The Thanksgiving Story

by Alice Dalgliesh, Helen Sewell (Illustrator)

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Genres: Thanksgiving, Picture Books, History, Childrens, American History, Nonfiction, Holiday

31 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 1950

About the author

Family: Born in Trinidad, British West Indies; naturalized U.S. citizen; died in Woodbury, CT; daughter of John and Alice (Haynes) Dalgliesh.

Educator, editor, book reviewer, and author, Dalgliesh was an elementary school teacher for nearly seventeen years, and later taught a course in children's literature at Columbia University. From 1934 to 1960 she served as children's book editor for Charles Scribner's Sons. In addition to her book reviews for such magazines as Saturday Review of Literature and Parents' Magazine, Dalgliesh wrote more than forty books for children (most illustrated by Katherine Milhous) and about children's literature.

She received a BA from Columbia University and taught at elementary schools for a while before writing her first book, A Happy School Year, in 1924. Among her books are Newbery Honor books The Silver Pencil (1944), The Bears on Hemlock Mountain (1952), and The Courage of Sarah Noble (1954). The writer Robert Heinlein and Dalgliesh, Heinlein's editor at Scribner's, had conflict in the 1950s. This was revealed in letters published in "Grumbles from the Grave" by Virginia Heinlein.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to give this book 2 stars, but it mostly focuses on the journey over here on the ‘Mayflower’. I didn’t know or remember that there started out 2 boats, the speedwell, got a leak and had to turn back right as they left the bay.

I wasn’t too impressed with the artwork. It did not do much for me. It also didn’t have any acknowledgement of these people invading someone else’s land. They came and claimed. I mean, I know it’s why we are here today, but I feel there can be a recognition that they were invaders and they took land. Anyway.

It’s the Thanksgiving story, simple as that. The story is long with several pages with no pictures and all words. This was not a popular book in our house. Unless its funny or something special, the nephew especially doesn’t like a whole lot of words and a long story. The nephew gave this 2 stars and the niece gave it 2 stars as she thought some of the details were interesting, but mostly it bored us. There wasn’t much fun that went with the history lesson.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a romanticized retelling of the pilgrims’ journey to the New World, of their relationships with the American Indians, and of the first Thanksgiving feast. It’s told in this strangely distant tone that glosses over anything bad that happened, and toward the end, it’s slips into this conditional language, guessing at what could have taken place at the Thanksgiving feast instead of telling us what did happen. The book jacket calls it a “book to read aloud to children when they first want to know why we have Thanksgiving day.” It’s really far too long for preschoolers, and not particularly informative. I also didn’t think the illustrations supported the text that strongly. They were sort of abstract and again, focused on only mundane things, not the more exciting or emotional parts of the story.

[midnightfaerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great educational book for your children over the preschool age. A great, easy to understand book about the first Thanksgiving. Also a Caldecott award winner. My 6 yr old loved it. Lots of good information with beautiful pictures that will help keep children engaged. A great addition to any children's library.

[Sarah Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is an entirely outdated story of the Pilgrims and Native Americans; while it is written and organized quite well, it lacks in truth. I would recommend this to adults that have a better understanding of the facts (to see what people actually believed to be the truth), but to read this to a child would be an outlandish disgrace to what is the history.

[Tessa Hensley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of the Mayflower sailing to America from England. It focuses specifically on one family, the Hopkins family, and their three kids. Starting from the very beginning this book tells about the assortment of people boarding the Mayflower and suffering aboard for months before finding land at last. The Hopkins family even had a new baby on the voyage.

This book is very educational and tells the story of the very first Thanksgiving in a kid friendly and understandable way. It would be great to read to the class before Thanksgiving break to inform students what the holiday is really all about. It's about more than lots of food, it's about celebrating how thankful we are, especially how thankful the pilgrims were after surviving all of their hardships.

This book does a good job of including the Indians and showing them in a positive, yet realistic light. The whole book gives a very realistic yet PG version of what really happened. There was death, sickness, starvation, and more on the ship and the in the new land, but Dalgliesh does a good job of informing readers of this while still sparing young readers the gory details. The pictures in this book are also very good, they have lots of details and good coloring.

[Maria Rowe · Rating 1 out of 5]

• 1955 Caldecott Honor Book •

I was excited to read this, because I don’t think I’ve ever read a Thanksgiving book for children. It’s pretty outdated. The illustrations are ok, but I don’t love the pink in the photos (orange, brown, yellow... and pink?). I read this because I’m trying to read all the Caldecott books, and placed it on hold at my library two weeks before Thanksgiving. Several people had it on hold. There must be better Thanksgiving books than this! I also didn’t really understand how much of the story was true - the internet tells me indeed there was a family named Hopkins, but an author’s note would have been really useful for this.

Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: unlisted

[Blessing Bloodworth (naptimereaders) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lunchtime Read-Aloud with the crew, and we all loved it! It’s a simple & brief introduction to the story of the Pilgrims’ Journey to America and the first thanksgiving. I loved how it focused on their faith in God and thankfulness for his provisions.

[Rykki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before I took the time to read this with the kids, I decided to check out the reviews here, as I've gotten in the habit of doing. Many of them stated that it won the Caldecott Honor Award in 1955. While I will give it that credit, it also comes with the reality that the book is, well, dated.

The story follows one Hopkins family as they journey to America. I'd be interested to fact-check the data, as it seems like some of it is supported in other sources I've read, while other details aren't. It does have a very European-centric look on the Native Americans/Indians in the story. They talk about being afraid of attacks by the Indians and state that they wish Squanto had not stayed at night. They eyed him suspiciously. While that may be true, I haven't seen any record yet (though I haven't looked) of Squanto staying with the Hopkins family, nor of him being held in suspicion, or that the Pilgrims wouldn't want him there.

In a word this story can be described as dated. It's got a spattering of facts in a dry way that seems out of touch with the way children enjoy stories today. The facts are glossed over rather than focused on, and some of the details seem almost out of place. It didn't hold my children's attention either. It was too dry, long, and drawn out.

I will say that this is the only book I've seen thus far that mentions the baby born on the Mayflower at sea, or the second child born while they were docked for the winter. It was nice to see a book finally include those details. I think I'm going to have to fact-check it for further details. It could be a fun project to do with my kids.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is precisely what children's history books should be! An engaging retelling of the facts. Text books should take a lesson. *wink*

The book reads in a few short and easy chapters, and Dalgliesh follows one of the families with four children so you get a more child-like perspective. The tale begins in England and takes you right to the feast. You'll learn some of the names of the Pilgrims, the Indians and how we came to celebrate such a memorable holiday as Thanksgiving.

Ages: 5 - 8

Cleanliness: A brief paragraph says how little clothing the Indians wore.

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[Alexis Caudill · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. Book summary, in your own words (3 pts)
The Thanksgiving Story is a Caldecott Honor Book. It tells the story of a family of pilgrims and their experience coming to America. It has beautiful illustrations.
2. Grade level, interest level, lexile (1 pt)
This would be a good book for kindergarten to 2nd grade. It is very easy to read and told in a perspective many are not used to.
3. Appropriate classroom use (subject area) (1 pt)
This could be a book I could use for the history part of class, around Thanksgiving.
4. Individual students who might benefit from reading (1 pt)
Students who love history would like this book.
5. Small group use (literature circles) (1 pt)
I could use this book in small groups for students to practice reading fluency.
6. Whole class use (read aloud) (1 pt)
I would read this story aloud to the class right before Thanksgiving.
7. Related books in genre/subject or content area (1 pt)
The Story of the Pilgrims by Katharine Ross
The Pilgrims’ First Thanksgiving by Ann Mcgovern
Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Robert Bulla
8. Multimedia connections (audio books, movie) available (1 pt)
There are no multimedia connections to this book.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I've read this story before as it felt very familiar to me. I suspect somewhere in my growing up I've stumbled on this book before.

The story is given in a more non-fiction, just the facts kind of way without too much to connect the readers to the characters. I liked the illustrations but feel a great deal of history is glossed over here. Still, it's a book for kids so one can't expect too much. Overall, it isn't bad, but it isn't great either.

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is honestly one of the best retellings of the Thanksgiving stories. Dalgliesh artfully narrates the story with more details than most children's thanksgiving stories but without overwhelming them either. Helen Sewell's illustrations remind you of primative Americana designs, further immersing the audience into the story.

[Brigid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being familiar with Alice Dalgliesh, I picked up this book recently at a book sale for a school that was closing. I noted it was a Caldecott winner as well. We read it in the week preceding Thanksgiving alongside several other books about the "first" Thanksgiving.

I think it's fair to say that it clearly shows it's age with respect to language, depictions of native peoples (two illustrations - front cover and the first Thanksgiving at the end), cultural sensitivity, and historical accuracy. It's in no way a 21st century understanding of these events. However, I do think that for it's time (published in 1954) it was a more progressive account of the events than a lot of children's literature, and even after reading a lot of modern accounts, there are things I liked here better than others.

The book itself is written as a fictional account of real people aboard the Mayflower and focuses primarily (approx the first 2/3 of the book) on their experiences and struggles. There are a few mentions of native peoples which clearly indicate the uncertainty into which the Pilgrims were traveling and also an account (historical accuracy?) of an encounter before the Pilgrims landed at their final location. I do think there is value in reading it, and unlike a lot of other accounts it at least mentions (without context of course) Squanto's knowledge of the English language was because "he had been taken to England on a ship." (For context and some balance I recommend Squanto's Journey by Joseph Bruchac). It doesn't make the relationship between the native Wampanoag and the Pilgrims sound like it was without distrust and fear and it acknowledges that eventually the peace established was not kept (although of course does not mention why).

One thing that frustrated me is that this is a fictional account of an historical event which means the line between what actually happened, what is fiction, and what is historical/cultural inaccuracy but assumed to be fact is severely blurred. Researching the first Thanksgiving does help children parse out these differences, but even historians have disagreements regarding how the events actually occurred or how they should be portrayed.

I would say overall, this book is better than a lot of other children's accounts of the first Thanksgiving but it needs some editing as you read it (as a starting point I substituted Wampanoag people or native peoples for "Indians" throughout), and it's problems are similar to those of other accounts, even modern ones. As long as this book inspires conversation about Thanksgiving and is read within a broader context, I think it can work well. But it is a jumping off point, not an end in itself.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Featured in Grandma reads session.

I picked this book up, excited because I remember it being read to me, and then me later reading it to myself as my skills and abilities grew. I was thrilled to be able to share a book I remembered with my group.

So. . . .this was written many years ago, in fact is older than me! As we read through this 1954 version of the T-Day story, I found myself compelled to interject historical corrections, such as the pilgrims finding hills stashed conveniently with food, heaven-sent. Well, no. That was the native American's food supply they were hijacking. . . .

Yeah. It got a little weird with the adjustments - bottomline, getting the history of our holiday out for the kiddos was a good idea, but it was another evidence to me, that I was taught a very nuanced version of truth as a child, and all the work I'm doing to untie that knot is worth the work. I'll keep looking for a book that would have both sides of the story. That jarring realization hit me hard. I don't think the kids registered anything more than they should have, because we talked about that event from both perspectives and they were clear that there would be trouble afoot soon because the pilgrims were, in effect, invaders.

Lessons learned all 'round.

2 stars. Would love to see something more updated available to our young citizens on this history.

[Margaret Chind · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in the autumn with only my 8-year-old daughter from her Memoria Press lesson plans and now we have come back across it in our adventures with BookShark Level 3 Introduction to Amwrican History. I read it aloud to all of the children tonight (10, 8, 5, 2
5, and daddy occupied the nb). It was best to see them making connections about the pilgrims, Plymouth, Miles Standish, and Squanto. It was great timing to read this after finishing Squanto and the Pilgrims. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the stories line up as planned.

The illustrations in this book are attractive and apparently award winning, but not my favorite. The story is factual and intere6just enough with fun historical details of the first babies on board and at shore. I'm glad we read it.

I own a very old picture book copy.
---
My paperback copy has the same ISBN as the one pictured but the cover is different. An older Aladdin lamp logo and no award medal. It says ©1954.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ironic that I read a Thanksgiving book on Halloween, but I had started it a few days earlier and wanted something quick to read last night. This book won a 1955 Caldecott Honor. I personally was not impressed with it. The story was mildly interesting, told from the viewpoint of the Hopkins family, whose mother gave birth to a son while on the voyage to America and named him Oceanus. The family was on the Mayflower on the way from England to New Plymouth, and details their first year in the colony and their relations with the Native Americans. The first Thanksgiving seems to be almost an afterthought. I thought there was a lot of text and not enough illustrations, and the pictures they did have were too simplistic and blocky. Recommended for children ages 4-7, 2 stars.

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

A simple, and seemingly factual account told from the perspective of the Hopkins children. Even though the book alludes to the trials faced by the pilgrims in Mayflower journey and establishment of Plymouth Plantation, the Hopkins family seems to emerge unscathed, casting doubt on the veracity of the story as presented. A younger son, Oceanus is born aboard the Mayflower. Samoset and Squanto (along with peculiar reference to the suspicion of them) are referenced, as well as the Thanksgiving feast.

Although this work is a Caldecott Medal winner (1995), I prefer Kate Waters' series (Samuel Eaten's Day, Sarah Morton's Day, Tapenum's Day), though these three do not reference Thanksgiving specifically.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my book as a child and somehow it survived all this time so that I could pull it out when my 3.5 year old son asked me "What is Thanksgiving?" I began to explain the story to him when he interrupted me to ask if thanksgiving was when you ate turkey so I decided to dig this book out to hold his attention a bit longer. :P

I had forgotten how detailed the book is and how many interesting facts were included in it for being a young child's book. It is very wordy and while my son sat and listened to the entire thing, it seems more appropriate for a young grade schooler.

All in all, a very nice account of the thanksgiving story! I am thinking it will make a nice holiday tradition in our family to read it every year in November.

[Page Tavares · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Thanksgiving Story is the story of the first Thanksgiving in America. The story focuses on the Hopkins family ad their journey to the new land.

I would definitely incorperate this book into my classroom during Thanksgiving as a differetn approach of telling the story of Thanksgiving. It tells the whole story of the first Thanksgiving with the settlers and the Indians in a clear and easily understood way. The best quote came at the end of the story, "The Pilgrims wanted to have a special day to thank God for all he had given them and invited the Indians."

This would be a great story to incorporate during Thanksgiving to explain the history of Thanksgiving to students. Students could dress up as Pilgrims and Indians and Have our own "feast" in our classroom.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book, with the basics of the pilgrims' journey on the Mayflower and first year in a place that would be named Massachusetts. It was a timely story, great for this time of year. And with our oldest performing in a school play about Thanksgiving and our own family history, with ancestors on the Mayflower, I thought it would be a great way to introduce the topic. The illustrations are simple and the narrative is perfect for children - offering a lot of information, but not overloading them with too many facts. I like that the narrative centers around a family with children, so that children can relate to them.

[Rebecca Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alice Dagliesh’s The Thanksgiving Story (illustrated by Helen Sewell) is another book about a child’s family traveling to Plymouth. Because it is has dated illustrations, it was not a favorite for my son. Ironically, The Thanksgiving Story won a Caldecott Honor for its illustrations. It has lots of details, and we read it over the course of two different days. The story is based on a real family that traveled on the Mayflower. In general, it’s a wonderful selection for the season, but because of the abundance of text and details, it is not one that all younger children will enjoy. (It's not as "alive" as other stories written more recently.)

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book tells the story behind pilgrims, the Mayflower and the Thanksgiving holiday from the perspective of the fictional Hopkins family.

If my rating was based solely on the story, I would have given it just two stars as the story is just okay. There are pretty dated depictions of Indians. I try to remember that the book was written in 1954, so this is to be expected. However, even beyond that, the story was so so. The reason I gave the book three stars is I loved Helen Sewell's illustrations. They are beautiful and her use of color is gorgeous. It is worth the read to see those.

[Nykki · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book to a group of first graders today and it left a bad aftertaste, like I was lying to them. It was outdated, historically inaccurate, and the narrative was weird, like the author kept mentioning a particular family but it was an overall "look" at what they believed the voyage to be like, but not from the mentioned family's perspective...the family never really seemed as if there was anything setting them apart from any other Pilgrim family, so mentioning them so often with no point was lost on me. It didn't keep the kids attention.

Overall if felt like the version of Thanksgiving that society wants to believe rather than actual history. Just an all-around weird read.

[Araksia Pendergast · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. Caldecott Medal for 1955.
2.Appropriate level: 2-5th grade
3.Summary: This book about the first Thanksgiving in America. The story revolves around The Hopkins family who were passengers on the crowded Mayflower. It is described through the eyes of three Puritan children.
4.Review: This story is very detailed and nicely organized. This story informs us of what happened between the Pilgrims and Native Americans. It is filled with many vocabulary words for the children.
5. Great book about teaching children about the origins of the Thanksgiving celebration. Also, teachs children who Native Indians are. And lastly the importance of the celebration.

[Sarah Brindley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my informational genre. The Thanksgiving Story is an easy-to-understand version for elementary students that begins with the Pilgrims departure from England and continues through the Thanksgiving story. The text is good, but the illustrations are very stiff--not lifelike at all. However, there is good use of shading in the color, and the illustrations have an interesting perspective. For an overall, historically accurate version of the Pilgrims journey to America, I give this a four-star rating.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd use this with 8 or 9 year old children. Younger kids would probably lose interest fairly quickly, but a child with imagination could get a sense of what those first settlers experienced. Is it totally accurate? Probably not; it was written in the early 1950s, but it does tell the basic story, and it does say that there were "so few Indians in that part of the country" because "many of them had died of sickness." (That's an important part of the story that I didn't learn in elementary school.)

[Etta Mcquade · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully,clearly written children's book, with delightful, colorful illustrations. (Did you know the Pilgrim's didn't just wear black?) I love the Stephen Hopkins family on whom the book centers, especially Damaris, who is an ancester on my my father's line. And Oceanus, so named because he was born on ship. I'm sure President Gordon B. Hinckley would have liked the book, too, because he is also a descendant of Stephen Hopkins. Every family needs this book.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The edition of the book that I examined did not mention what medium was used to create these paintings, but the blurb does mention that Sewell created her illustrations in the spirit and character of American primitive paintings. There are several full page paintings, decorative silhouettes, a simple diagram of the Mayflower, and a simple map of the Plymouth colony. There is a lot of text, so this book is best used with elementary school students.
(Caldecott Honor, 1955)

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good Thanksgiving story for older children (was to long and to in detail for younger readers-listeners) It also won a Caldecott Honor award. Written in 1954 so the illustrations are 'different' than children are used to now. But the lessons and the story itself is still 'true' today. It tells of the ships that were used, the struggles they had the new baby that was born, the Indians that helped etc. A nice story to help explain the 1st Thanksgiving.

[Ben Truong · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Thanksgiving Story is a children's picture book written by Alice Dalgliesh and illustrated by Helen Sewell. It is a quiet dignity and a sense of the momentous marks the first months of the Mayflower settlement. Since it is Canadian Thanksgiving (12 October 2020), I thought that this book would be apropos to read today.

Stephen Hopkins and his family, consisting of his wife Elizabeth and his children Constance, Giles, Damaris, and Oceanus was born en route, as well as two servants, departed Plymouth, England, on the Mayflower on September 1620.

Dalgliesh's text is rather simplistic and straightforward. It is a story about one family's first Thanksgiving in the Plymouth Colony – it is a tad too long as the narrative is targeted at older children. Sewell's illustrations are strikingly presented in colored etchings and represent the text rather well.

The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Giles, Constance and Damaris Hopkins are aboard the Mayflower, overcrowded when the Speedwell turns back to England. On the journey, the children's baby brother is born and named Oceanus. He will be one of the smallest in the company of settlers who endure the terrible first year in the New World and gather to celebrate the harvest the next November. The story ends with the great feast to which the colonists invited the Indian chief Massasoit, Squanto and their people who had helped the strangers survive hunger, cold and sickness.

All in all, The Thanksgiving Story is an interesting book about the first Thanksgiving, a tad dated as it hasn't aged as well, but a nicely told story nevertheless.