a day of thanksgiving. It was in 1623 when a two month drought ended after their fervent prayers that the first recorded religious thanksgiving day occurred. This day focused more on worship than on feasting.

The book 1621 A New Look at Thanksgiving is published by the National Geographic Society, which is evidenced by the excellence of its photographs. It was put together with the help of the folks at Plimouth Plantation, a living history museum of 17th century Plymouth, located in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The information is not primarily in the form of a story. The chapters are short, just a few pages, rather like photo essays, and they tend to stand by themselves, allowing the reader to pick and choose.

The authors believe they have significant new perspectives to share.
" There was neither cranberry sauce nor pumpkin pie at the 1621 harvest celebration. There were no Indians with woven blankets over their shoulders and large feathered headdresses cascading down their backs. There were no Pilgrims in somber black clothes and tall hats with silver buckles, either. The English didn't even call themselves Pilgrims at the time"

In giving information about the first Thanksgiving there are a few chapters sharing from the viewpoint of the Wampanoag native people, as well as a page about the history of the holiday, a chronology, and a couple of recipes, including this one for Stewed Pompion.

4 cups of cooked pumpkin or squash (seeded, and steamed or baked), roughly mashed
3 tablespoons butter
2 to 3 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 or 2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt

In a saucepan over medium heat, stir and heat all the ingredients together. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve hot.

We used concentrated apple juice and regular vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar. It has a rustic authentic flavor, which no one in our house enjoyed too much except me. For a family of four a half batch is probably sufficient.

The website for Plimouth Plantation is http://www.plimoth.org/
You can read a lot there about the Indians, the people we call the pilgrims, the first thanksgiving, the settlement at Plymouth, and of course the living history museum. For those with a high speed connection I recommend clicking Online Fun - Become a Historian! on the home page. This activity teaches about how history is researched and recorded as well as about what is commonly known as the First Thanksgiving.

I highly recommend this book. As the daughter of a Cherokee-English African-American woman,educator and grandmother I was always taught the truth along with my brothers about this very important holiday/harvest festival. Early on we were taught to share what we had with the less fortunate and to give to others who really needed something. Also my grandmother the late,great Hattie Little-Tabor who was my mom's mother fed homless people who stopped by her home during the Great Depression. This book brought back full circle the fact that we must all strive to work together to overcome greed to serve all in need. I highly recommend this book.

So many books that cover the Thanksgiving holiday are historically inaccurate. This text is very accurate historically and includes pictures from a re-enactment, making the historical event come alive to children.

Since none of us were there, none of us exactly what happened and even if we had been there, we still would only know our small part of the total experience -- this can be said about other historical events. No history books is flawless and totally complete. That said, this is a well researched beautfully illustrated book.

The illustrations are photographs from a reenactment of the 1621 event at the Plymouth Plantation living history museum. Actors are Native Americans (Wampanoags and others) and Plymouth Planation staff. The illustrations are probably the closest we are going to get to provides a look at what it really looked like. The book itself an attempt to provide context to the myth attached to the holiday of Thanksgiving. It discusses the myth, the Wampanoag people, the people involved in the event that inspired the myth, and the existence of other harvest/thanksgiving type celebrations.

If I could only have one book to use to discuss Thanksgiving with children, it would be this one. It may not be perfect, but its very good and the illustrations it provides are unique, not found in other books about Thanksgiving.

Informed History - This is what we should be teaching our children. This should be a standard in every classroom! Beautiful pictures too!

Excellent resource for units on Native American cultures or communities. My students are doing a unit on communities using Plymouth colony and the Wampanoag tribe as examples of early communities. Great resource to accompany Tampenum's Day, Sarah Morton's Day, Samuel Eaton's Day and other books about Plymouth colony.

This book is very revisionist. It presents the idea of greedy Pilgrims vs. noble and enlightened savages. Very unbalanced in its depiction of history.