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Summary
Summary
From the same team that brought you The Day Jesus Was Born comes a charming story that introduces the Thanksgiving holiday to young readers.
This is the food, gathered and blessed,
the corn and sweet berries, and wild turkey dressed,
shared on the very first Thanksgiving Day.
Join author Rhonda Gowler Greene and illustrator Susan Gaber on a journey back to the very first Thanksgiving Day, when two societies came together to feast and honor the earth's bounty in peace.
Author Notes
Susan Gaber has illustrated a number of picture books, including When Winter Comes, The Stable Where Jesus Was Born, and The Very First Thanksgiving Day. She lives with her family in Huntington, New York.
Rhonda Gowler Greene is a former schoolteacher and a full-time writer. She is the author of The Stable Where Jesus Was Born, Barnyard Song, and Eek! Creak! Snicker, Sneak. She celebrates Thanksgiving with her family West Bloomfield, Michigan.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-This rhyming ramble in a "This Is the House That Jack Built" style mentions Thanksgiving at the beginning and the end as a tidy place to tuck in helpful Indians, Pilgrim houses, the harbor, the Mayflower, the ocean, the land the Pilgrims came from (no name mentioned), and the "big rock" on the shore where they landed. Pleasing acrylic paintings lift the pedestrian text from adequate to engaging. With six "this" and three "these" totally dependent on the pictures, it is fortunate that the selective realism of Gaber's acrylic paintings is up to the task. In addition, effective use is made of the double-page, full-page, and spot formats. Author and illustrator notes explain the choice of Indian in the text and elaborate on the first celebration of this holiday. (Though the author states that it "lasted three days" in her notes, it is only the "very first" day that she addresses.) While lacking the depth and detail of other picture books on the topic, this title is clearly intended for the very young.-Jody McCoy, The Bush School, Seattle, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The team behind The Stable Where Jesus Was Born reprises a "House That Jack Built" format: "These are the Pilgrims who farmed the new land,/ who steadfastly labored and toiled by hand,/ and learned from the Indians, skillful and strong." While this construct necessitates somewhat simplistic characterizations, Greene succinctly describes the first feast and traces the Pilgrims' roots back to England. Gaber contributes breathtaking paintings, particularly noteworthy for their distinctive autumnal lighting and robust, Brueghelesque palette. Her illustration of the Mayflower, seen as a tiny ship against a vast sea nearly indistinguishable from the sky, alone testifies to the Pilgrims' courageous journey. Ages 3-6. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
The cumulative verses forming this account of the first Thanksgiving from a Pilgrim perspective have definite kid appeal. Beginning and ending with the Indians, skillful and strong, the rhymes are catchy if occasionally forced, and the chronology--from the feast backward to the settlers' departure from England, then forward again to the feast--is innovative. Careful, somewhat stylized acrylics illustrate the text. From HORN BOOK Spring 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Not really a cumulative verse and not quite a circular tale the rhythm of this story brings to mind "This is the House that Jack Built." Greene and Graber collaborated earlier on The Stable Where Jesus Was Born (not reviewed), which had a similar lyrical pattern. Greene tells her tale from the very first Thanksgiving Day, through the interaction with the Indians, the settling of the village, and to the Mayflower, and across the ocean and back again to that first gathering. Though the author cites specific resources, the illustrator does not; she does, however, speak of the interesting things that she learned while researching the pictures. Authenticity concerns will cause readers to question whether nine Pilgrims (dressed in spotless clothing, white aprons, collars, and such) would have gathered around a squatting "Indian" as he planted three fish around a hill of corn. And while it is picturesque to have a young girl hand him the kernel of corn, would she have done so while holding a doll? Although well executed and in a colorful palette, these illustrations seem to miss their mark. No contemporary historic records to a rock in the harbor have been found, so one must also wonder if a verse that refers twice to the harbor being marked by a huge stone doesn't perpetuate a romantic interpretation of this event in other ways as well. There are plenty of offerings that perpetuate the myth of this day; libraries don't need another. (Poetry. 5-9)
Booklist Review
PreS^-Gr. 2. In a text styled ala "This is the house that Jack built," this tells the story of the first Thanksgiving: "This is the food, gathered and blessed, / the corn and sweet berries, the wild turkey dressed," begins the tale, followed by the "Indians skillful and strong / who know how to live through the winters so long" / and "the Pilgrims who farmed the land." The text also goes back in time, recounting how the Pilgrims arrived at their new land and made a home for themselves. Gaber's sturdy paintings are extremely attractive. Houses stand in the hot sun, and the Mayflower is in full sail on the sea. The art is especially successful at making the people real. A particularly touching spread features a young Pilgrim girl clutching her doll and her mother's hand as they trudge through the snow; it captures both the expectation and worry a child might have felt in this new environment. --Ilene Cooper