Product Description

This is Thanksgiving, a time to remember the friendships and freedoms we all share together.

When the Pilgrims embarked on their legendary Mayflower voyage in 1620, they couldn’t predict what lay ahead of them. In search of religious freedom and a new life, the settlers faced hardships including harsh storms, illness, and unfamiliar terrain. Thanks to their natural perseverance and the help of their neighbor Indians, the Pilgrims survived their first year. And when the harvest the next fall was plentiful, the Pilgrims and the Indians joined together in a three-day celebration, the first Thanksgiving.

Diane Z. Shore’s lyrical, rhythmic verse and Megan Lloyd’s lively, joyful illustrations bring the Pilgrims’ harrowing experience to life and demonstrate the strong bonds for which we give thanks every year.

My Review:   This is a beautiful book which parents and teachers could easily use to teach children about the first Thanksgiving.  ”Feast” is great for building background information and vocabulary development.    I think this book would be great for upper elementary school students as well as primary.  The rhythm and rhyme provide an added bonus.  I would love to see families make the reading of this book a yearly family Thanksgiving tradition.  From reading, we get  great insight as to what the pilgrims suffered for religious freedom.  I appreciate that the author did not gloss over this part of history.  I recommend This is the Feast for great and informative holiday family reading.

Product Description
Mary is a modern pilgrim girl whose family came to this country for religious freedom. Her family faces hardships, but through the story of the first Thanksgiving, Mary recognizes her blessings. 

From the Back Cover
Most days, Mary loves her new home in America. But now it’s Thanksgiving time, and her family has little food. Mary begins to wish she could go back to Ireland. Life isn’t fair. Even the gift of a pumpkin pie from a kind neighbor doesn’t cheer her.
So, Father tells Mary a story of how the Pilgrims struggled when they first came to America. The seeds they brought with them wouldn’t grow. Native Americans showed the new settlers how to make the soil grow crops. That instruction helped, but the Pilgrims still faced hardships. There were times when they had barely enough food. But five kernels of corn helped the Pilgrims survive and made their faith stronger. 
Will the legend of the five kernels help grow a new faith in Mary too?

My Review:  This is a good book in keeping with the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday.  As Americans we can find ourselves feeling “entitled,” instead of thankful and this book touches on that in the life of a little girl who is a newcomer to the USA. She tends to look back instead of looking ahead.  I think this is a timely book for this year especially as many are facing financial hardships.  The book reminds us to be thankful for what we DO have and to have hope for the future.  Mary’s father gives her (and us) the message of hope by sharing the experiences of the pilgrims.  One of the greatest blessings we have in our country is religious freedom – many people still want to live here for that reason beginning with the pilgrims.  The pilgrims did not have it easy either.  I think children will relate to this book.  Children have tender hearts and will easily understand Mary.  I enthusiastically recommend this book for children ages 4-10.  ”Mary’s First Thanksgiving” is published by Zonderkidz and is available at Christian bookstores and Amazon.com.