Squanto’s Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruchac and illustrated by Greg Shed tells the incredible tale of the life of Tisquantum (Squanto).  He was born and raised to be a leader of his people, the Patuxet, but was kidnapped and held as a slave to both European and Native people. He traveled to Europe and back to North America where he became a translator and ambassador, representing a group of Native tribes to the English settlers.

Squanto taught the English hunting and planting skills to help them survive on the land they now shared. The book culminates in that first thanksgiving feast to celebrate the bountiful harvest of the prior year. Because the book ends during the feast, it concludes on a hopeful note that might be easier for young children to digest. The illustrations in this book are beautiful and fluid. Like the written words, the pictures show all of the characters, and the land they loved, in their best light.