Margaret Pumphrey

I really liked this book for many reasons. One thing that I really liked about this story was the plot. The story is very well organized, beginning with why the pilgrims decided to leave, describing their adventure to America, explaining how the Indians helped the pilgrims, and ending with the origin of Thanksgiving. This order of events in the story makes it very easy to follow along without any confusion. I also liked that the author incorporated some of the specific troubles that the pilgrims faced. For example, one page states that, "more than 100 pilgrims squeezed into a small wooden sailing ship called the Mayflower." The author goes on to explain how many of them were children and how many were adults. I felt that this made the writing very engaging and allows the reader to understand why this journey was so difficult for the pilgrims. The author also does this by explaining how secluded America was when they arrived by explaining that there were no signs of people or houses at all. She goes on to describe the harsh winter and the pilgrims struggle to survive, although many of them got sick and died. These specific examples of the obstacles that the pilgrims faced help the reader really grasp what the pilgrims had gone through. Another thing that I really enjoyed in this story were the illustrations. I thought that they portrayed accurate images in many ways, such as through the frightened expressions on the pilgrims faces at the beginning of the story. The illustrations also represent the pilgrims culture by showing how they dressed. I thought that these illustrations enhanced the story and made it possible for me to connect to it as the reader. I also liked that the story ended by saying that the pilgrims and Indians three day celebration is what we now know as Thanksgiving. The title does not reveal that they will mention Thanksgiving in the story and I found it to be a pleasant surprise. It was incorporated into the story nicely and it is a holiday that the majority of students will be able to relate to. I think that the big idea of this story is to describe this point in American history and reveal how it still affects Americans today as we celebrate Thanksgiving to remember that time.… (meer)