Pilgrim Stories by Margaret Pumphrey

by Margaret Pumphrey

Genres: History

Paperback

Published January 1, 1715

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

We did this in our homeschool and had a great time reading it aloud. It was one of my favorite historical read-alouds for sure. It focuses more on the pilgrims and their lives in England and Holland before moving to America, but it does have several chapters on the first harsh winter and initial life at Plymouth as well. Squanto is mentioned but not as much as I would have liked. I love the life story of Squanto though, so that’s just me wishing there could have been more touched on.

One complaint: I did not think the broken English used for Squanto and Massasoit was accurate. Squanto spoke fluent English from his time spent in England (he had previously been kidnapped and sent to Spain, so he likely knew Spanish as well, even if only simple phrases or words) and the subject/verb agreement used in the text was off-putting: “Massasoit not like that” for example just sounds more stereotypical than anything. I simply read these phrases instead in correct English. It was an easy fix for me. I know knowledge was limited at the time the author wrote this in 1910, and plus we don’t have any actual direct quotes from Massasoit or Squanto, because the English didn’t use quotation marks or record speech verbatim in their style of writing back then So, it doesn’t offend me that the author did what *she* thought would have been the speaking style of that day.

I think the author did an excellent job of describing the plight of the pilgrims and doing so in a way that was understandable, interesting, and even fun. Side note: my kids really enjoyed pilgrim names like Love, Patience, Fear, and Remember. That was a fun rabbit trail to take them on and explain why the pilgrims often used names like that.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful read aloud for elementary students, and my third grader is rereading by choice on his own. Some of the editing is sloppy which is disappointing coming from Beautiful Feet (page 18: “But when Mr Davison became involved in the thorny problem of what to do with Mary Stuart-half sister to the Queen-things changed quickly for the worse.” Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart were cousins. Elizabeth was Henry VIII’s daughter and Mary Stuart was Henry VIII’s great niece.) But otherwise we really enjoyed it (although I did fact check some items throughout but never found any other glaring problems) and my kids retained a ton of the information. I especially enjoyed the historical time period notes at the end of most of the chapters . (For example, the strain between Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I and my kids were flabbergasted that Mary’s son James inherited the English throne from Elizabeth I; a religious freedom war between Holland and Spain and a temporary peace treaty between those countries and that Captain Standish fought in that war.) These sparked some very interesting side conversations and really helped us all understand the Pilgrims’ motivations to leave both England and Holland. Very age appropriate content for elementary but includes some challenging vocabulary words and one sad chapter in which a lot of the Pilgrims die.

[Crystal Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 🌟

I used this book for my homeschooling history curriculum focused on early American history, covering grades K through third. My older children, in second and third grade, found it fairly easy to follow along, though they became often became disengaged and expressed a desire to pause at certain sections. Despite this, they were able to absorb key information and answer questions from our curriculum effectively.

As an adult, I personally found the content intriguing. However, I noticed that some perspectives were overly idealized, particularly regarding the pilgrims' Christian values, which occasionally painted them in an overly positive light, glossing over some complexities of their beliefs and actions.

Given my children’s responses and my own observations, I would likely consider other resources in the future to create a more balanced view of history that keeps my kids engaged.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has good facts, info (for example, I didn’t know the Separatist Pilgrims spent many years in Holland first before going to England), and is written simply, but there are some things that call for discussion. The language and some assumptions about the natives stand for some correction, I think, but it’s a helpful story overall about those who came on the Mayflower. Honestly, most of the book is set in England and Holland with their years of struggles in both places, BEFORE they left for the Americas. That context changed the story for me—they didn’t just leave on a whim. Theirs was a decision YEARS in the making, and I’m not sure I could’ve left everything I loved and knew, not once but TWICE, for an unknown land.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book, hoping to read it aloud to my 3rd grade students. The students recite the poem, The First Thanksgiving of All by Nancy Byrd Turner, and I wanted to tell them the story of Peace, and Mercy, and Jonathan, and Patience (very small). This book does tell of the Puritans (pilgrims) who sailed on the Mayflower and how they established a colony in Plymouth. But I was looking for something more personal, more from the children’s perspective… also, the book mentions two of the children only.

[Shauna Nokes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this little book! It’s gives so much detail about the story of the pilgrims. There’s so much more to their story than I ever learned as a child. It was really inspiring and written in a way that is easy to understand and fun to read, even for young children. There were so many miracles in their story!

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s an enjoyable read to help explain why the pilgrims left England and what life looked like for them early on. Just be aware that there are definitely some opportunities to talk about inappropriate language and biases.

[Janet Smoly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful telling of the history of the pilgrims and their journey from England to Holland to the new world.

[Anna Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. My 7 year old adored it. It greatly helped her to develop her narration skills because the stories are so engaging.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great book to read through for American history with my children. They looked forward to it every time and received a great introduction to the men and women of the Mayflower.

[Jurene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish there were more books just like this. If anyone has a recommendation, please let me know!)!