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The Plymouth Thanksgiving
Educational book of history for boys and girls.
Library Binding
First published January 1, 1967
About the author
Leonard Weisgard
188 books18 followersLeonard Weisgard, Caldecott award-winning illustrator of more than 200 children’s books was perhaps best known for his collaboration with the author Margaret Wise Brown.
Weisgard was born in New Haven, Connecticut but spent much of his early childhood in England, where his father originally came from.
His interest in the quality of children’s books began after his family moved back to the USA when he was 8. As a schoolboy in New York, he was dissatisfied with the books supplied by the public schools he attended. He found the illustrations monotonous and thought that the world could not be all that dreary and limited to only one color.
He went on to study art at the Pratt Institute and the New School for Social Research, where he was influenced by primitive cave paintings, Gothic and Renaissance art and avant-garde French illustrators of children’s books of the 1920s.
He used a wide range of colors and media in his books, including gouache, poster paint, crayon, chalk, decoupage, stenciling and pen and ink.
Leonard Weisgard also studied dance with Martha Graham and worked in the field of window display. He began his career making illustrations for magazines such as Good Housekeeping, The New Yorker and Harper’s Bazaar.
Weisgard also collaborated with other children’s book writers and wrote books he illustrated himself, sometimes under the pseudonym “Adam Green".
Leonard Weisgard married Phyllis Monnot in 1951 and they had three children, Abigail (1952), Christina (1954) and Ethan (1957).
Leonard and Phyllis often worked together creating set and costume designs with Leonard sketching and Phyllis making patterns so the designs could become a reality. He designed the stage sets and costumes for several productions of the San Francisco Ballet, including The Dryad and The Nutcracker.
During the years he lived in Roxbury, Connecticut, Weisgard was deeply involved with children's education. He lectured extensively and worked closely with The American Library Association.
Leonard Weisgard moved to Denmark with his wife and children in 1969 where he lived for the rest of his life. His children and grandchildren - Ethan and Midoriko's son Yuji (1989) and daughter Nanami (1987) - all live in Copenhagen.
"Books, he once said in an interview, have always, for as long as I can recall, been a source of real magic in this wildly confusing world."
(Sources: The LA Times from the 24th of January, 2000 and The New York Times the 27th of January, 2000)
Weisgard was born in New Haven, Connecticut but spent much of his early childhood in England, where his father originally came from.
His interest in the quality of children’s books began after his family moved back to the USA when he was 8. As a schoolboy in New York, he was dissatisfied with the books supplied by the public schools he attended. He found the illustrations monotonous and thought that the world could not be all that dreary and limited to only one color.
He went on to study art at the Pratt Institute and the New School for Social Research, where he was influenced by primitive cave paintings, Gothic and Renaissance art and avant-garde French illustrators of children’s books of the 1920s.
He used a wide range of colors and media in his books, including gouache, poster paint, crayon, chalk, decoupage, stenciling and pen and ink.
Leonard Weisgard also studied dance with Martha Graham and worked in the field of window display. He began his career making illustrations for magazines such as Good Housekeeping, The New Yorker and Harper’s Bazaar.
Weisgard also collaborated with other children’s book writers and wrote books he illustrated himself, sometimes under the pseudonym “Adam Green".
Leonard Weisgard married Phyllis Monnot in 1951 and they had three children, Abigail (1952), Christina (1954) and Ethan (1957).
Leonard and Phyllis often worked together creating set and costume designs with Leonard sketching and Phyllis making patterns so the designs could become a reality. He designed the stage sets and costumes for several productions of the San Francisco Ballet, including The Dryad and The Nutcracker.
During the years he lived in Roxbury, Connecticut, Weisgard was deeply involved with children's education. He lectured extensively and worked closely with The American Library Association.
Leonard Weisgard moved to Denmark with his wife and children in 1969 where he lived for the rest of his life. His children and grandchildren - Ethan and Midoriko's son Yuji (1989) and daughter Nanami (1987) - all live in Copenhagen.
"Books, he once said in an interview, have always, for as long as I can recall, been a source of real magic in this wildly confusing world."
(Sources: The LA Times from the 24th of January, 2000 and The New York Times the 27th of January, 2000)
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 31, 2022
This is a great book for children to get a good history lesson of the Pilgrim's landing. Written in 1967, it has detailed illustrations on each page.
Ages: 6 - 11 (book is wordier than most picture books)
Cleanliness: Mentions smoking a peace pipe and tobacco. Indians shown in loincloths.
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Ages: 6 - 11 (book is wordier than most picture books)
Cleanliness: Mentions smoking a peace pipe and tobacco. Indians shown in loincloths.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
November 26, 2021
Excellent. Glad I purchased this one. Out of print, but worth the read.
November 25, 2009
The Plymouth Thanksgiving is a readable, straightforward retelling of the events leading up to the American Thanksgiving, targeted for readers ages 4-8. Based on William Bradford's diary, it tells the story of the Plymouth settlers in their difficult journey, first to Holland and then to the New World, and of their struggle to survive their first year in Massachusetts.
It is written and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard, who won the Caldecott Medal in 1947 for his illustrations of The Little Island and, like most children's books of this era, its well-drawn pictures are printed in few colors. This lends the story a certain charming simplicity, and the illustrations serve to supplement rather than carry the story.
The only flaw of this book is that in the description of the feast the Indian participants are three times referred to as "braves, squ*ws and children." This is probably be a reflection of the terms used in historical documents, but the terms "brave" and "squ*w" in recent decades have taken on strong racist overtones, and the word "squ*w" now carries a sexual connotation. If you own the book, it would be very simple to correct the phrase to "men, women and children" with some white-out.
This charming story is unfortunately out of print, but is still available on the used-book market. It's a fine addition to the holiday reading basket.
It is written and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard, who won the Caldecott Medal in 1947 for his illustrations of The Little Island and, like most children's books of this era, its well-drawn pictures are printed in few colors. This lends the story a certain charming simplicity, and the illustrations serve to supplement rather than carry the story.
The only flaw of this book is that in the description of the feast the Indian participants are three times referred to as "braves, squ*ws and children." This is probably be a reflection of the terms used in historical documents, but the terms "brave" and "squ*w" in recent decades have taken on strong racist overtones, and the word "squ*w" now carries a sexual connotation. If you own the book, it would be very simple to correct the phrase to "men, women and children" with some white-out.
This charming story is unfortunately out of print, but is still available on the used-book market. It's a fine addition to the holiday reading basket.
November 25, 2008
On first glance, I thought this book would require two sittings to get through. It turns out that it was just perfect for one. I am glad, because we were able to do the whole story in one sitting, and not lose the momentum. This book very accurately told the story from England and Holland to the first Thanksgiving.
June 1, 2021
Faithful retelling of the Plymouth adventure to the New World and the first Thanksgiving.
January 29, 2026
Wonderful illustrations, gives list of passengers in beginning, mentions briefly the background of getting to the new world, told from pilgrim POV. Does describe, with illustration, Mayflower compact. Very much gives place and reverence to Gods sovereignty and involvement in the events that occurred. John smith referenced as a contemporary explorer. Details simply the many ways Squanto helped the pilgrims and things he taught them for survival, while simultaneously acknowledging God as the giver and provider of their lives. Authors note on the research used in back pages. So far, one of my top faves for thanksgiving, best in tandem with one of the Squanto picture books, as none of his background is mentioned in this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 5, 2022
Excellent children's book, illustrated on every page, easily readable in one sitting. This is an accurate re-telling of the events leading up to the first Thanksgiving; it is based on William Bradford's diary. Worth reading every year at Thanksgiving to remind us all what Thanksgiving is about. In our modern comfortable world, it's hard for most of us to imagine just what the Pilgrims went through.
I picked this book up at a library book sale, and am so glad I did. It is a keeper.
(Indians are pictured wearing loin cloths.)
I picked this book up at a library book sale, and am so glad I did. It is a keeper.
(Indians are pictured wearing loin cloths.)
November 17, 2022
A good informational read about Thanksgiving. It felt a little boring to me, but I still learned a lot about the time period. Some I knew, but some I just learned. My favorite part of the book is when the head chief nodded and agreed with a conversation. He said something so beautiful. “For as long as the moon rises, for as long as the grass grows green, for as long as the rivers flow, We will be friends. We will live in peace.”
December 19, 2010
Nicely illustrated with lovely prose. Many of my father's ancesters are mentioned.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews