Bruchac, Joseph. 2000. SQUANTO’S JOURNEY: THE STORY OF THE FIRST THANKSGIVING. Ill. Greg Shed. Orlando, FL. Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 0-15-201817-4.

 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Bruchac, Joseph. 2000. SQUANTO’S JOURNEY: THE STORY OF THE FIRST THANKSGIVING. Ill. Greg Shed. Orlando, FL. Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 0-15-201817-4. 

PLOT SUMMARY 

Squanto, born and raised in the Patuxet tribe, tells the story of his trading with the Englishmen and the capture by Thomas Hunt. His strength helped him endure the capture and once sold as a slave he finds skills of communication to be of use for the English hoping they would take him with them. With the hope of returning home to his family and land, illness strikes and Squanto endures enrapturement once again. Returning to Plymouth, he was the guide and teacher to the white people. Working together they cultivated crops for their first feast of thanks; otherwise, known as The First Thanksgiving.  

CRITICAL ANALYSIS (WITH CULTURAL MARKERS) 

Squanto, is presented in an authentic way given the timeline of his story. It is not stereo-typed because the Native Americans in the 1500’s dressed the way they were portrayed in this story. All of Squanto’s struggles were representative of the time for Native American’s. The physical characteristics of Squanto such as long black braided hair with beaded necklaces and clothes native to their culture represent their Native American culture. We see a balance of good and evil as Squanto finds a positive side to every situation he encounters. He uses his abilities to communicate, how to grow crops and how to negotiate to help himself and his community. The setting is represented well through illustrations and the text gives detail about the illustrations. The historical setting shows us the water, land, homes of brick, ships, wilderness, vegetation and the feast of thanks.  

The setting is represented well and rich in details. Seeing Squanto side by side with the English men shows a contrast in their way of dressing yet working together to build the new land. The illustrations are very detailed in the clothing the Native Americans wear, the accessories they wear, the feathers in their hair. The characters interact with the other culture and work together in the end. We see gender roles present as Squanto mentions “It had always been the job of the Patuxet women to care for the crops while men such as myself hunted.” Squanto had to teach the English men how to crop plants so they could learn. Squanto valued honor and recognized how John Smith and his brother Thomas Dermer realized this. Overall, this story of Squanto’s journey back home invites a careful analysis because there is a lot of history being told throughout his story.  

This invites reflection as well because the reader follows Squanto’s hardships faced and celebrates his joy at the end when they celebrate the first feast of thanks. The author’s note also includes details about the story and leads the reader to connect closer to the historical details of Squanto as well as the author’s personal connection to this story.  

REVIEW EXCERPTS/AWARDS 

Kirkus Reviews, 10/15/00 

Publishers Weekly, 09/25/00 

School Library Journal, 11/01/00 

Horn Book Guide (Spring 2001): “Squanto’s tale is told with respect and dignity, without glossing over the more difficult aspects of his life or the relationship between the native inhabitants and the colonists.” 

Kirkus Reviews (October 15, 2000) “ Every teacher and librarian who works with school-age children will want to purchase this less-than-perfect book because it offers two important topics—Native Americans and the first Thanksgiving in the New World- from a noteworthy storyteller.” 

School Library Journal (November 2000) “There is a richness of detail in the pictures that echoes the passion for historical accuracy in costumer and interior-and-exterior dwellings.” 

CONNECTIONS 

Leading a discussion about the book, asking readers to reflect on Squanto’s journey of return to his land can get readers to think about the difficulties he endured.  

Students can research Squanto on the district databases to learn more about his life.  

Displaying more books written by Joseph Bruchac will give the readers the opportunity to reach more books by him.  

Providing students with more titles about Thanksgiving will be a great way to see different books about this topic.  

Dalgliesh, Alice. THE THANKSGIVING STORY. ISBN 978-0-7587-0153-4 

Greene, Rhonda Gowler.  THE VERY FIRST THANKSGIVING DAY. ISBN 978-1-42870-003-1 

Hillert, Margaret. WHY WE HAVE THANKSGIVING. ISBN 978-1-60357-950-6 

Driving Hawk Sneve, Virginia. 2011. THE CHRISTMAS COAT: MEMORIES OF MY SIOUX CHILDHOOD. Ill. Ellen Beier. Hagerstown, MD. Holiday House. ISBN 978-0-8234-2134-3

 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Driving Hawk Sneve, Virginia. 2011. THE CHRISTMAS COAT: MEMORIES OF MY SIOUX CHILDHOOD. Ill. Ellen Beier. Hagerstown, MD. Holiday House. ISBN 978-0-8234-2134-3  

PLOT SUMMARY 

Virginia shares her childhood memories of life on the reservation. The seasonal clothes sent to them were up for grabs on a first come first serve basis and Virginia and her family were last to choose as they believed other people would benefit more than they would. Virginia is not able to select the coat she had her eyes on, but to her surprise an unexpected gift box especially for her family, has the gift she wanted the most. A new coat for her and boots for her brother.  

CRITICAL ANALYSIS (WITH CULTURAL MARKERS) 

The characters are described to live on the reservation, and we see their clothing as too big or too small with the clothes they select from “Theast boxes” which are boxes of used clothing from the east sent from other congregations. Throughout the story the characters are represented authentically and not stereotyped. Their experiences of walking in freezing temperatures without appropriate warm clothing show the way of life on the reservation. The characters have dark hair, dress modestly and enjoy their Christmas events as a congregation. In the nativity pageant we see the Native American headdresses which also mentions, “Only the wise leaders and elders of the tribe could wear.” The setting is consistent with the time of the story we see children in a schoolhouse writing with feathers and ink, furnaces heating up the homes, lanterns for lights. The illustrations are very detailed and expressive.  

We can see the facial expressions of the children braving the elements on their walks to school, Virginia’s face of worry as the coat she is longing for is slowly being taken and typical children’s reactions to Santa’s arrival. The nativity pageant which includes all the children shows us cultural details as some children are dressed in Native American headdresses and we learn only the elders are allowed to wear this. This lower elementary realistic fiction book has an appealing format with illustrations that accurately portray the Sioux Native American culture.  

REVIEW EXCERPTS/AWARDS 

American Indian Youth Literature Award, 2012 

Horn Book Magazine, 11/01/11 

Horn Book Magazine, 04/01/12 

Kirkus Reviews starred, 09/01/11 

Publishers Weekly, 09/26/11 

School Library Journal, 10/01/11 

Wilson’s Children, 10/01/12 

Horn Book Magazine, (November/December, 2011): "With its authentic portrait of Sioux childhood and Christmas tradiitions (captured in watercolor and gouche illustrations and its eventual happy ending (a final box arrives containing the beautiful red coat Virginia had dreamed of, a reward for her unselfishness). 

Kirkus Reviews starred (September 1, 2011): “ Virginia’s personality shines through in this poignant story that entertains and informs without recourse of stereotypes.  

School Library Journal (November 1, 2013): “ Sneve offers a look into how her childhood was infused with traditional Lakota ways, but enriched too, by the Episcopal church on her reservation.  

CONNECTIONS 

Brett, Jan. THE WILD CHRISTMAS REINDEER. ISBN 978-0-525-51579-1 

Ziefert, Harriet. A NEW COAT FOR ANNA. ISBN 978-0-7587-3252-1 

Tavares, Matt. DASHER. ISBN 978-1-53620-137-6 

Engaging students in a drawing activity where they draw their favorite piece of clothing or share a similar experience with a long-awaited article of clothes would help readers relate to Virginia’s Christmas Coat experience.  

Reading this story during the Holidays would be a great idea and displaying other books about the holidays would give the readers the opportunity to have a variety of books to read.  

Having students do research into the Sioux tribe to learn more about their customs and traditions would be a great extension activity to this book on Virginia’s Driving Hawk Sneve’s childhood experience.