The Pilgrims of Plimoth (Aladdin Picture Books) [Paperback]

Marcia Sewall (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

After an abundance of prayers and tears we made farewells at dockside and boarded our small ship. Our voyage across the Atlantic Ocean "began with a prosperous wind," but the sea soon became "sharp and violent" and storms howled about us.

When the pilgrims set out for America, they brought with them a dream for the future. Sickness, hardship, and heartache stood in the way of that dream. But the pilgrims worked hard, keeping their dream close to their hearts, until they were finally able to make it come true.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Well-chosen facts, "set like jewels into the text," and "splendid" pictures mark this picture book as "the finest of nonfiction," said PW. Ages 7-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2 Up Written as a personal account, Sewall's book not only conveys the spirit and conviction of the Pilgrim experience, but also provides a bounty of historical information and domestic detail about the settlement at Plimoth and the people who survived those arduous first seasons in America. Sewall's extensive research is evident in her text and in the rich, simple oil paintings that reveal so much about the Pilgrims. Her illustrations, somewhat reflective of the American primitive style in the use of flat, thick strokes, are never static. Every scene is charged with energy and movement, depicting the flow of human exchange and relationships. Sewall also makes effective use of double-page space, creating wide-angle scenes, as in a bleak view of winter seen as through a screen of snow, or the overview of the Thanksgiving celebration. By adhering to traditional language and vocabulary (for which there is a glossary at the back), Sewall has captured the dignity of the Pilgrim voice, and lends a quiet, steady rhythm and intensity to the text as the collective "we" is repeated over and over, becoming a litany of events, customs, practices, and beliefs. Sewall's book is educational in the best sense: it is eloquent, evocative, factual, and lovely to behold. This is not a text for very young children (Alice Dalgliesh's The Thanksgiving Story Atheneum, 1954, also from a personal perspective, is more suitable), but even prereaders will respond to the stories so fully developed in these pictures. Susan Powers, Berkeley Carroll Street School, Brooklyn
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689808615
• ISBN-13: 978-0689808616
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #734,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #89 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Holidays & Festivals > Thanksgiving

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, March 26, 2011

By 

Jules, Homeschool Mom - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pilgrims of Plimoth (Aladdin Picture Books) (Paperback)

It would seem the previous reviewer was reading a bit too hastily, or simply did not understand what she was reading...? The author describes the "strangers" among them as having made the trip for monetary reasons alone, unlike the pilgrims themselves, who came in order to worship freely. Seems like a heck of an intense review, to be made in error like that. A little caution, please, before leaving one star and a scathing report next time? Sheesh.

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb illustrations, December 3, 2011

By 

M. Heiss (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pilgrims of Plimoth (Aladdin Picture Books) (Paperback)

Written in the first person, this book is history with personality. This is fun to read out loud as a family -- the book is packed with "we". This is also fun for acting out scenes as part of a history lesson on Plymouth colony.

6 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Historical Revisionism, May 22, 2010

By 

Tricia G. Fritz - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pilgrims of Plimoth (Aladdin Picture Books) (Paperback)

Reading the beginning where the author said the pilgrims came for monetary reasons rather than religious is a historical revisionism statement foresure.

Here is the first document which is called the "MayFlower Compact"... used to help bring into agreement and settle disputes. Here is part of that document

In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.
Having undertaken, for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the First Colony in the Northern Parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, Covenant and Combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini 1620.

Wow sounds like the author missed the part where they stated "advancement of the Christian faith"