Who's Saying What in Jamestown, Thomas Savage?

by Jean Fritz, Sally Wern Comport (Illustrator)

Thomas Savage was just thirteen when he sailed to the New World and was sent to live with Powhatan to learn the Algonquian language and be an interpreter between the Indians and the colonists. Pocahantas was a friendly teacher, and soon he was relaying messages. But as the tensions grew between the groups, Thomas’s job became difficult no matter how hard he tried not to take sides. Throughout the violent history of Jamestown, Thomas’s position provided a unique view of early America, now illuminated through the incomparable lens of Jean Fritz.

Jamestown is celebrating its 400th anniversary throughout 2007, and this child-centered account of history will draw young readers right into the drama.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Native American

64 pages, Hardcover

First published April 5, 2007

About the author

Jean Guttery Fritz was an American children's writer best known for American biography and history. She won the Children's Legacy Literature Award for her career contribution to American children's literature in 1986. She turned 100 in November 2015 and died in May 2017 at the age of 101.

Reviews

[The Library Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jean Fritz has written well researched, highly readable biographies for kids for many years. But this one falls sadly short of the mark.

There is simply too little information available about Thomas Savage to do a really effective biography. Because there are gaps in the records of his life, the book wanders away from Thomas for years, and since there are several other Thomases in Jamestown's early history, it's sometimes hard to tell which is which!

I can see that she wanted to do a bio of a Jamestown figure--it's a hot topic right now with the 400 year anniversary. But this just doesn't work as well as most Fritz bios do, and might have worked better as a piece of fiction.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story, because I'm interested in Jamestown, but I don't think this was one of her strongest pieces of writing.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not our favorite of her books, but still interesting. Pretty graphic stuff though, so beware.

[Phil J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read-aloud friendly chapter book about Jamestown. The book is about 60 pages illustrated, so it is accessible to readers who might be overwhelmed by a longer book like Blood on the River: James Town, 1607.

I thought Fritz did a great job of making the narrative direct and understandable. She does not shy away from shocking violence, such as Governor Ratcliffe getting skinned alive. A lot of Jamestown books end with the Peace of Pocahontas, but this one kept going into some of the later wars. That part was a bit harder to follow because of the new characters and shifts in leadership.

I am curious about how the beginning of slavery affected the Virginia colony, and it seems that Thomas Savage had indentured servants rather than slaves.

Other readers have complained about inaccuracies. I did not notice any. There are a number of conflicting stories, especially related to Pocahontas, and it is possible that Fritz simply chose a story that conflicts with the one a reviewer expected. Some have also complained about Fritz' habit of using established fact and filling in the gaps with fiction. I thought that was standard practice, and it did not bother me.

I intend to use this book, at least through about page 37, to support my instruction of Blood on the River this year.

[Amanda Howell]

Junior Reading Log: Biography-Informational
Recommending Source: textbook pg. 278

One of the main issues in Jamestown was the mistrust and confusion between the natives and the settlers. The setters thought of a wonderful solution, let's send one of us to live with the Indians so that he can learn their language and culture and teach us. That man was Thomas Savage. Savage was sent to live with the Indians and learn their language. While he was there he learned a lot of their customs and traditions and became friends with the natives. But what was Savage to do when the relations between the two groups turned for the worst. Was he going to stay loyal to the colonists, or stick with his new friends and help them protect what was rightfully theirs?
Jamestown is a big deal in the Virginia Standards of Learning. It is one of the few history lessons that students actually learn in elementary school and it gets build on each year. This is a true story about life in Jamestown for everyone, the settlers and the Native Americans. It looks at the settlement from both angles and gives the students a unique perspective. You can have to students pick sides and decide if they would rather the side of the colonists or the Native Americans. This would be a great story to share with the students right before a trip to Jamestown.

[Stacy Bowden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who's Saying What in Jamestown, Thomas Savage covers the story of a boy names Thomas Savage who sails to The New World with Christopher Newport. After arriving, Thomas is sent to live with the Native American leader Powhatan in order to learn their language and serve as an interpreter between the colonist leaders and Native American leader. He later grows up and moves to Virginia's Eastern Shore to become a land owner.

Though there are a few gaps where historical information is missing, this book not only covers the life of Thomas Savage and his contributions towards a more peaceful habitation between the colonists and natives, but allows the reader to gain a better understanding of what life was like during colonial america. The book also contains detailed illustrations that are not only meaningful to the topic, but lend a better understanding of the overall difficulties faced by colonists.

I actually read this book for the first time about one year ago when developing a lesson plan covering life in colonial america. This book is an excellent book to use for literature circles or as an additional source for mini-research projects. Depending on the activity, I recommend this book for classrooms in grades 5th - 7th. (Source: text pg. 278).

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Junior Book Log
Category: Informational Book
Source: The Joy of Children's Literature p. 278

Who's Saying What in Jamestown Thomas Savage is classified by the author as historical fiction, but readers will learn plenty of factual information about Jamestown colonists and the Native Americans the colonists encountered. Jean Fritz uses the information others wrote about Thomas Savage, a boy who became and interpreter for the colonists and Native Americans, to create a likely story of his life in the New World. The foreward identifies for readers the fictional parts, but young readers may have difficulty differentiating fact from fiction as they read. Also, some of the factual parts were not accurate and could cause confusion later on. I would not recommend this book to be used as an informational source. However, readers in fourth through sixth grades will enjoy the story told the way Thomas Savage might have experienced it. Readers will connect with him over the trials he went through to become successful in the New World.

[Adrienne Kravchak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: Thomas Savage, one of the earlier settlers in Jamestown, was used as a translator between the English and Powhatan Indians. He was sent to live with the natives and struggled with his services as negotiator and message carrier. However, he survived the grueling beginnings of our colonization. This book offers his historical fiction story based on a lot of facts.

Personal Reaction: I found this a new prospect to learning about nonfiction topics. The story was very true to the facts. The narration is obviously the author’s creation, but the events and much of the perspectives are based on historical documents. I think that students would enjoy this source of learning about the time period.

Intended Audience: Elementary age students

Curriculum Connection: I would use this book when studying Jamestown and Virginia Native Americans with 4th or 5th grade students.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ms Fritz explains in the forward that she considers this book historical fiction rather than a biography because Thomas Savage left no first person accounts of his life and there are few other sources that mention him, so she had to "fill in" some details and such. But then the book reads like she's trying to write a biography. Either commit to the fictionalization and all that entails (creating dialogue, choosing between conflicting information, inventing details to flesh the story out, etc.) or commit to a factual biography, as scarce, conflicting, and desultory as the facts may be. Ms. Fritz seemed to try to do both, and in so doing, didn't accomplish either.

For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.

[Clara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned more about life in the first English Colony and I want to read more books by Jean Fritz.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this to a 6 year old and 9 year old audience. I really liked how the story gave both the perspective the good and bad colonists, and good and bad Native Americans. I skipped the descriptions of how colonists and Native Americans killed each other. We focused on how they tried to work things out, and sometimes developed good friendships or understanding.

I commend the author or publisher for changing the cover for the newest edition of this book. This 2007 edition is a cartoonish cover which seems to communicate that it is a lighthearted story meant for elementary students. However, as soon as you open it, you see that a different artist created all of the interior illustrations, which are more serious and match the somber text.

The "colonists vs. Native" discussion is very polarized right now, and I really appreciate how this author gives a balanced view. Also, many are writing historical books for children without good historical ethics, and I like how this author cites her sources so you can clarify what is historical fiction and what is fact.

[Adayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was suggested to me by my 10yo son who read it first. He enjoyed it and later gave it a rating of 3 out of 5. I agreed.

I'm not very impressed by the writing style, often finding it quite dry and distant. I had hoped it would've been more living and brought us into his shoes more.

I hadn't realized how graphic some descriptions would be. If I had known, I'm not sure I would've allowed him to read it. It is written in simple enough prose and vocabulary for his age, and younger, to read independently. But the factual detail in some places did not need to go to such lengths.

Though on the dry side, the history was easy for us to understand as it supplements and reenforces our current history study. I do not think it would be very easily understood without previous understanding.

I highly suggest to preview the book before giving to your child, or look at the content details available on Screen It First: https://screenitfirst.com/book/whos-s...

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, but I was introduced to so many new people, it was hard for me to keep track of everyone. It's a book I will probably want to read again at some point.

[Catherine Lowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and informative about Jamestown, but not as enjoyable a story as many of her other works.