Pocahontas: Young Peacemaker

by Leslie Gourse

Young Peacemaker is the next installment in the Childhood of Famous Americans series.

Written by Leslie Gourse, Young Peacemaker is the story of the brave and kindhearted Native American princess who helped bring about trust and friendship between the English colonists and her tribespeople.

Genres: History, Biography, American History, Childrens, Historical

176 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1996

Reviews

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book! I read this to my 4th grade son who is 9 since we are learning about early American history. Pocahontas is a very important person in those early days. A lot of information has been distorted through movies like Disney’s Pocahontas so this will clear all of that up. It was very interesting that she met a man in the colonies (she had no interest in marrying an Indian as that life seemed boring to her). She was very accepted into the colonies because both the rulers in England and the leaders in the Colonies saw this as a peace treaties of sorts and a good way to form positive relationships with the Indian tribes. It is so sad that Pocahontas picked up an infection in England as she was there to help with relations with the Indians and to teach them about Indian culture. She was a very interesting person in our history and one who found God and as a result I can’t wait to meet her one day in heaven!

[Aisley Faust · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pocahontas is a young Native American girl who was her father's favorite daughter. Powhatan (her father) was a great chief and was respected by many, including other chiefs in that area. One day Pocahontas was exploring in the forest as a little girl she was around 8 years old. As she was exploring along the coast she saw a ship. She watched the white people unload their boat and then rushed to tell her father all about it. When Powhatan heard she was charged with the job of watching them to make sure that they didn't get settled. She would go and spy there every day for many weeks and report to her father. Still the strange people didn't leave. One day she decided to go into the small camp and talk to the people. She made friends and ran races with the children that were her age. Then Captain John Smith noticed her. He saw that she was finely dressed and knew that she was the daughter of a great chief. Captain John Smith became great friends with Pocahontas. They taught each other their languages so they could communicate easier with each other. Pocahontas noticed that the people in Jamestown(where Captain Smith and her friends lived)were starving. She begged her father to make a trade of food with the people so that her friends could live. Then one of her father's warriors captured Captain John Smith. The warriors brought Captain John Smith before Powhatan to trade. Pocahontas saved his live when Powhatan became momentarily displeased with Captain John Smith. Pocahontas saved the people of Jamestown and the leaders many more times. She even got baptized into their church and got married to a man named John Rolfe. She lived very happily and got to go to London. In London she got sick and passed away. Her husband left their one son to his brother. Powhatan lived one more year before passing away as well. One thing that Pocahontas always believed in was equality and learning from our differences. This message still applies today.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My students were fascinated at the different ways of life that the settlers and the Native Americans faced in Pocahontas’s time. Her life had many amazing twists and turns. Even I was surprised at much of what I learned from her story. This is a great version of her life, obviously much different from the Disney version.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This gives a fantastic historical overview of the first English settlement at Jamestown. The kids and I enjoyed this!

[Viola Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read-aloud to 4 girls ages 3-10. We loved this! Very well done for younger readers.

[Jenilyn Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book; however, it was very different from a typical biography. I read two different biographies about Pocahontas to compare them, and it turns out they were very different. This one was actually more like a story. I liked that it was more like a story, but it was just different to me because there wasn't all of the typical biographical information. This version might be the one I prefer though because even though it's not a typical biography, it actually kind of puts you into Pocahontas' life. I also think children would like this one more because it's an interesting story. It would have to be used for probably fourth or fifth grade (or possibly third) though because it's way too advanced for the younger elementary grades.

[Rob · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book because it was about a girl.

[Nevada Libert · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing story. i think that POCAHONTAS did a very very good thing so the white men and the indiens did not fight. but sad that she died so soon. but i think that it tot the people to not fight.

[Kaydence Lake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it because it told about her life when she was young.