The Peterkins' Thanksgiving

The Peterkins are about to gorge on Thanksgiving dinner, but one problem; the meal is stuck in the dumbwaiter near the ceiling! They must call the carpenter to pull it down so they can have their meal, and the problem is fully solved by doing just that!

This wonderfully illustrated book called The Peterkins' Thanksgiving seemingly takes place in the 1600s back in the Pilgrim Ages.Halperin This book was written by Elizabeth Spurr and illustrated by Wendy Anderson  It is historical fiction because it is based on the Pilgrims' first settlement in what is now known as America! This book is wonderfully crafted for children to read. It is the perfect book for children to get ready for Thanksgiving. Teachers will want to plan activities around this book, maybe pretend to have a Pilgrim Thanksgiving or teach historical events based on the Pilgrims settling to America. 

Reader responses should include:

•                  Prereading: What do you think the book is about?
                                         What kind of clothes are they wearing? Are they wearing the                                              same clothes that we are wearing? 
•                  During reading: The teacher would read to the class the entire text. 
•                  After reading: (2nd grade) Students will be given a series of questions pertai-                                            ning to the text.                                  

                                                        a. What would you do if you were at the Peterkins'                                                                      Thanksgiving dinner?
                                                        b. Compare life in the Pilgrim Age to life today. Do we
                                                         have the same materials that they used back then, or
                                                        different. Explain your answer.

                            Activity: Play as Pilgrims and have Thanksgiving dinner like the Pilgrims had Thanksgiving dinner. 

The illustrations are very realistic looking, like they have come out of an old 17th century book (to me, they do). They are very colorful and paint a lovely picture of what the Pilgrims had during the 17th century. 

I personally love historical fiction because it is intricately wrapped around events, in history, just with additional fictional characters (hence, why it is historical fiction). I've read romance novels based on historical fiction. One was based on slavery in the 1800s and the time warp between the past and present, back and forth from the 1800s slavery times to the 21st century. Two people who eventually fall in love pretty much get a blast from the past when one of the characters eventually turns into a reincarnation. This may probably sound silly but it was a really good book. 

One can learn a lot of things with historical fiction and base real life events on it, and that's why I personally love it! 

                                                         Biblography

Spurr, Elizabeth (2006). The peterkins' thanksgiving. New York. Atheneum Books for                        Young Readers