Customer Reviews

Squanto's Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is an excellent way of sharing the first Thanksgiving with children. It is told from the perspective of the Native Americans, a perspective that is often overlooked. The illustrations are beautiful and help to tell the story visually.

This is a nice book about Squanto, beginning with when he was forcibly taken to Spain and sold into slavery, through learning English and travelling back to North America to eventually help the Pilgrims as they established their new colony. Most of what I learned about Squanto was new to me.

Each 2-page spread has a full page illustration. The illustrations are attractive in gold, autumn tones.

There is a brief glossary on the back of the very last page, mixed in with copyright information, it's easy to mess. However, there is no pronunciation key which would have been very helpful for the names of the Indian tribes and individuals.

Also be aware, this book doesn't really teach you much about the Pilgrims or about the first Thanksgiving, so you need another book for those topics, but this is a nice addition to a collection of "Thanksgiving" books for children in the elementary school years.

I didn't know about the story about Squanto and his life before and during when the settlers arrived on the shore, but now I do. thank you for breaking the mythical 'thanksgiving image' that we have thought for so many years. our society needs to know the truth, and not sugar coat it.

I love the story of Squanto - a young man who endures incredibly bad situations, and still has the courage and dignity to help others. The illustrations in this book make Squanto's world come alive. Easy text - great for younger readers.

Everything Joseph Bruchac does is excellent.

My older readers also like "Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims" by Peter Buchard.

This is a wonderful book that tells the other side of the Thanksgiving story. It is a little difficult for young children to understand but older elementary children would learn a lot form this book.

Please visit the Berkley Plantation website, Virginia's most historic plantation to learn about the first Thanksgiving.

The Native Americans in this book, with the lone exception of Massasoit, may have brown skin and wear traditional dress, but their facial features are totally *white* -- Squanto looks straight out of a JCrew catalog. Since when do Native Americans have turned up noses? Please. The art in this book isn't just "romanticized," it denies the physical bodies of Native Americans to the point at which it renders the accuracy of the text (and all it's good intentions) moot. Ugh. For much more interesting explorations of Native American history, I'd recommend This Land Is Your Land by George Littlechild.