HOME SCHOOL BOOK REVIEW
Book: Pilgrim Village Thanksgiving Diorama: Captivating Color and Cutout Construction
Author and Illustrator: Kevin Ludgate
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0-7643-3563-1
ISBN-10: 0-7643-3563-4
Related website: www.Schifferbooks.com (publisher)
Language level: 1 (nothing objectionable)
Reading level: Grades K-8
Rating: 5 stars (EXCELLENT)
Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker
For more information e-mail homeschoolbookreview@gmail.com
Ludgate, Kevin. Pilgrim Village Thanksgiving Diorama: Captivating Color and Cutout Construction (published in 2010 by Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 4880 Lower Valley Rd., Atglen, PA 19310). Can you imagine what the Pilgrims, their fort, their houses, and the Native Americans all looked like during the traditional first Thanksgiving in 1621 at Plymouth, MA? Pilgrim Village is not so much a reading book but rather an activity or craft book in which youngsters will find wonderful Pilgrim and Wampanoag characters to color, cut out, and glue, along with a house, fort, wigwam, and other items to make a Pilgrim village. In addition to a general history of early American Thanksgiving celebrations and instructions for the book, there are educational sidebars with information about Squanto, the Burial Hill Fort, the Pilgrim’s feast, Indian canoes, Pilgrim houses, and Wampanoag wigwams.
Children can enjoy hours of coloring and cutting out these wonderful Thanksgiving characters, figures, and buildings. This book by author and illustrator Kevin Ludgate would make a great addition to either a classroom or homeschool study of the Pilgrims. Or it could just be a fun and educational Thanksgiving-related activity that a whole family might enjoy together. I especially liked the comment by the author, “For the British Pilgrims, the celebration in 1621 was more than a celebrationit was a recognition to God that they had made it through a very hard winter.” Schiffer Publishing has a big 218-page catalogue that contains a whole section of children’s books, including other activity books such as U. S. Life Saving Coloring Book, Windmills Activity Book, and Saltbox House: Color n’ Build Activity Playset.
