by Kathryn Lasky
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| List Price: | $10.95 |
| Average Rating: |  |
| Lowest New Price: | $4.80 |
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Product Description
A Pilgrim girl makes the dangerous journey on the Mayflower to a new world filled with promise and unexpected hardships.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 New Beginnings, 2008-12-01
Journey to the New World / 0-590-50214-X
Another wonderful Dear America book! While I read these for myself, I try to review them as a parent, to be aware of what your child is reading. Don't let that put you off, though, if you are considering reading these for yourself - these book are just as good for adults as for children.
The Good: Wonderful history here, as always. The journey across the sea is so real, you can almost feel the author's sea sickness. The arrival in the New World is presented realistically - full of hope, joy, and gratitude for the safe arrival, yet with hunger, fear, and dread quickly setting in. Will they be able to build homes in time for the winter? Will they be able to find, grow, and hunt enough food to keep from starving to death? And what new illnesses assail them here, in this new world?
I particularly appreciate the fairness with which the author treats the American Indians. A host of historical research shows that the settlers were remarkably impressed with the visage, bearing, and abilities of these people, yet many schools still teach the exact opposite, clinging to needless stereotypes. Dear America takes the high road here, and correctly portrays the settlers as being grateful for the help they receive from the Americans. The diarist in particular is entranced at the American Indians' swimming abilities - she wonders if she could learn such a thing, or would she instantly die from exposure to so much water?
The Bad: Not, "bad", per se, but parents should be aware that there is a great deal of illness and death here. The colonists are weakened by the cold weather and long crossing. The diarist is particularly downcast when her best friend has to pack up and head back to England because her father is too disheartened to continue after his wife's death. The colonists' hunger and desperation are tangible, and small children may be disconcerted when reading...or may at least want a warm cookie afterwards.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Diary of a young Pilgrim, 2008-10-12
This is the story [fictional, told in a series of diary entries] of Remember Patience Whipple or Mem who came to the New World on the Mayflower in 1620.The conditions aboard the ship are nothing short of harsh and lacking the basic amenities.Once the Pilgrims, as they came to be called, arrive at their destination ,they find things are even worse onland. Life in the colonies is harsh and Mem suffers a personal tragedy that has her almost giving it all up. The rest of the diary tells us how Mem rebuilds her life in the Colonies.
As with all the books in the Dear America series, there is a historical note at the end ,as well as pictures and photographs of the period. Highly recommended!
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Okay, 2008-09-29
My 8-year-old daughter enjoyed this book and actually learned quite a bit about the pilgrims. However, the antiquated language was a bit difficult for her to get used to.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Dear America, 2008-08-13
These Diary stories were some of my favorite books when I was younger. Now that I have grown up I still enjoy reading them. They are awesome books to do book reports on. This story was especially well written. I enjoyed reading about mems life in a new world
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Remember Patience Whipple, 2007-12-21
This is a very good look at early pilgrim life, or at least as good a one as is likely to make its way into popular children's literature. The pilgrims' penchant for grave robbing is toned down (a 'mound' of earth is dug up, with no mention that the mound is a freshly dug grave) and the Native Americans are treated as fairly as could be hoped for in a book that attempts to see them through a little English girl's eyes (she envies their ability to swim and admires their herbal remedies which end up saving several pilgrim lives).
This is a good addition to the Dear America series, though I found it to be slightly less compelling than the Oregon Trail diary. The crossing over is described fairly blandly, though to be fair is probably accurate - the passengers weren't often allowed to be ondeck and underfoot. Similarly, the construction of the colony seems to move as a blur, but the author is handicapped (as so many of the Dear America books are) by the fact that the girl in question would not have been allowed to participate in a meaningful manner in these activities simply because she is a girl. None of this makes the book less worthy of reading, and is just mentioned here as a caution to not set expectations too high for action/adventure.
It is worth noting to parents: Something like 17+ pilgrims die in this book, including one baby who dies almost immediately after childbirth, and a close member of the diary writer's family. The diary accurately reflects the growing numbness of the author, with entries like "Dear [diary], Four more people died today. Yours, Mem." While I felt this made for a realistic portrayal, it is possible that a very small child may find this distressing.
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