Notes for self--helpful for teaching, read again in future

My daughter, age 10, really like the question/answer format of these books and I think she likes the cartoony illustrations too. The topics and flow of the book really seem to suit her (and probably many 8-12 year olds) informational gathering style. I am not comfortable that the information concerning the native tribes is well presented but it doesn't seem intentionally wrong. We have also read other, more recent books, on the Plymouth Colony that have helped to tell the story more completely.

B. age 10: I would rate this book 2.5 stars. I liked the part about the sailors calling the pigrims glib-glabbety puke-stockings. That was hilarious in an odd sort of way. I like learning about settling in North America.

Presented in a very engaging way, my 5 and 7 year olds interest! I have enjoyed learning more about the Mayflower trip as well.

My mom read this to me as a child, and this year I pulled it out as part of our school reading with the kids. It's got a lot of facts and is told in a fun way. I've been reading a lot of books about Thanksgiving to the kids this year, and this one still holds up as one of the best, though the "What Was? The First Thanksgiving" book is up there as well.

This book offers a lot of answers to myriad questions regarding the Pilgrims and the Mayflower voyage to present-day Massachusetts. The book is presented in a question and answer format and all of the questions are briefly answered so that the details aren't too overwhelming or boring.

The narrative is accompanied by numerous colorful illustrations which really help to explain the life of the settlers. We really enjoyed reading this book together; with our ancestral connection to the Mayflower and the timeliness of reading the story on Thanksgiving, we could appreciate the experience of these intrepid souls who lived four hundred years ago.

interesting quote:

"The sailors made fun of the Pilgrims who got seasick. They called them 'glib-gabbety puke stockings." (p. 20)

In lively question-and-answer style, this fact-filled book answers all sorts of questions about the Pilgrims' journey on the Mayflower and their first year in America. Boys and girls will find out why the Pilgrims left England to live in America, what they took with them on board the Mayflower, and the hardships they endured. They'll learn what the Mayflower Compact was, how the Pilgrims made a peace treaty with the Indians, and how these brave settlers managed to survive in their new land.

Age/Grade: 7+

Instructional Ideas:
Use in a unit on Colonial Times. After reading, students can write in first person as if they were living in that era.

One of my favorite so interesting! Good for ESL student

Long

I like this book because it tells me what life was back when the mayflower set sail for the new land