Top critical review
2.0 out of 5 starsReader experience issues
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2019
The art is really beautiful. There is a quality to them that gives each image movement, like the children are about to speak and do things.
Unfortunately, the factoid pages are extremely busy, making it hard to focus on the individual factoids being told, and not only that, the writing is misaligned, making it difficult to know which words belong to which sentence.
Worse, even the typed paragraphs are disjointed. For example, “That afternoon the Pilgrims returned tot he Mayflower. It would be their shelter until the place to settle was found. It would be an important decision.” I had to reread this sentence a few times to realize that the important decision was the settlement location, not that they decided to shelter in the Mayflower.
A few pages later, “on the sixteenth day of March, Mary found tiny spring flowers in a clump of melting snow. Remember said, ‘It must be spring. Mama said, ‘Winter is most dark and cold just before spring.’’ In the darkest winter, half of the Pilgrims had died of the Great Sickness. Mama and the baby died, too. A tear slipped down Bartholomew’s nose. Then he saw the Indian.” A tear slipped down Bartholomew’s nose, and then he saw a Native American? Wait, what?
This book, focused on the Pilgrims (who called themselves The Saints, which was their time in history, culture, and understanding, coming out there), did a fair job of showing the amazing grace of the Native Americans and even touched on sickness and slavery, while focused in on the Pilgrim’s experience. Unfortunately it just doesn’t live up to the beautiful art.
