- tells how Jamestown, Virginia came into existence with settlers from England
- includes various well-known people from American history–Captain John Smith, Pocahontas, etc.
- convo: mentions “red-skinned Indians,” many deaths, tobacco one of the main reasons for the town’s success–as well as “Negro slavery,” occasional problems between the settlers and the Indians, mentions whipping if a certain law is broken
- illustrations (overall very nice) depict battles–in one, a settler is shot by arrow in chest; in another, an Indian is shot by bullet in chest
Type: picture books
Ages: 6-9
Author: Gilchrist Waring
Illustrator: Elmo Jones
I wanted to like this book. The physical presentation was nice, and the illustrations immediately appealed to me. However, the writing was so disjointed and strange. That combined with at least one typo and poor formatting at times makes me think it could have benefited from a better editor.
Jamestown was begun with a group of men who quickly crumbled into chaos without strong leadership. They did not deal well with the local indigenous people and many problems arose because of it. In fact, they were all about to give up on the attempt of this new world when tobacco was discovered to be a very lucrative commodity. According to this book, tobacco and the first black slaves were what truly gave this town its foundation of stability.
Overall, it’s just okay. My kids will read it in their history curriculum, combined with other accounts of this time period. But I wish it was better written.