THE VERY FIRST THANKSGIVING DAY

Narrator Thérèse Plummer’s voice is clear and firm, and she sets a steady but leisurely pace as she shares this short poem with young listeners. Cleverly, the story starts and ends at the 1621 celebration of the first Thanksgiving. Plummer follows the series of cumulative rhymes without falling into singsong. The simple vocal approach helps the youngest listeners focus on the words—”MAYFLOWER,” “Pilgrims,” “Indians”—and absorb the accompanying picture book. Plummer concludes by reading the author’s note detailing her use of the word “Indian” and the illustrator’s note describing how her research informed the illustrations. Gentle background music accompanies the production. A.R. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2016]