Pocahontas

by George Sullivan

IN THEIR OWN POCAHONTAS tells the exciting story of the life of this famous Native American woman, using the journals and writings of English colonists.

Famous for saving the life of Capt. John Smith in 1608, Pocahontas grew up as the favorite daughter of the Native American chief of the Powhatans. Pocahontas's rescue of Smith made her famous not only in colonial America, but across the ocean in England as well. Pocahontas made enormous contributions to the survival of Jamestown by bringing the colonists food and promoting peace between Powhatans and the English. Pocahontas lived a relatively short life, but she made an impact on colonial American history that is still felt today.
Did you know that
-was really named Matoaka
-taught John Smith how to speak Algonkian
-was kidnapped and held hostage on an English ship?

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Native American, Childrens, History, American History

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2002

About the author

George Sullivan is a best-selling nonfiction author with more than 100 books to his credit. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Lilly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't learn as much about Pocahontas as I expected to, which was a bit disappointing. But it's good if you're interested in Jamestown.

[Khonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though the title is Pocahontas, the book is more about Jamestown. Still, it was interesting.

[Maeve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pocahontas, by George Sullivan, is about the real story of Pocahontas. Pocahontas was a Powhatan native american who was born in what is now Virginia. Her real name was Matoaka and she knew how to speak Algonkian. She received the English name Rebecca. Pocahontas saved the English colonist called John Smith. She contributed to the Jamestown colony by helping the colony in a famine. But great disorder and no peace came between the Powhatans and Jamestown settlers. But she sought to bring peace between the two. This book’s information is gathered from primary sources and secondary sources. John Smith’s dozen of books and reports at that time were primary sources. The World book, encyclopedias, magazine articles, and books about Pocahontas are the secondary sources for this book’s information.

I thought this book was pretty good. I really wanted to know the real story of pocahontas and it was much more different than the movie. It really told her true character and personality. She wasn’t a grown woman but a child instead. Yet she acted years above her age with maturity and wisdom to bring the Jamestown colony and the Powhatans to peace. I thought the writing of the book was a little boring because the writing didn’t really have any emotion or feeling to it. It was a little bit bland. But I still enjoyed because it was such a great story. I would reccomend this book to a classmate who likes to learn about native americans.

[Alissa Faust · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was one of the best Pocahontas books I have read to date. It included journal entries from various people to help give facts to the historical events. It let the reader understand and decide for themselves what was true and what was fiction about the legend of Pocahontas. I also appreciated that no one was a bad guy and no one was a good guy. The book was very good about stating the facts instead of choosing sides.

[Dane Winkler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty decent recap of early 17th century Jamestown. It's titled as "Pocahontas" but I found at least half of the book was about John Smith. The last several chapters were much more about the Powhatan Princess.
The book also gets into how the settlers almost completely abandoned Jamestown and also the settlement of Henrico.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very interesting & would make for a great kids educational book.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to introduce my kids to Pocahontas. It’s super short so I couldn’t recommend it as a full history but it’s definitely a good intro.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

How would it have felt to be Pocahontas among the white explorers? In the book, Pocahontas by Sullivan, George the reader learns about Pocahontas's life and how she betrayed her tribe and father. This is an enjoyable book for anyone who enjoys this part of history.

The biography begins with Pocahontas's childhood growing up in Virginia among her tribe. Pocahontas saw the English for the first time when she was 11 or 12 years old. Her father asked Captain John Smith from Jamestown to be his adopted son and began to trade with the colony. As a young woman she spent more time with the English. She started to learn about their way of life. She betrayed her tribe by telling the English her father’s plans to wipe out the English. Because of this the English were more prepared.

I enjoyed this book because I was doing a bigger project on Pocahontas and Jamestown. This is an important book for people who enjoy history. It was pretty educational because you get to learn a little bit of the native language. The book had native words and their meaning in English. My favorite part was when they talked about her childhood.

I would read more by this author because I enjoyed how the native words were used and then explained in English. Furthermore, you really didn't have to know about this time period to enjoy the book; it was just a good story. Also, there were pictures of the colony and Pocahontas, and that made it especially interesting.

[Melanie, Aaron, Annie, and Mary Project · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read by: Melanie
Genre: Biography
Author: George Sullivan
Interest Level: 3-5
Grade Level Equivalent: 4.4
DRA: N/A
Lexile: 680L

John Smith and William Strachey supplied us with a lot of information about Powhatan's dearest daughter, Pocahontas through their record keeping when they landed in what is now known as Jamestown, Virginia. Along with saving John Smith's life, Pocahontas taught him Algonkian and helped with arranging a trade agreement. Although this book was supposed to be a biography of Pocahontas, I felt like if focused a great deal more on the story of John Smith. Therefore, if students are more interested in learning about the history of Pocahontas a different book would be a better pick.

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't the first book I've read on Pocahontas. I've read a few others and plus whatever I've been able to find online. I was first introduced to Pocahontas as a child through the Disney movie and while I know that it isn't the true story of Pocahontas, it is still one of my favorite Disney movies.
So I have for a long time tried to learn as much as I can about Pocahontas. While this book didn't have any new information, it was still an enjoyable read and would be good for anyone interested in learning more abot Pocahontas.

[Mackenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a girl named Pocahontas but her real name is Matoaka. Her nickname is Pocahontas. It means playful, sportive, and frisky. Sometimes she helped supply the colonists with food. she warned captain Smith of her fathers plans that put his life in danger. Pocahontas later married a colonist named John Smith. Later on she memorized the Lords prayer. she studied the Ten Commandments. she learned to follow church services in the English book of common prayer. I love this book. It is so good.

[Dayna Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a series of nonfiction biographies of famous people. The books are written in a way that is easy to understand and are full of pictures, illustrations, and graphics that are sure to intrigue young readers. The series includes: Helen Keller, Abraham Lincoln, Lewis & Clark, Paul Revere, Pocahontas, The Wright Brothers, and Thomas Edison. These are great books to introduce readers to nonfiction.

[Erin Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book meant for children, but it holds information to the past.

I read this so I had more background knowledge on Pocahontas, John Smith, and Jamestown before teaching "The General History of Virginia" to my students. It is definitely full of information, and while much of it now is common knowledge, it does contain information that some people would not know.

[Ms. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned from this book that Pocahontas was a real heroine for the citizens of Jamestown, being a messenger and helping send food suppliments to the colonies. She really fits the saying " Be good to your neighbor."

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rated this book 4/5 stars because it was factual and entertaining but not as much as some other books that I read. You should read this book if you are looking for something that is non fiction. Also, this book was cool because it gave me information that I didn't know about Pocahontas.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read lots of biographies for kids, but even so I learned a few things from this one. Pocahontas is a tough topic for a biography based on primary sources, but the story is still lively.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interest Level Grades 3 - 5
Genre: Biography
Themes: Colonial America, Native Americans, and Social Studies
Uses: 1)Correlate with SOL's
2)During Women's History Month

[Sierra Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pocohantas is pretty cool to read about! :)

[Josephine (biblioseph) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like the historical background this book kinda provides. Very much for the short book reading young-un.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative