Oh, What a Thanksgiving!

by Steven Kroll, S.D. Schindler (Illustrator)

David, a boy who thinks modern Thanksgivings are boring, imagines being at Plymouth Colony and celebrating the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims.

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

32 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1989

About the author

Stephen Kroll spoke at schools and conferences all over the world. He was married to the journalist, Kathleen Beckett, and they lived in New York City and an old carriage house in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. When he was not writing or traveling, he played a lot of tennis and walked around looking at everything.

Reviews

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my nerdish little hobbies is reading picture books and looking at historical accuracy. I was excited to find Steven Kroll's, 1988 Oh, What a Thanksgiving! on the shelf in the library.
The strength of this book is the fun way the illustrator juxtaposes a Pilgrim moment with a modern day one. Young children will delight in picking these out and adding their own experiences. The illustrations feel a bit dated, and today's child will be surprised that the family sent a young boy to walk home alone several blocks to retrieve a forgotten item on Thanksgiving Day.
The part of the book that was most interesting was the description of Miles Standish as "Commander in chief of the Pilgrim army." I have never heard this reference before. The illustrations show the troops marching in to the the long tables of food and I think this militaristic vision is incorrect. It also states that the Native Americans arrived to celebrate the peace made with Governor Bradford, while most accounts agree is was a traditional harvest celebration.
The book would offer some good talking points to older students studying the relationship between the English settlers and the Native Americans, stereotypes, and the way our view of history does change.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting comparative look at modern living versus early America colonial living. Focus is primarily on the Pilgrim lifestyle with a brief mention of Native Americans. Worth a read, but found myself getting bored reading this to my preschooler and wanting to return it to the library ealier. We didn't have as much fun with this as other books and it didn't seem to capture her attention the way other Thanksgiving books did.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book for an introduction about Thanksgiving. A little much for my three year old, yes, but she sat through it a few times. I think it would be spot on for a 6 year old. Somehow the illustrations seem a little dated for a book that's only 22 years old, but I got a kick out of the inclusion of the Macy's Thanksgving Parade.

[Jody Kyburz · Rating 3 out of 5]

So. This author made a great attempt at showing glimpses of what the real first Thanksgiving may have been like. He really focused on the things people today have in common with those who attended the first Thankgsiving. Universal themes inlcuded: family, harvest, happiness, etc.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Shannon 1988." I see this as an example of a very standard, very forgettable children's book. If this author can be published, so can I.

[Chelsey Combs · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young boy takes us back in time to what he imagined the first Thanksgiving was like.

[Deborah Harris]

RL 4.0 GRL-Q

[Kate Welsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute!