Giving Thanks: The 1621 Harvest Feast

This book is hard to find now, although I did order one directly from Plimoth Plantation because I loved the copy we checked out at our local library so much. It's a photographic and textual historical interpretation of the "first Thanksgiving" as seen through the eyes of a native Wampanoag youth and a "pilgrim" colonist boy. I think it's great for grades 1-4. It does not purport to tell the whole story of colonization in the New World by Europeans coming over on the Mayflower and other ships, but instead sets out to tell the story of the harvest celebration of 1621 and what may have happened between September 21 and November 9 as based on historical documents. It puts to rest the tired old myth of the grateful pilgrims inviting the friendly Indians to feast. The last 4 pages of the book go into more detail. This section is easily skipped over if it's too much for younger kids, but adults or older kids may find some of the specific historical details interesting and informative ("Squanto's" real name was Tisquantum, Lincoln declared a day of thanksgiving on August 6 1863 and another that November). There is information about the ongoing customs of the Wampanoag people, the traditions among the colonists, how the English (colonists) ate, a recipe, and information about Plimoth Plantation and the historical interpreters. I give it 5 stars.

If you're tired of seeing your children come home from school mid-November wearing those awful construction paper hats and mock indian feather bonnets, do yourself a favor and BUY THIS BOOK! (Do the teacher a favor -- buy one for her, and maybe one for your school library, too.) Waters and Kendall have joined together again to explode the myths that currently abound in the land of kid-lit. The dialogue for Resolved (pilgrim) and Dancing Mocasins (Wampanoag) is formal, yet easy to understand, and the accompanying photographs are wonderfully rich and vivid.