The Very First Thanksgiving Day

by Rhonda Gowler Greene, Susan Gaber (Illustrator)

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.

Genres: Thanksgiving, Picture Books, Holiday, History, Childrens, 1st Grade, Nonfiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Joey Fong · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book provides a brief history of pilgrims, Indians, and the journey to the new world on Mayflower. I am not a fan of candy-coated history books. I know it might seem like it is too much for younger children to hear the truth behind the establishment of America, but I always believe that it is better to tell the whole truth. Obviously, teachers should alter the way they explain this part of American history to younger learners, but telling them Pilgrims made friends with Indians was slightly absurd.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has some very pretty illustrations but the text itself, while nicely done, does repeat itself. So in that aspect it's a bit of a boring 'story'...and of course it's not really accurate, but I don't really expect a picture book to go into the reality of the situation.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

That's nice that the author said she chose to use the word Indian because many prefer that.
& the illustrator included what she had learned. I've heard a few books now mention two dogs. Now I know the breed, a spaniel and a mastiff.
-the ppl look weird. One woman looked like she has a unibrow.
They all have similar eyebrows.
OMG the Indians don't look like Indians!
Why is that boy standing like that?!? It looks like a lil girl.
That kids hair! The skin tone looks wrong too.
'And ate of the food gathered and blessed.' Didn't sound good.
The landscape doesn't look right. There are no trees, the land is really flat.
I've nvr heard the houses were in a straight row, and were so large. Everything looks too neat and organized.
The new world would have looked wilder.
Impressive to see the Mayflower in full sail, but I wish the image was clearer.
I didn't know this would be rhyming, but it was nice.
At times I wasn't crazy about the repetition. Each page has a line from the previous page.
It was weird how it started with them in the new world, then mentioned the mayflower. Then mentions the ocean and the land where it all began. It felt like we were going back in time instead of going forward in the story. The ocean and the mayflower should have been first in the story, then the Homes they built and Indians they met.
The guy with the orange beard is the most realistic I've seen. That with the rosy cheeks and eyelashes looks good.
I've never seen a story go back and rehash everything they said. We were going backwards and I was like no no! Get back to the story.
This was more one star. Wish the drawings had been better. & the story different.
Also, to be named The Very First Thanksgiving Day, it really wasn't about thanksgiving at all. It was more a story of how they arrived and built a new life.
The very end there's the gathering, but the figures have no features and are all colored the same. Hard to tell Indian from pilgrim.
Instead of saying they had a festival to give thanks and share with the Indians, it just mentions '&ate of the food, gathered and blessed, the corn and sweet berries, the wild turkey dressed, shared on the very first thanksgiving day.'
Once I looked close, I saw that the pilgrim girl carried an Indian doll, and the Indian girl carried a pilgrim doll. So that was nice to show the exchange of culture.
I wish the drawings had been better, and I didn’t really like how the story kept repeating the same lines. And the story ended up coming full circle, to where it started out. I wish it had unfolded in chronological order, and had more of a story, instead of just descriptions of what they did, and how they were. Like they worked hard, sailed on the ocean, and the Indians were skillful. Because it was just rhyming, descriptive lines, that meant it skipped out on an actual story. You wouldn’t learn much about Thanksgiving and the pilgrim’s story, because it’s just brushed over.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice illustrations. It fails in that it is historically inaccurate.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t know what cumulative rhyming meant from the description. Having read the book I realized I am not a fan of cumulative rhyming. I enjoy rhyming, but not the repeating rhyming in which the same lines are used over and over throughout the book. It became very repetitive and took the fun completely out of the rhymes.

The illustrations were kind of muddled and obscure. I didn’t really enjoy looking at the pictures, especially of the people because they looked so strange. Their features made them look weird. The Indians had these choppy hairstyles that looked like someone hacked at their hair. None of the people were pleasing to look at.

“This is the food, gathered and blessed, the corn and sweet berries, the wild turkey dressed, shared on the very first Thanksgiving Day.
These are the Indians, skillful and strong, who knew how to live through the winters so long..”

I liked the image of the ship out on the sea with the snow falling.

“This is the ocean that never would end, that sometimes was foe and sometimes was friend, that carried the Mayflower ship in full sail.”

Some of the rhyming I liked, but I didn’t like when the last sentence went back to a previous rhyme. That took away from the story. The book would have benefited from new lines and ideas on every page. There wasn’t much a story told. Hardly anything of Thanksgiving was shared, because only a few ideas were hit upon, the food, Indians and the ship mainly. Not a good Thanksgiving read. It didn’t have much to offer.

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, but "The House That Jack Built" format was too vauge for my tutoring audience of smart 2nd graders. It glossed over the facts of the pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving, and the students are well-versed in all that. They were more interested in talking about how 100 people could fit into the hull of the Mayflower. This book is better suited for younger readers who still rely heavily on pictures to tell the story.

[Kendra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations! But unfortunately I found the text difficult for me kids to relate to and follow the story line of the first thanksgiving. Not my favorite way to tell the story to my children.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a telling of the very first Thanksgiving. While I really enjoyed the illustrations, I didn't think too highly of the story. I read this to my kindergarten class and while they picked up some things in the story, they weren't as engaged as I was hoping they'd be.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

The painting illustrations are very nice. I didn't like or enjoy the rhyming text.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author and illustrator notes in the front are interesting. The book flows well and has nice illustrations. It has an interesting time progression as it starts with the first Thanksgiving day and goes back in time as you progress in the story explaining how the Pilgrims came to be in the new land. It then circles back to the feast which shows the many reasons they had to give thanks during the feasting.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Children's

[Aaron Siclovan · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the first page of the book there are notes by the author and illustrations. It is important for the teacher or the parent to read these notes before presenting this book to children. The pilgrims first harvest feast took place in 1621 and probably between September 21 and November 9th. The celebration lasted three days which included feasting and games. In attendance, there were 51 pilgrims and at least ninety guests from the Wampanoag tribe. This is an unusual book because the story begins with the day of Thanksgiving feast and works back in time to when the Mayflower ship landed on the stone that now is called Plymouth Rock in the New World. The pilgrims used the word "Indian" so with respectful and careful thought the author seldom used the term. The last six pages the author describes again the first winter and finally the first Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving feast is the climax, as the pilgrims had much to be thankful for because of their harsh trials.

Children will enjoy the text which is written in poem form. The author described how the pilgrims' homes were built in straight rows, how they farmed and harvested their food to store for winter. The Indians were very kind, friendly, and helpful to the pilgrims with their crops. The illustrator of this book, Susan Gaber's Nates, also did a lot of research with the author, in addition to using acrylic paint. In her notes she tells how Squanto, a Patuex Indian, taught the pilgrims to use fish as fertilizers for each plant in the 20 acres of corn they grew. Susan's illustrations are accurate and precise, even portraying pilgrims with bright colored cloth which was dyed in bright colors at the time in Europe.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greene uses a "House That Jack Built" approach to tell the story of the first Thanksgiving, working backward from the feast to the pilgrims' departure from England. The result is an absorbing narrative that prompted a lively discussion between my son and me (though one of his questions was why the sequence wasn't carried through on each repetition--in his words, "Why didn't you keep going?"). The text and illustrations are well researched, as explained in the author's and artist's notes. Yet there's no explanation for why the pilgrims chose to leave England, which seems to me a detrimental omission. The reverse-chronological structure almost begs the question, but it's easy enough to supplement the text with your own explanation. (That hands-off approach might be the author's intention, which seems odd considering she previously wrote a book called "The Stable Where Jesus Was Born.") All told, this book is a nice choice when you're looking for a picture book to introduce children to the history of Thanksgiving.

[Jen Ciampi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet rhyming book that describes the experience of the first Thanksgiving. It takes the reader on a journey through each part of the first Thanksgiving from the Mayflower to the new land and the food they created together. I think this would be a good read aloud for first or second grade. The story is a good discussion point for students whereas they might not be able to read and comprehend the story on their own, having a read aloud and class discussion can help the students relate to the experiences and better understand the history behind it. The rhyming nature of the text gives it an enjoyable tone to read aloud while it covers some historical facts. The story is told through the perspective of someone who was there at the time of the events which allows the readers to feel connected to the experience. Overall, I think it is a good teaching book for the topic of Thanksgiving and could be used as a whole class lesson.

[Souaad Asar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Very First Thanksgiving Day by Rhonda Gowler Greene. The illustration of book is very nice. Although the story starts and ends with Thanksgiving first day; the book made a great deal about that day. The rhymed of the text and realistic illustrations encourage the person who reads to take a step back. All the way back to the Pilgrims leaving their homeland and boarding the Mayflower. The result is that the day is put into historical context in a way that's reasonable even to the very young. This is a fantastic book and appropriate for younger readers. They will gain knowledge of what the Pilgrims had to go through just to get to the first Thanksgiving Day and how the Indians helped them. Children will learn excellent lesson from this book. I would highly recommend it for younger readers

[Ashley Field · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Very First Thanksgiving is a historical fiction picture book about when settlers first arrived to America. The book talks about what the interactions with the Native American's were like and it tells of what they did to prepare for the first thanksgiving. The book and the story are comprable to what families might do today to prepare for thanksgiving. The setting is an older one although the characters and the plot seem to be more modern than the setting. The point of this is for children to be able to better understand, and in a more simple way, what might have happened a long time ago. I like this book for children to begin learning about the holiday and what may have happened. A non-fiction book would compliment this one well. They would support each other and the non-fiction book might be less interesting, although, it would provide more evidence and information for the reader.

[Angel Romero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: On the first day of thanksgiving Pilgrims and Indians gathered together to bless food. Pilgrims traveled on the Mayflower to new lands. They Indians are strong and store food throughout the winter.
Reaction: This book is good to introduce the season to first graders. It teaches basic facts about this historical event in our history. This book took me back to when I was in school learning about thanksgiving. I also compared the book to how we celebrate Thanksgiving today.
Literature Terms: Characters.
The book explains what each groups of people did on this day. It also helps students understand who is who in history. Students reading this book can learn about pilgrims and Indians.
Activity: Create a KWL chart before and after for students. Then after reading the book students can create a summary of why Thanksgiving is now celebrated in the United States.

[Brianna Yost · Rating 1 out of 5]

We got this book from a little free library and after about a few days I decided to sit down and look through it. I actually threw this book in the trash. Kids are not "too young" or naïve to learn about our nation's history in the ways that it actually happened. And it is extremely hurtful and dismissive to our Indigenous Americans to discredit the real, lived experiences of their ancestors. This book sucks. Also, in throwing it in the trash, I was able to share with my kids a brief synopsis of how history really went down, and am currently diving into further research on my own behalf, so I can accurately share with my kids the real events that took place, in a way they can understand. White-washed history needs to stop.

[RLL52013_Kaitlin Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a historical fiction picture book story about the first Thanksgiving Day. It highlights what the first meal was like based off what was available on the land around provided, the living conditions, and the pilgrimage to the New World. It is a valuable tool for primary teachers since a majority of history in the primary grades stems from holidays. This is not an award winning story but would be useful to include in a collection of Thanksgiving stories to use as a unit. This is a book that I personally use in my classroom and my students love to see how people used to dress and live. History can definitely be a concept that is tough for little minds to grasp onto.

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for more traditional fare this holiday, check out The Very First Thanksgiving Day by Rhonda Gowler Greene. A Michigan native, Greene created a well researched story of the first Thanksgiving, expressing not only the toils faced by the pilgrims in the new world, but also the joy and thankfulness felt by them at the celebration. Yes, the story lacks a lot of detail, but it is a good, solid introduction for the very young.

[Pia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this story to 5 years old ESL students. It was a little bit difficult for them to understand the whole concept,especially that the story goes from the First Thanksgiving back to their departure from England. I have to retell a little bit of the story using the illustrations more than the text. Probably, it would have been better if we read together other stories first and then read this one.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are astounding, the prose is simple, and my children (and I) loved it. An excellent holiday book for briefly & engagingly covering the history of American Thanksgiving. I appreciate any book that recenters both me and my children on the real purpose of a holiday based on gratitude, but this is definitely one of my favorites.

[Michel Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very simple book that teaches younger students about the first Thanksgiving. Its original focus is the day of the first Thanksgiving, back tracks the Pilgrims journey from Europe to America, and refocuses on that special day. This book is a great introduction into a unit on Pilgrims, and the rhyming scheme will keep students interested.

[Eileen Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is perfect for children of all ages. It tells about the life of the Pilgrims and how with the help of the Native Americans they were able to survive. The book rhymes which makes it easy for children just learning how to read. But is challenging enough that more experienced readers will not be bored.

[Brian Strand · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here is a book that talks about the actual first thanksgiving in a broad sense. It talks about how the pilgrims and the Indians worked together and how the pilgrims over came all their troubles. It also had some rhyming words in it that were used in a kagan lesson.

[Seher Patka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book about the First Thanksgiving between the pilgrims and Native Americans. It has beautiful illustrations and talks about the sharing and exchanges made between the two people. This book can be used in language arts as well as social studies.

[Laura Irrgang · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers a lovely introduction to the Thanksgiving holiday that even the youngest viewers can grasp. Gaber's rich paintings convey a surprising amount of emotion . Although simplistic, the scope of the holiday is captured in just a few pages.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book would be perfect to read to a classroom around Thanksgiving time. Many people, even adults, do not know how Thanksgiving came into being, and instead just see it as a holiday where we eat turkey. It would work well as a social studies lesson as well.

[Aleece · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book that shows how the first Thanksgiving came to be. I really liked the realistic illustrations and the simplified way of telling children about the first Thanksgiving. I think that younger and older kids will enjoy this book.

[Kate Hastings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on "This is the House that Jack Built" tells the Thanksgiving story in a very simplistic manner.