A while back, while doing research online for books pertaining to Thanksgiving, I ran across a book unfamiliar to me entitled Pilgrim Stories: An Expanded Edition. The book sounded worthwhile, so I ordered it. I found that it contained comments to give additional historic insight at the the end of some of the chapters. The comments were written by an author named Rea Berg of Beautiful Feet Books, Inc., when they published the book in 2009. Then I recently read a review of a book called Stories of the Pilgrims by the same author who wrote Pilgrim Stories, Margaret Pumphrey. This is apparently the same book , but without the added short historical comments. It was published by Yesterday’s Classics in 2006.

Later I found that the book has also been published by Christian Liberty Press as a curriculum resource for Grade 4. There are comprehension questions and a separate Answer Key book. One reviewer claimed that Christian Liberty Press “rewrote” the stories to fit the beliefs of a certain sect. I don’t know whether this is true. I guess that is one of the dangers of books published in 1923 or before being in public domain, no longer protected by copyright. If you wish to use that publisher’s printing of the book as curriculum, you may want to compare it to another publisher’s “version” of the book to see if the claims have any justification. Perhaps one of the other printings is available at a library. There is even an audiobook version of Stories of the Pilgrims, thanks to Blackstone Audio, Inc. I found hardcover first and second edition copies from 1910 and 1912 available on the internet. This book seems to have a long history of publications. The printed versions contain some ink drawings by Lucy Fitch Perkins, an author-illustrator who lived from 1865 to 1937.

The author of the book, Margaret Pumphrey, was herself a schoolteacher in the early 1900’s. I first thought the stories were a collection of various separate stories about the Pilgrims, rather than a continuous story. I suppose chapters of any book could be considered separate stories, in a sense. I was pleasantly surprised to find that these “stories” formed a consecutive recounting of what happened to the Pilgrims, from the beginning of their persecution in England to their first Thanksgiving celebration in the Plymouth settlement in America. Rea Berg’s foreword tells us that Ms. Pumphrey assembled these stories in order to increase her students’ interest in the Pilgrims who settled in America. In an attempt to tell the story as accurately as possible, she relied upon historical documentation, such as that written by William Bradford and Edward Winslow.

Although written for children, I found myself easily drawn into the world of the Pilgrims by this book. I felt their anticipation when Queen Mary came to visit the inn, their suspense when they feared being caught in their secretive church services, and their sadness at having to leave England. I vicariously experienced the uniqueness and charm of life in Holland, the heart-wrenching departure from friends made in Holland, and the hopelessly unavoidable loss of loved ones during their first winter at Plymouth.

I observed that Ms. Pumphrey wrote of the events appropriately for children—not in a way that would be overly frightening or disturbing for them.

Children ages 9 to12 should be able to read the stories themselves. I found several reviews by parents who had enjoyed reading the stories to their children, including children as young as six. The book consists of 33 short chapters of about four or five pages each. You could complete the book in a little over a month by reading a chapter (4 or 5 pages) per day. Or you could finish the book in a week by reading five chapters (about 20 to 25 pages) per day.

This book is a wonderful way for children to learn what it was like for the Pilgrims to experience religious persecution and to see the courage and faith it took to cross the ocean and start a settlement in a strange new land. Even after the frigid weather, shortage of food, and illness caused them to bury half of their family and friends that first winter, not one of them took the Mayflower captain’s offer to give them free passage back to England. It’s so very important for our children to value their religious freedom and learn that we must stand up for it if we don’t want to lose it. Remembering the Pilgrims’ gratefulness for an abundant harvest, even though they had such a difficult winter, will give Thanksgiving a great deal of meaning. The book would be a valuable gift for children, grandchildren, or nieces and nephews.