My son (age 5) and I learned about the departure of the pilgrims and the voyage of the Mayflower in Tattered Sails by Verla Kay and Dan Andreasen. Although Kay never mentions either the Mayflower or the pilgrims by name, in her book, she depicts children in a crowded and dirty city, a crowded and dirty boat, and then the open expanse of land.
I also liked the depiction of all the work the children had to do once they arrived in the new land. Kay writes in unpretentious rhyme that makes Tattered Sails a delight to read. Despite the lack of historical details in her text (or maybe because of what is lacking), her book was a good place to start in our discussion of the pilgrims because it provided discussion as we compared and contrasted their homes.
Our homeschool American History learning happened to correlate to the Thanksgiving Holiday! What nice timing.
