Thanksgiving Book for Children
We are gearing up for Thanksgiving, that wonderful time of year where we take special care to show gratitude to and for everything we have: family, friends, love, goods, all kinds of things. After searching, I was unable to find a children's book that accurately reflected the first Thanksgiving and the Thanksgiving holiday from a historical standpoint Thinking one should be created, I set about some research and created this.
The idea is that any age child can benefit from learning the history and themes presented herein. One way to keep the children engaged is to have them provide the drawings. For younger children, it may be doodles and hand-turkeys. For older ones, they may draw images they associate with the story. It can be a wonderful way of starting a conversation about the true history of Thanksgiving. For instance, maybe the drawings of "Pilgrims" and "Indians" do not reflect accurately who these people were. But that should not stop children from drawing them, it just provides an opportunity to discuss.
This story is told with couplets, which means that two consecutive lines rhyme (like an AA and BB scheme).
I am not a historian, but I have attempted to provide an accurate portrayal of the story.
For Parents or Educators, here is an explanation of the pages of the story:
Page 1:
Wampanoag is the collective name for the confederacy of indigenous people of southeastern Massachusetts and eastern Rhode Island, part of the larger group of Ninnimissinuok, who spoke the Algonquian languages (also called Massachusett or Natick). In the native tongue, the name of the people is loosely translated as "People of the First Light". These people referred to their homeland as the “Wabanahkik” meaning “Dawnland”.
Pages 1 – 2:
Europeans had been trading with the natives for over a century. There was young Wampanoag from Patuxet, the place that would eventually be named “New Plymouth” by the settlers, who came to be called Tisquantum, or “Squanto” for short. Originally, Squanto is believed to have been captured as a young man in 1605 by English Captain George Weymouth who kidnapped Squanto and other natives from other tribes to bring them back to England, where Weymouth thought his financiers may be interested in seeing the native people. Squanto, in England, resided with Ferdinando Gorges, who taught him English and hired him to be an interpreter and guide. Squanto, as a guide and interpreter, was brought back to the Dawnland in 1614. However, the English explorer, Thomas Hunt, kidnapped many natives, including Squanto, and carried them back to Europe to be sold as either a slave or a novelty in Spain. He was able to escape slavery and live with some monks who were dedicated to the education and evangelization of those they helped.
Pages 3 - 4:
There were two ships, the Speedwell and the Mayflower, that attempted to bring the colonists from England. The Speedwell was not seaworthy, so both ships turned back to England, putting in first at Dartmouth and then at Plymouth. Finally, on September 6 or 16, 1620, the Mayflower set sail, alone, for America. The Mayflower was a cargo ship, that moved very slowly when moving against the wind.
Although, traditionally, we have called those colonists “Pilgrims”, less than half were immigrating for religious freedom. These were Brownists, or Separatists, who did not appreciate the English Government becoming more powerful in the Church, as they viewed that to go against their beliefs. Because of that, they were often imprisoned or worse by the English authorities. The others were servants, seaman, and profiteers and opportunists (those seeking money-making ventures in the new world). Those seeking money were the ones who financed the voyage. It was a difficult and slow voyage. They Mayflower suffered much damage on the journey.
On November 9, the colonist first spotted land, just off of Cape Cod. While anchored near Provincetown, the colonists drafted an agreement called the Mayflower Compact that organized them as a single body where issues would be decided by vote (this is often referred to as the first written democratic constitution).
As winter was approaching, many on the ship became sick with scurvy and other illness, forcing smaller exploration parties to search for a landing point to colonize. Forty-five of the 102 Mayflower passengers died that winter.
The place that they decided to live on was Patuxet, the original home of Squanto. However, the village had been decimated by an epidemic disease brought by earlier Europeans. Since it was already cleared and had shelter (“wetu” in the Wampanoag language), it meant a quicker settling in period. The settlers removed corpses from the grounds and homes in order to settle there. They robbed graves and storage holds in order to survive. It being winter in a new land, and being uneducated in the way to grow food there, the settlers were not able to maintain sufficient food for the colony.
The first hostile meeting between the colonists and the natives was on December 8, 1620, but no one was killed in the meeting.
Pages 5 - 7:
Squanto returned again to his homeland in 1619, but as noted above, the entirety of Squanto’s birthplace had been decimated by disease brought by European travelers. He was the last Pataxet.
The Wampanoag’s leaders were called Sachems. The Wampanoag Sachem, Massasoit, allowed him to join with his tribe. Although Massasoit did not have full trust in Squanto, he did appreciate the value Squanto would bring as translator for trading with the Europeans.
In March of 1621, Samoset, a Wampanoag, made contact with the settlers and could speak some broken English. Interestingly, one of the first things he asked for was some beer. The colonists were excited for new financial opportunities, and so five days later, Samoset returned with other natives, including Squanto, and goods like fur. Squanto could speak fluent English.
Massasoit came as well, and at first was very wary of the settlers, based on previous encounters with others. Edward Winslow, went to Massasoit and declared that the settlers had peaceful intentions and offered himself as a hostage. With the translation help from Squanto, a peace treaty (now called the 1621 Wampanoag-Pilgrim Treaty) was signed into place on April 1, 1621, promising mutual assistance in defense and establishing ground rules for cooperation. John Carver was the Governor of the colony who signed the agreement.
Squanto stayed and lived with the colonists and taught them local agriculture. He taught them to plant beans, squash, and maize together (what the Wampanoag called the “Three Sisters” (I think the native term is “Deohako”, but cannot confirm) with a fish (for fertilizer) to have a healthier crop.
Pages 8 – 9:
In October, the harvest from using the Squanto taught method, proved quite bountiful. For the first time since leaving England, the colonists felt a bit of relief. They decided to celebrate by playing games and cheering, and possibly even firing guns. More than ninety Wampanoag showed up (there is no history of being invited), it is believed they might have mistaken the celebration for readying for battle. However, they brought along five deer, eels, and shellfish and the settlers made no objection to their joining in. There may have been wild turkey and water foul for food as well. The groups celebrated for three days, entertaining one another, and playing games with each other. This harvest feast celebration is what we now call the first Thanksgiving.
Pages 10 – 11:
After this, the Great Migration occurred. This is when the Puritans began coming. The Puritans are what many schoolchildren now picture as the pilgrims of Thanksgiving, all in black with hats and buckles. But they were not part of the original Thanksgiving. In fact, the Puritans believed that the natives were “others”, who were godless heathens. But for attempts at religious conversion, the Puritans would not have interacted with the natives, except in capturing and killing those who would not convert and adapt. Due to that ideology, the story of that peaceful feast and celebration was all but lost to history.
Sarah Josepha Hale was born in 1788 in New Hampshire. She wrote the song “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. She began campaigning in 1846 for Thanksgiving to be a national holiday. After writing to four other presidents, she finally convinced Lincoln that this new national holiday could be considered a unifying day after the stress of the Civil War. Lincoln thought that after the civil war, and bearing in mind that he was responsible for the largest mass lynching in American history (he ordered the lynching of thirty-eight Dakota Indians in December of 1862), he agreed that this type of day would do the nation good and hopefully gain some respect back from the native populations, while helping people remember the idea of unity. In 1863, Lincoln proclaimed it holiday and supported legislation that confirmed it. On June 28, 1870, Grant signed the Holidays Act that made Thanksgiving a yearly appointed federal holiday in Washington D.C. On January 6, 1885, Congress made Thanksgiving, and other federal holidays, a paid holiday for all federal workers throughout the United States. Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, from 1942 onwards, Thanksgiving received a permanent observation date, the fourth Thursday in November.
Pages 12 – 17
What can we learn from all of this? Squanto had some really terrible times, but made the most of them and was always looking for ways to learn and further himself.
The colonists had a very hard time getting here, but really strove to stay alive. Even though a brief skirmish broke early on, no one was killed. Then, when Samoset came, he was greeted and accepted. Both groups looked past the differences to find unity and peace. Both sides had suffered tremendously, especially the indigenous people, but both were willing to find a brighter future through kindness and acceptance.
We can learn so much from people who are different from ourselves. Squanto learned a different culture and language and that helped him in the future. The settlers learned how to cultivate the land from the natives and that led to their survival, and the celebration. By accepting others, and listening without judgment, we can help ourselves and each other.
The colonists shared their harvest and some game with the Wampanoag. The Wampanoag shared their deer, eels, and shellfish. Also, perhaps more importantly, they shared entertainment with each other. They took time to listen to one another’s stories and be entertained by them. By sharing, everyone benefited.
Sarah Josepha Hale thought that a day to reflect and give thanks would be wonderful. It took a large lynching and a war to convince the country that it was a good thing to do. But she fought, for over seventeen years to get the day recognized. That willpower to try and help her countrymen is something to which we can all aspire.
Another thing you might note is that we have more history from the colonists' perspective. That is due to the fact that there is more written (such as diaries and logs). Most of the indigenous history is retold and written by the colonists or Europeans or passed down in oral tradition. Oral storytelling is a great art to practice, but writing can be kept for future generations from all cultures to learn. It is a terrific idea to practice both. Could you have children tell a story, then write it down? That way, they can practice both!
What else did you learn?
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