Squanto's Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving

by Joseph Bruchac, Greg Shed (Illustrator)

Overview

In 1620 an English ship called the Mayflower landed on the shores inhabited by the Pokanoket, and it was Squanto who welcomed the newcomers and taught them how to survive. When a good harvest was gathered, the people feasted together—a tradition that continues almost four hundred years later.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152060442
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/01/2007
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	196,898
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.10(d)
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

JOSEPH BRUCHAC is a poet, storyteller, and author of more than sixty books for children and adults who has received many literary honors, including the American Book Award and the PEN Syndicated Fiction Award. He is of Abenaki and Slovak heritage, and lives in Greenfield Center, New York.

Greg Shed is the illustrator of many children's books for children including Squanto's Journey, by Joseph Bruchac, and Dandelions by Eve Bunting. He lives in San Diego, California.

Editorial Reviews

"Told with respect and dignity."—The Horn Book

"History from the Native American viewpoint."—Booklist —

From the Publisher

Gr 2-5-A picture book that focuses on the young Indian who helped the Pilgrims survive the brutality of the New England winter. When he was 24, an English captain abducted Squanto along with 20 of his tribesmen and took them to Spain to be sold as slaves. Spanish friars helped him escape to England where he learned the language and dreamed of going back to his native land. When he finally returned, he served as translator and mediator between the English colonists and the other Indian tribes. He convinced Samoset, a sachem of the Pemaquid, to accept and work with the white settlers. It was this cooperation that helped the tiny Plymouth Colony to survive. Many authors have given the Native American credit for his role in the survival of the colony. What distinguishes this first-person account is the authenticity of detail. In his author's note, Bruchac describes the research that he used to flesh out the story with dates and names. However, because of the wealth of facts, the text has a stilted quality. Shed's full-page gouache illustrations are beautifully executed in golden, autumnal tones. There is a richness of detail in the pictures that echoes the passion for historical accuracy in costume and interior-and-exterior dwellings. However, the full-bled illustrations tend to overwhelm the text and the uniformity of their size and placement can become somewhat tedious. Still, most libraries will want to own this version.-Barbara Buckley, Rockville Centre Public Library, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

The author, of Abenaki descent, presents perhaps for the first time a historically accurate Native account of Tisquantum, popularly known as Squanto, and his part in aiding the people of the first New England colony...The text and illustrations—lushly rendered in warm, autumnal tones—have been carefully researched and dispel many of the myths and stereotypes that have clung to this story through its many previous retellings. Young readers will be well served by the deeper truths and human values revealed in this thoughtful Native version.

Nati

Does every child need a book on every subject in which the facts are set within a fictional frame? Young children and unwary adults, too, may be confused by what is fiction and what is fact, despite Bruchac's excellent historical note (which is well beyond the textual level of the main story). The note is meant for the adult, but the attractive book will catch the young reader with its generous, full, facing-page gouaches, albeit somewhat static in its autumnal colors. The paintings depict the characters portrayed in a text that sketches the life of Squanto ("Tisquantum" before his capture from the Virginia region and his kidnap to Europe). Upon his return to the New World, he landed in a new colony that was to become New England. Bruchac lets Squanto tell his story and the story of the first Thanksgiving in the New World as well as his interactions with the Pilgrims. Important details about what people wore (and didn't wear) and what was eaten (and what wasn't) abound. The story is eminently readable, thanks to a clear, widely leaded typeface, but if the notes and glossary are not consulted, confusion about names, tribes, and geography will remain. A map of Squanto's travels and the homelands of the native groups would be of enormous assistance, as would a pronouncing glossary since some of the terms may be difficult for young—and older—readers. Nonetheless, every teacher and librarian who works with school-age children will want to purchase this less-than-perfect book because it offers two important topics—Native Americans and the first Thanksgiving in the New World—from a noteworthy storyteller. (Fiction. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews