The Fall Gathering

Woodland Adventures

by Kohn Rita, Winifred Barnum-Newman (Illustrator)

A story about the Woodland People's annual harvest tradition

Genres: Picture Books, Thanksgiving, Cooking, Childrens, Native Americans

32 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1941

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderfully informative picture book about a Native American "Fall Gathering" (Woodland Peoples of the Great Lakes region) is actually first and foremost a counting book. A winning teaching resource for young children, Rita T. Kohn's The Fall Gathering can be used both at home and in a Kindergarten, pre-school or first grade classroom, not only to teach about quantities, but also as an introduction to Native American harvest culture and traditions. As the book is primarily a counting book, numbers and quantities do of course feature somewhat more prominently than narrative. There is, however, enough of a textual frame, and both it and the excellent illustrations can easily be used to expand the content and context of The Fall Gathering.

The accompanying illustrations are a really treasure. They are bright, evocative and very respectful of Native Americans, showing them not as "the Other" but as ordinary persons gathering together for a harvest celebration; they have come to share the harvest, and to give thanks for the bounties received. I believe that many if not most young children would enjoy both the narrative, the text of of The Fall Gathering and the accompanying illustrations. There is so much to be discovered and discussed, like how many of the vegetables featured in the book are American in origin and were actually originally domesticated by Native Americans, like squash and corn, for example. And there is in truth actually much more that I could write about the illustrations, but I would be giving away too much information (too many so-called spoilers), and The Fall Gathering really does need to be experienced first-hand.

The author's notes at the end of the book, which discuss the history of the Woodland Peoples, and the tradition of the "Fall Gathering" as well as the recipe pages that follow are both informative and much enlightening (and it would perhaps be fun to communally make some of the featured recipes at a school or Kindergarten harvest festival). Personally, I also appreciate the fact that the author does not shy away from mentioning the fact that the Woodland Peoples, although they had signed treaties with the British, giving them the right to live peacefully in the Great Lakes region, had their lands taken by the government of the United States of America, who with cowardice, avarice and callousness refused to honour these same treaties. This is, indeed, a wonderful counting book, and I would recommend The Fall Gathering to anyone interested in books for young children featuring Native American harvest traditions.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a counting book but also includes information about Native Americans of the Woodland tribes, their foods and origins in the greater Great Lakes region, and their place in the history of Thanksgiving Day. The Potowatomi and Illini peoples of Illinois are included.