The First Thanksgiving (Picture Puffins)
Grade 2-5-- George's consummate skill as a storyteller takes what could have been "just another" Thanksgiving book and raises it above the mundane. Beginning "in a time so long ago that only the rocks remember," she focuses on Plymouth Rock, a 200-ton boulder of Dedham granite, as the loom upon which to weave the heroic and tragic tales of the people who settled this land. The storytelling is direct, filled with details, and firmly grounded in place and time. Quickly drawn but very effective portraits of the times and the people heighten the presentation. Squanto's tragedy is movingly sketched. Readers will not miss the ironic contrast between the fate of the native population and those who came seeking a freer, more tolerant life, but George does not belabor the point, letting the events of history subtly underscore the irony. Locker is at his best with panoramic landscapes--the icy desolation of the melting glaciers; the storm-tossed ship on the ocean voyage; and the isolation of the place where the Pilgrims must bury their dead under cover of darkness, lest the "savages" know how many of them died. For all their attractiveness, however, the illustrations fail to match George's strong narrative with equal visual strength. The panoramic view distances readers from the events, softening the impact of the physical hardships and emotional pain inherent in the story. Whatever its minor flaws, though, this is a book most libraries will want to add to their collections. --Linda Boyles, Alachua County Library District, Gainesville, FLCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.