Thursday, November 11, 2010

The Thanksgiving Story

The Thanksgiving Story written by Alice Dalgliesh and illustrated by Helen Sewell received the 1955 Caldecott Honor, making this the earliest Thanksgiving book that I'll feature.  What I like best about this book is that Dalgliesh personalizes the Thanksgiving account by telling the story of Giles, Constance, Damaris, and little Oceanus who was born at sea. Through her simple text we learn about the day-to-day activities that the Hopkins family experiences through surviving, planting, harvesting, and feasting.  This is  shorter than Weisgard's version, allowing the little ones to follow it more easily. 

2 comments:

  1. If I remember correctly, I always found it interesting that the Caldecott Award went for illustration, not content, as most people think. The images for this book are perfect - simple and very Puritan looking :)

    XO L

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  2. You are right, Laura! Thanks so much for pointing out that the Caldecott Award goes for illustrations!

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