Mayflower 1620: A New Look at a Pilgrim Voyage

Kindergarten-Grade 4-This account of the voyage of the Mayflower is illustrated with photographs taken on a June, 2001, cruise of the Mayflower II. The illustrations are the real draw here-large, vivid, and expertly composed. The historical context of the original voyage is briefly sketched, as is the journey itself. Short chapters chronicle the provisioning of a ship from that time and describe navigation techniques. The readable text gives a good idea of the many unpleasant aspects of shipboard life in 1620, but doesn't present information that isn't available in many other books. The authors state that the settlers had "little or no respect" for Native Americans. Regarding the seed corn and other items that the exploratory parties took from the Native villages, the comment is that "few- considered this stealing." No mention is made of William Bradford's journal note that the goods would be paid for when the owners could be identified, and that this was done the following spring. Susan Whitehurst's lavishly illustrated The Mayflower (PowerKids, 2003) is briefer. Kate Waters's On the Mayflower: Voyage of the Ship's Apprentice and a Passenger Girl (Scholastic, 1996) is also illustrated with color photographs of interpreters aboard the Mayflower II, but fictionalizes events. Ann McGovern's -If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 (Scholastic, 1991) looks drab by comparison, but contains more information. Children will enjoy looking at this book, and it is a reasonable choice to supplement classroom units.
Elaine Fort Weischedel, Millbury Public Library, MA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 5-9. Like Grace O'Neill's 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving (2001), from the same publisher, this handsome, large-size photo-essay draws on exhibits in the living history museum Plimoth Plantation to re-create a historical event and to distinguish fact from legend. This time the picturesque color photos are of actors in authentic costume on a recent re-creation of the Mayflower's famous voyage from England and the founding of Plimoth Colony. There is lots of fascinating detail in text, the captions, and the lengthy endnotes about voyagers (including a young boy); why they left; how they navigated; and what they found when they made landfall. Many legends are shown to be false: the settlers didn't call themselves Pilgrims; they didn't all leave for religious reasons; and, above all, they didn't find an empty paradise for the taking. The actors are clearly having fun, and readers, who will be intrigued by the pageantry, may want to talk about the history and what it means to us today. A map, a detailed chronology, and a bibliography are included. Hazel Rochman
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