Each and every year we pull out a couple of our favorite books. Some years, we go all out and read several books and then add some fun, hands-on activities to make the most of growing our children’s understanding of the history behind this holiday. We love searching for books. With the push to write God out of our history, I’ve found myself being extra careful when it comes to books about the Pilgrims. I always flip to the back to see how they handle that first “thanksgiving” meal. Many newer books will say that they gathered so the Pilgrims could thank the Wampanoag Indians. While they were very grateful for how the Lord worked through them to help them provide. The primary direction “thanks” was offered was to the Lord. With that in mind, here are some of our favorites that we have read over the years.
The Story of Thanksgiving ~ This charming board book is the perfect introduction to Thanksgiving for the 1-4 year old. This is perfect for the littlest in our family!
Pilgrim Cat
~ This is one of their FAVORITE pilgrim books. It follows a pilgrim girl and her cat during their Mayflower trip as well as first year in Plymouth. One of my boys had me read this to him 5 or 6 times the first day we checked it out from the library. It took a few years, but we finally added it to our home library and it gets read on repeat every year! It introduces several key Thanksgiving story themes in a very relatable way. The boys were running around taking turns being Samoset and Squanto.
On the Mayflower: Voyage of the Ship’s Apprentice and a Passenger Girl ~ This charming book includes photographs from a re-enactment aboard the Mayflower II. The boys found the photographs mesmerizing and loved the perspective being from the young boy and girl.
You Wouldn’t Want To Sail On The Mayflower!: A Trip That Took Entirely Too Long ~ Interesting tidbits about the trials of life aboard the Mayflower. For kids a bit older, but easily adaptable down to this age.
. . . If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 ~ Another great book that gives you an overview of life on the Mayflower.
Off to Plymoth Rock! ~ This lyrical, rhyming book is the first book my oldest ever received. When my mom gave it to me at the Thanksgiving of 2003, none of us knew I was pregnant! The hopeful grandma had signed it – ‘from Mom/MIL/sometime Oma.’ Subtle mom, real subtle. 😉
Squanto And The Miracle Of Thanksgiving ~ A beautiful telling of Squanto’s story and how God brought him to the aid of the Pilgrims. This one is so redemptive and one of my favorites to read each year alongside Pilgrim Cat! These would make my top 3 list for sure!
Samuel Eaton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy ~ The photographs in this book are captivating for my boys. The text is a bit advanced for a 3 and 5 year old, although there are times that Xander enjoys it. We will definitely get this and the girl companion book as the kids get older.
Sarah Morton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl ~ We love this peek at the life of a pilgrim girl. The photographs are amazing and really help transport you back in time.
Tapenum’s Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy In Pilgrim Times ~ This is the third in this photographic series and gives a lot of factual information about the Wampanoag.
Saying Grace: A Prayer of Thanksgiving ~ Ok, this one is fiction, but it is a beautiful and inspiration look at praying a prayer of Thanksgiving. I’m so glad we’ve added this to our collection!
Stories of the Pilgrims ~ We discovered this a few years ago. It is an engaging read-aloud that follows the pilgrims from their days in England under persecution, to their journey over to the New World in search of freedom to worship God as they wished. As we read this, it opened up dialogue about how deep their faith was and what they were willing to sacrifice in order to worship God. Some of the verbiage of their life in the new world if problematic if you get a free kindle version. I prefer one of the printed and slightly updated versions that are more honoring in the way it talks about interactions with the Wampanoag. But the information on WHY they even came to the new world in the first place is phenomenal and opens up so many discussions on persecution, conviction, and the pursuit of religious freedom.
~ This is one of their FAVORITE pilgrim books. It follows a pilgrim girl and her cat during their Mayflower trip as well as first year in Plymouth. One of my boys had me read this to him 5 or 6 times the first day we checked it out from the library. It took a few years, but we finally added it to our home library and it gets read on repeat every year! It introduces several key Thanksgiving story themes in a very relatable way. The boys were running around taking turns being Samoset and Squanto.On the Mayflower: Voyage of the Ship’s Apprentice and a Passenger Girl
~ This charming book includes photographs from a re-enactment aboard the Mayflower II. The boys found the photographs mesmerizing and loved the perspective being from the young boy and girl.You Wouldn’t Want To Sail On The Mayflower!: A Trip That Took Entirely Too Long
~ Interesting tidbits about the trials of life aboard the Mayflower. For kids a bit older, but easily adaptable down to this age.. . . If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620
~ Another great book that gives you an overview of life on the Mayflower.Off to Plymoth Rock! ~ This lyrical, rhyming book is the first book my oldest ever received. When my mom gave it to me at the Thanksgiving of 2003, none of us knew I was pregnant! The hopeful grandma had signed it – ‘from Mom/MIL/sometime Oma.’ Subtle mom, real subtle. 😉
Squanto And The Miracle Of Thanksgiving
~ A beautiful telling of Squanto’s story and how God brought him to the aid of the Pilgrims. This one is so redemptive and one of my favorites to read each year alongside Pilgrim Cat! These would make my top 3 list for sure!Samuel Eaton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy
~ The photographs in this book are captivating for my boys. The text is a bit advanced for a 3 and 5 year old, although there are times that Xander enjoys it. We will definitely get this and the girl companion book as the kids get older.Sarah Morton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl
~ We love this peek at the life of a pilgrim girl. The photographs are amazing and really help transport you back in time.Tapenum’s Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy In Pilgrim Times ~ This is the third in this photographic series and gives a lot of factual information about the Wampanoag.
Saying Grace: A Prayer of Thanksgiving ~ Ok, this one is fiction, but it is a beautiful and inspiration look at praying a prayer of Thanksgiving. I’m so glad we’ve added this to our collection!
Stories of the Pilgrims ~ We discovered this a few years ago. It is an engaging read-aloud that follows the pilgrims from their days in England under persecution, to their journey over to the New World in search of freedom to worship God as they wished. As we read this, it opened up dialogue about how deep their faith was and what they were willing to sacrifice in order to worship God. Some of the verbiage of their life in the new world if problematic if you get a free kindle version. I prefer one of the printed and slightly updated versions that are more honoring in the way it talks about interactions with the Wampanoag. But the information on WHY they even came to the new world in the first place is phenomenal and opens up so many discussions on persecution, conviction, and the pursuit of religious freedom.
Be sure to check out our post on HANDS-ON activities about the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving.