P Is for Pilgrim: A Thanksgiving Alphabet (Sleeping Bear Alphabets) - Softcover

Lecturer and book reviewer Carol Crane is widely recognized by many schools and educators for her expertise in children's literature. She has conducted in-service seminars for teachers at many schools across the country. Eight years ago, Carol instituted a summer reading program for teachers and media specialists. Carol travels extensively and speaks at state reading conventions across the United States and lives in Michigan, Florida and North Carolina.

Grade 3-6-This alphabet book pairs each letter with a short poem and a sidebar that provides further information about the ideas presented in the verses. Unfortunately, along with the Thanksgiving theme, Crane tries to incorporate American democratic ideals into the text, resulting in poetry that is often contrived and sentimental. For the letter "I" she writes, "With Individual rights,/the Pilgrims' inspiration and intent/was to insure all people/what religious freedom meant." This is not only an awkward rhyme, but it is also incorrect. Pilgrims were generally intolerant of other religions. The entry for "L" projects Revolutionary War sentiments back onto the Pilgrims, "Land, land ho! At last, America!/Our dreams have come true./Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!/Oh Lord, we thank you!" In the sidebar on the "J" page, the author states that "many" guests leave Thanksgiving meals with "jars of jam or jelly cooked and canned during harvest season," yet the next sentence reads, "Canning and preserving is almost a lost art-." Some of the themes for the letters have little to do with Thanksgiving, e.g., "B" is for the "Bill of Rights." The best part of this book is the colorful artwork. The paintings are done in warm tones and portray an idealistic view of Colonial America.
Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT
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