Squanto, Friend Of The Pilgrims

Let me start by saying i am NOT a social justice warrior and generally don't concern myself with PC terms 24/7. However, the broad strokes of this book calling every caucasian "white men" and every native person as "indian" is really outdated- and frankly annoying, considering Squanto runs into Spanish men And the English AND pilgrims, Patuxet and OTHER native tribes, all of whom are differing peoples and should be labeled as such. It is supposed to be an educational book after all. I don't necessarily find it "offensive" for all europeans to be indistinguishable "white men"- but it's confusing when you are literally dealing with different groups (and languages!).Aside from that, the story itself of Squanto is really quite beautiful and i really thought it was told well, so that a child could understand all of the large elements but also so that even an adult would find it fascinating and worth pondering- as a person who has lived in foreign countries, i related all to well with his discomfort in new lands, eventual adapting, and then discomfort again at going back "home." The photos every few pages are nice for the kids.my 7 & 5 year old listened to every word with rapt attention, and we discussed much.

My second and third graders loved this story. I used it as a class read aloud and broke it into 4 reading session prior to Thanksgiving.

Offered this book to my students as a historical novel study. The story provided them the opportunity to learn about the early interactions between Native Americans and Europeans.

While this book is, of course, completely fictionalized, it sounds sort of real to children and is based on a real story behind the characters... Who knows how true it is. I think it is to make us all feel better about Native Americans and Thanksgiving and how it all got started. I read it chapter-by-chapter out loud to my 5-year-old who was learning about the pilgrims and Squanto in kindergarten. She liked it and it got her thinking about history and seeing more than one side of the story which is always good. I would recommend it for those wanting to read something to their kids about the origins of Thanksgiving. Or for young readers (who might think it's kind of cheesy depending on their age).

Well worth the money

I loved this book as a child. Though somewhat simplistic, as it is written for children, it still addresses the hardships of Squanto (Tisquantum's) life--being captured and the loss of his village to disease. Makes for interesting discussions if read with your children.

I used this book with a very low -reading functioning level- group of adults .We viewed a video first and then read the book together over a series of lessons. We started with the unit during Thanksgiving .I made up a series of questions and the students viewed the video again in conjunction with the book and questions . we answered the questions as a group .We put the work together in a folder as a memory of our study of Squanto.

My son and I read this as part of his school work and I highly recommend it! I don't recall learning about Squanto when I went to school, but now I wish I had and I'm very glad my children will know the story. It's written in an entertaining way that kept my son excited to see what happened next and groaning with disappointment when we had to wait till next week to read the next chapter. :) I recommend this book to anyone who doesn't know Squanto's story and/or who wants to share Squanto's story with a child.