My America: Our Strange New Land, Elizabeth's Jamestown Colony Diary, Book One (Hardcover)

by Patricia Hermes (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Life in the summer of 1609 in the New World is strange for young Elizabeth, who has traveled with her family from England to Jamestown, Virginia. After the disastrous sea crossing, during which a hurricane destroyed or rerouted five of their nine ships, Elizabeth is happy to be on dry land. Her initial elation vanishes, however, when mosquitoes, steamy weather, rampant illness, and unrest between the Indians and the new arrivals threaten any hope of a peaceful settlement. To make matters worse, Elizabeth misses her twin brother, Caleb, and feels tremendous guilt because she took his sketchbook with her, and is now using it for a journal. But together with her parents, she begins to build a new life in the Jamestown settlement, befriending such 17th-century luminaries as Captain John Smith and 13-year-old Pocahontas.

The My America series presents historical events in a fictional setting. Award-winning author Patricia Hermes does an excellent job of developing the personality of the intrepid and irrepressible 9-year-old Elizabeth. Through a season of death and disease, confusion, and many thrilling adventures, spunky Elizabeth will hold the attention of every young reader. A historical note following the journal provides real-life Jamestown context for the story. (Ages 8 to 11) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5-Resembling the "Dear America" books (Scholastic), these titles are aimed at a slightly younger audience. In the first book, nine-year-old Elizabeth records her experiences as she, her family, and other colonists adjust to the harsh weather conditions, illness, endless hard work, and nascent social strata in the new land. In the course of three months, Elizabeth meets Captain John Smith, Pocahontas, Gabriel Archer, and George Percy. This is a quick, easy read. Hermes has created a sensitive main character and readers will empathize with her fears and emotions as she adjusts to her new life. In My Brother's Keeper, nine-year-old Virginia Dickens is left in the care of Reverend and Mrs. McCully while her father and brother help her uncle hide his horses from the Confederate raiders. Her journal documents the battle at Gettysburg and the horrors of war. After the battle, she and her father find her brother in a makeshift hospital. The novel ends as the town slowly recovers and Virginia hears President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Osborne successfully creates individual characters, and she poses difficult questions about war and the waste of human life. There is a lyrical quality to several passages, and the author slowly builds suspense and release. However, this book seems more fitting for older, more experienced readers, and the intended audience may have difficulty digesting some of the material. Fans of "Dear America" will enjoy it.
Shawn Brommer, Southern Tier Library System, Painted Post, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 109 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.; 1st edition (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439112087
• ISBN-13: 978-0439112086
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,197,660 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The settling of Jamestown from a young girl's point of view., May 16, 2000

By	Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I will start my review off by saying that I am WAY older than the target audience for this book. However, I still found it to be an enjoyable and seemingly accurate portrait of the settling of Jamestown. The history is made accesible to the younger readers by telling the story through the diary of a child, nine-year-old Elizabeth Barker. Many of Elizabeth's concerns and feelings could belong to contemporary children - she misses her twin brother who was left behind in England, mourns the deaths of many of her friends, just wants to have a good time playing with other children her own age, and worries for her pregnant mother's safety. I think this would be an excellent book to start out younger children on historical stories, and would definitley appeal to fans of the American Girls series. I would have loved to have a book like this to read when I was younger.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Takes Me Back To Elementary School, July 28, 2000

By	Matt Edwards (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews

While reading this book I could not think back to my childhood days of elementary school sitting in class learning about the Jamestown Colony and the settling of America. I heard about this book from NBC's "Today" show and bought it the same day. It took me an hour to read, and I could not put it down. I cannot remember a book written in such a way, diary, that kept me so interested. Even though the book is written for much younger persons, me being 35 and a father of two, I would invite all to purchase this book and share it with your children.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Awsome Book!!!!!!!, March 19, 2001

A Kid's Review

This book is fun, exciting, happy, and wonderful!! In this book a girl named Elizabith is on a ship to go to the " New World." She had to leave her brother Caleb back in England, so she took his drawing book to wright a journal for him. When they got to the "New World" a few men decided to go start a new settlement. To see if their settlement is succsesful read " Our Strange New World" Elizabeth's Diary. Read this book and you will read it over and over again!!!!!!!!