Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and my thoughts turn to books. There are distinctly fewer Thanksgiving-related kids books than books about Christmas or even Halloween. But one book stands out for me as a unique and very cool book to read on Thanksgiving.
Sarah Morton's Day by Kate Waters is a book about a day in the life of Pilgrim girl, Sarah Morton. Using photos taken of costumed interpreters at Plimouth Plantation, a living history museum, Sarah Morton's Day brings a Pilgrim village to life.
While the book is not directly about Thanksgiving, it provides an excellent way of learning more about the Colonial English community in the 1600's. Instead of a cartoon version of Pilgrims and Indians sitting down together for a turkey dinner, this book could spark a real conversation about early English Americans and American Indians.
Incidentally, Plimouth Plantaion (in Plymouth, MA) offers a bicultural museum experience including history of the Wampanoag People. A good companion book to Sarah Morton's Day is Tapenum's Day by Kate Waters. Using the same historical-like photo concept, Tapenum's Day is about a Wampanoag boy during the time of the Pilgrims.
Both books are a little older - published in 1993 and 1996 - but are definitely worth looking up. They are a great way to "see" what life was like back in the Pilgrim days.
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