If You Lived During the Plimoth Thanksgiving

Starred review from September 1, 2021

Gr 2-5-A welcome addition to the picture book history collection. Newell is a member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe; Nelson is a member of the Leech Lake Band of Minnesota Chippewa. Together they provide an account of the arrival of the of English colonists to the shores of North America in a region where the Wampanoag, the People of the First Light, had been living for thousands of years. Providing alternating information from the perspectives of the Wampanoag (and other tribes and nations) and European colonists offers a more comprensive, full-circle look at these events and their devastating aftermath. The text does a remarkable job of giving larger context to the complexity of Indigenous life prior to colonization as well as the difference between the cultures regarding concepts such as land ownership and environmental stewardship. The author covers events through the creation of the holiday called Thanksgiving today and how other cultures give thanks, including a discussion of Indigenous Peoples' Day. Use of the present tense makes it clear that Wampanoag are still here and that the story of the U.S. is not yet finished; to better understand the past is to create a more equitable and inclusive future. VERDICT This essential book should replace many established titles on the shelves; it never shies away from pitting hard history against a mythology that is not helpful to students living in the 21st century.-John Scott, Baltimore County P.S.

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 1, 2021
A measured corrective to pervasive myths about what is often referred to as the "first Thanksgiving." Contextualizing them within a Native perspective, Newell (citizen of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township) touches on the all-too-familiar elements of the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving and its origins and the history of English colonization in the territory now known as New England. In addition to the voyage and landfall of the Mayflower, readers learn about the Doctrine of Discovery that arrogated the lands of non-Christian peoples to European settlers; earlier encounters between the Indigenous peoples of the region and Europeans; and the Great Dying of 1616-1619, which emptied the village of Patuxet by 1620. Short, two- to six-page chapters alternate between the story of the English settlers exploring the complex political makeup of the region and the culture, agriculture, and technology of the Wampanoag--all before covering the evolution of the holiday. Refreshingly, the lens Newell offers is a Native one, describing how the Wampanoag and other Native peoples received the English rather than the other way around. Key words ranging from estuaryto discoverare printed in boldface in the narrative and defined in a closing glossary. Nelson (a member of the Leech Lake Band of Minnesota Chippewa) contributes soft line-and-color illustrations of the proceedings. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Essential. (Nonfiction. 8-12)

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